Mathias

"Yeah," Veronica said, the word an exhalation. "Me too." For a long time, she hadn't thought it was necessary. The learning curve on that one had been more than a little steep. "Even when it stops being... necessary, it's not an easy habit to break." It wasn't even one she'd tried to break, no matter how much easier things got here. She'd softened in her years on the island, that was certain, but not by as much as all that.