Brent raised his beer bottle to Jeremiah’s and smiled.

“Parker’s a lucky kid,” he said.

“Maybe. But I’ve got a lot to make up for. That starts today.”

Natalie Young knocked on the frame of the open door a half hour later and came into Jeremiah’s rooms without an invitation.

“I wanted to see how you’re coping,” she said. “Make sure you’re okay with all of this, you know, before you leave.”

Jeremiah snickered and shook his head. “How thoughtful of you,” he said.

She came farther into the room and took a seat on the edge of the couch, an unspoken bidding for him to join her, which he ignored.

She sighed heavily and looked at his face for a long moment before she spoke.

“Jeremiah. I thought you and I should have some closure. I thought I might be able to help you prepare for what comes next.”

He almost laughed.

“What comes next? Really, Natalie? What comes next is none of your damn business. I don’t need any help from you. You’ve done quite enough already, I’d say.”

She pursed her lips and said nothing.

“You know what, though?” He moved closer to her but remained standing, enjoying the feeling of looking down on her. “I’m glad you’re here. I think maybe we could use some closure. But not the kind you’re thinking of. There are things you need to hear.”

“Go ahead,” she said. “I’m listening.”

“Do you even realize there’s blood on your hands?”

“Jeremiah...”

“My mother? My wife? Their deaths are on you, Natalie! You, and that godforsaken Meld.”

He saw her swallow hard and avert her gaze for a moment, but he moved himself back into her line of vision and continued. She would face this.

“The things you thought you saw when we took that drug, that wasn’t the truth, was it? They never knew anything. They never knew.”

“I know that now,” she said. “Meld isn’t perfect. Perceptions can be imprecise. But I had to report what I thought I saw. Even unfocused, vague implications had to be reported.” She looked at him with a pleading expression that sat uncomfortably on her face. “You have to believe me, Jeremiah. I had no idea they would... I didn’t know what they’d do.”

He was quiet for a moment and turned away from her. “Meld should be banned,” he said, and then turned back to her to get his next point across. “That drug is dangerous. Maybe people were never meant to peer into each other’s minds and make assumptions. Maybe we were never meant to see into our own minds that way, to see that kind of ugliness. Meld crosses a line we should never have crossed. It’s dangerous, Natalie. You need to know that.”

“I know I saw something,” she said, flustered. “I’m sure I saw something when we took the drug. Someone knew something. I’m certain of it.”

“Maybe you did,” he said. “But it wasn’t them. They were innocent.”