"Hey, Jared." Felix approached the Sawyer bench in front of the grocery store, where Jared was slouched with his legs stretched out.
"What do you want? I'm on my break!" Jared didn't look up, just took a tense sip from his water bottle.
"I just want you to know, I saw Pat, and he told me things were really rough for you back in Cascadia—"
"So what? It doesn't change how I feel about you! You're only talking to me because you need a bridge back to Nova. But you forget why she burned that bridge down!"
"I know things are ruined between us," Felix shot back, his hands trembling. "But I can't just stand here and look at the ashes. Help me rebuild it with her—"
"I'm not your contractor." Jared stood up, cutting him off cold. "Fix your own mess, Felix."
"I can't fix it!" Felix cried out, his voice cracking. "She won't listen to a word I say. That's why I need a proxy, Jared. I need someone else to cross that line for me—
"I'm not crossing a damn thing for you." Jared stepped directly into Felix's space. "You think I don't know what you said about me? About the scar on my eye? Nova showed me the text you sent her, Felix. I told her right then and there to block you—and she listened."
"Look, I'm sorry!" Felix cried, his hands up in defence. "I was just jealous that you were living with her and not me—"
"Jealousy doesn't give you an excuse." Jared glared at him, the scar on his face twisting. "I live with being half-blind every single day. And to make it a hell of a lot worse, the man who gave me this scar is now the ruler of my country."
"You... you know Osa?" Felix gasped, taking a blind step backward. His eyes locked onto Jared's scar. "Pat told me about him. About the camps he started..."
"I only crossed paths with him because I needed to get medicine for my mom," Jared said, his hands clenching into tight, trembling fists. "Otherwise, I would have nothing to do with that bastard. He's the reason I was dragged off to the camps. I had to watch my sister die there, Felix. I barely escaped with my life, running with nothing but the clothes on my back."
"You had a sister?" Felix's raised his eyebrow.
"There's a lot you don't know about me." Jared crossed his arms, his voice dropping to a flat, final tone. "My break's over. And so are we."
He snatched his water bottle off the bench, turned on his heel, and strode back into the store.