Morningside Cuesta different now; better than

he might, he continued to say, though never as he had with Addie. she slumped on the cool earth with a sigh, thoroughly confused and not knowing what to do with this sudden influx of information. love was so very confusing, and definitely not as straightforward as she had thought for...well, her whole life. it sounded messy, and something that she wasn't sure she wanted to deal with. no, perhaps she'd just go one loving Da, her family, and leave it at that. anything else posed the risk of getting as messy as Da's love had. 

he told her that she ought to love still, that all people would, but she didn't know if she would willingly get herself involved in the mess that was love. a line of his stuck out, and echoing words heard a while ago, said, " If you love someone, let them go. If they come back, they love you back, right?" hoping that he wouldn't ask just where she had heard that, she asked a moment later, unwilling to let the question slide, "Who did you kill, Da? Why...why did they deserve it?"  her words, unlike 95% of the time she spoke, were soft, trepidant in the slightest.