New Rules

Elena said it softly and perfectly, with quiet unshakable respect, and then she said the rest.

"I am deeply sorry, Leo… For what I said about Maya, and for what I did to you."

Leo's breath caught in his throat.

His sister's name, spoken with such humble reverence by the proudest person on the ship, hit him like a dull shockwave against his sternum. 

For one second he saw a skinny seventeen-year-old in one of his grey hoodies with the sleeves rolled three times, grinning at him from the kitchen doorway, and then it was only Elena again, standing in front of him without a trace of mockery anywhere on her face.

He let out a slow breath and looked down at his own calloused hands.