"...I don't want to go back," Nico said, trying to keep her voice from cracking like the foundation of a house built on a fault line. "I don't want to-- I can't deal with any of those--"

Words failed her and she tried to wipe the blood off her hands onto her pants. "Can't you just get me a wet towel or something?" she asked weakly. Let her stay here, where she didn't have to tolerate the staring and the whispering?