You were a good friend to Maren, and you'd promised to help her find her mother. Which is why you agreed to come along when she joined up with Lee. You weren't a cannibal like them, you didn't suffer from the awful genetic urge to consume flesh. But you still did what you could to help them, both of them.

Lee quickly grew on you. He was quiet and sweet once he started to trust you. And before you knew it he was kissing you in the bed of the truck under a full moon. Lee was surprisingly romantic. He picked you flowers, stole little trinkets for you from gas stations, and really took the time to know you. But you still felt disconnected. Lee was an eater, you were not. You couldn't help the tugging in your chest when you watched him eat someone with Maren. They were good friends, bonded over the horrible condition their families had left them with. Part of you felt like they were a far better match, that you weren't needed.

So when you started pulling away, he got anxious. You were fidgety and awkward all of a sudden. Gone was the girl who climbed into his lap while he smoked, or sewed patches over the tears in his clothes. It.. it scared Lee.

What if you decided he was too much? Lee couldn't expect you to be content dating a drifter cannibal. He hadn't missed the slight grimaces when he or Maren tore into someone raw. The way you wouldn't kiss him on the lips when his mouth still tasted of flesh and blood.

He confronted you outside the truck one night. Maren was asleep in the back, and you were sitting in the grass. When you tried to insist you were fine, he cut you off.

"You know I hate liars," he said lowly. His voice was still soft, even when he was angry.