1269_UgliesFreeBook

UGLIES 397
held tighter. Tally gritted her teeth and took them a bit
higher.
When Shay had stopped laughing, she said, “And you
think I’m confused?”
“Listen, Shay, there’s one thing I’m not confused about.
I didn’t want to betray the Smoke. I was blackmailed into
going there as a spy, and when I sent for the Specials, it was
an accident, really. But I’m sorry, Shay. I’m sorry I ruined
your dream.” Tally felt herself crying, the tears driven backward
by the wind. The trees rushed past in the darkness for
a while.
“I’m just glad you two made it back to civilization,”
Shay said softly, holding on tight. “And I’m not sorry about
what happened. If that makes you feel any better.”
Tally thought of the lesions on Shay’s brain, the tiny
cancers or wounds or whatever they were, that she didn’t
even know she had. They were in there somewhere, changing
her friend’s thoughts, warping her feelings, gnawing at
the roots of who she was. Making her forgive Tally.
“Thanks, Shay. But no, it doesn’t.”