XCIX

Sitting silently on the windowsill and with Poe on her lap, Eleven watches the horizon disappear over the treetops. The cat purrs softly at her absent-minded caresses, and Eleven reflects with resignation on the fact that, although she cannot heal him, she has at least been able to clean him a little using a damp cloth and a special shampoo. No doubt the strong smell that his wound gave off until recently offended his developed senses.

When she hears knuckles against her door, she responds with a weak "come in".

"Aren't you coming down to have dinner?" She hears concern in Henry's voice.

She shakes her head without taking her eyes off the window. "I'm not hungry."

"Hm." Henry doesn't say anything else, but he doesn't leave either. On the contrary: slowly, he walks until he's standing just a couple of feet away from her.

"What… is it?" she asks after a few seconds of silence, each word weighing heavily on her.

"Since you forbade me from reading your mind, I'm waiting for you to tell me what's wrong."

The way he says it makes her smile.

Eleven looks at him while shaking her head. "Are you going to… force me?"

"No, heavens, no," he replies in that tone of mock indignation that he brandishes so well. "I will simply make my presence unbearable until you willingly volunteer the information."

This finally makes her laugh. On her lap, Poe opens his eyes and throws her a dry look, indignant at the abrupt awakening to which he has been subjected.

"It was Henry's fault!" Eleven defends herself between laughs as the cat closes his eyes again.

It lasts only a moment, but Eleven manages to notice Henry's eyes landing on Poe.

This just reminds her that he keeps acting weird. Her smile fades without her being able to do anything about it.

Henry, of course, notices it. "What's going on?" he finally asks in a gentle voice as he also leans against the windowsill, back towards the glass and arms crossed. "If it's something I can help you with…"

Eleven grimaces. At first, she entertains the idea of saying nothing—however, she soon realizes that Henry is probably already aware of everything that happened last Saturday.

She decides to start by verifying this information.

"Did you… read Angela's mind?" There is no way, after all, that she had told him the truth voluntarily.

He makes no attempt to deny it: "I did. I know what happened on Saturday… from her point of view."

Eleven notices the dangerous gleam in his eyes, but that, ironic as it may seem, calms her: if there is so much anger stored inside him towards the teenager, it is obvious that Henry has not had the opportunity to take revenge.

That means she's still alive.

"Hm…" Eleven mumbles thoughtfully. "Well… I had a fight with Mike… over that."

She searches Henry's eyes again. This time, they are unfathomable.

"I see. What was the reason, exactly?"

The girl sighs. "He thinks what I did was wrong…"

Henry raises an eyebrow. "Excuse me, are you telling me that I agree with Mike Wheeler on something?" His tone betrays his displeasure.

Eleven frowns and gives him a bewildered look.

"I also think you acted wrongly," Henry explains. "You should have broken one or two of her bones…"

Even though it's a terrible thing to say, the way he says it makes her giggle. "I thought I shouldn't use my powers in public…"

Henry shrugs. "There are situations and situations. After what I saw in her mind, a couple of broken bones seems like a fair price to pay."

Eleven shakes her head. "You are… impossible."

He does not deny it, and just asks: "How about you?" At Eleven's confused expression, he rushes to elaborate. "What do you think about what you did?"

The young woman purses her lips and lowers her gaze. Poe purrs softly, and this only makes her want to cry.

"I think… Mike is right. It wasn't right and… Well, I shouldn't have… I hurt her." She takes a deep breath before continuing. "That day… That day, the way he looked at me…" A tear falls from her eye and gets lost in Poe's whitish fur. "He looked at me as if I were a monster."