[Both things can be true. He can be all of these things — just like her and nothing like her. He likes that he's both. That Riley has never had to do the things he's done. Not these things, anyway.]

[At first he thought it would be difficult to relate to her, but it isn't really. There's so much overlap. They're so similar. She just . . . didn't go looking for trouble, did she.]

That's what I wanted to do, mmhm. I decided . . . for a lot of reasons, that it was the best thing I could do. For myself and my home.

[Slowly, his smile fades into something a little more cautious.]

Are you . . . upset with me? [That's not the emotion he sees in her eyes. But he doesn't know the words for what he's seeing. It's frustrating.]