“Byron and I have a similar background, actually. But… kind of not. That was your life. Okay. I had one incident and that was my trigger,” Tristan said. “It wasn’t an easy story to hear.”

Kenzie nodded. “Sorry. I like to put myself out there one hundred percent. If people like me then they can have me.”

“Wording,” Chris said. He leaned back. One of his eyes was black from corner to corner, and he had a set of medieval braces on, wire and clamps. The eyepatch he’d worn on his way to the session dangled from his fingers, swinging as his hand moved.

He was interesting. Ashley was paying close attention to him. She’d almost marked him as the only person of interest in this group, but… now she was paying attention to Kenzie.

She could understand Kenzie. She already had suspicions about what was going on there.

“Keep in mind, being too forward will scare people off,” Sveta said.

“Oh, shucks,” Kenzie said. She smiled and joked, “Guess I’m going to die alone.”

“Don’t say that,” Sveta said. “I found someone, and I never thought that would be possible.”

“Even the worst scumbags have someone who gravitates toward them,” Ashley said. “If they have any decency, they turn those people away and stay alone.”

“Gee, awesome,” Kenzie said.

“I don’t like how close that statement was to me saying how I found someone,” Sveta said.

“I didn’t mean you,” Ashley said, to Sveta. And to Kenzie, she said, “and I don’t think you’re a scumbag. I’m saying—people find people. Sometimes they shouldn’t, but I don’t think you shouldn’t. You should find someone. A lot of someones, from what I’ve seen and heard.”

Kenzie digested that. Then she smiled and said, “Thanks, but I’ve done some scumbag stuff. I wasn’t considerate, I hurt a lot of people along the way.”

Ashley nodded.

“You’re eleven,” Chris said. “Hate to break it to you, but you get a pass.”

“Actually no,” Kenzie said. “I don’t think the people who I hurt would look me in the eye or give me a hug or let me into their homes, if I showed up in front of them. They don’t give me any pass.”

“The amnesty is supposed to give everyone a pass,” Tristan said.

“It doesn’t work that way in practice,” Ashley said. She looked down at her hands. “There are people being kept on short leashes, staying in places that are prisons in everything but name.”

“Do you want a pass, Kenzie?” Jessica asked. “Do you want the past to be the past? Do you want forgiveness?”

“A good question,” Tristan said. “I do, for sure.”

“Yeah,” Rain said. “Yeah.”

“Our inaugural session is winding down,” Jessica said. “I’ve talked to each of you about goals. We outlined some goals and expectations before and after you decided to try this group. It would be good to think about where you stand on that.”

Ashley thought of all the people she had killed.