"Wouldn't have looked," she manages.

"All that quiet would have told me to steer fucking clear."

She laughs and the sound isn't precisely sane. "Sought after...there's a word for it. Along with 'ignored,' 'hated' and 'betrayer.'"

She lifts her head, eyes regaining a spark of their normal fire. "He so important to you, then what the hell are you doing out here?"