Clarisse looks up from her plate at the sound of Abby's voice, and for a split second she can't help but feel hopeful.

She can tell herself the truth of the situation over and over but it doesn't erase the fact that she misses Abby so much it makes her feel sick. She hates taking the ferry across the harbor at the end of each day and crawling into bed in the dockside apartments, and going to sleep knowing Abby isn't lying in a bed across the room from her. She hates waking up and eating breakfast without her. She hates that every time she walks onto the training yard she thinks about her.

But the look on Abby's face is, while maybe not as hostile as it was last time they saw each other, still guarded. It still looks like she's talking to a stranger. Clarisse's stomach sinks and she feels herself going tense all over.

"What is it?" Get it over with.