"You get used to it." But Veronica knew that was a lie. It never got any easier, no matter how often she went through it, no matter how she told herself to expect the worst. Sometimes the ache was duller than other times, but it was always there. It had been a long five years.

Even the lie was a little too honest, though, something she kept finding true around him, maybe too much so. She fell quiet, looking ahead as she walked.