Chapter 23

**Sloane**

“I don’t need anyone,” I say quickly. It comes out automatically. A reflex drilled into bone and muscle before I even knew what reflexes were. You don’t need help. You don’t lean. You don’t hesitate. You stand on your own two feet, and if they break, you crawl. The words hang there between us, brittle and hollow. I don’t need anyone… but I do want someone. “Everyone needs someone, Sloan