The Sentinels come on, make it easy, say i never mattered.

If there was one positive about her being tilted at Penn, at least it distracted her from the rest of everything.  She wanted him to follow and tell her he didn't want her to go, but of course he wouldn't.  If he wanted her to come he'd have already said it.  It really had been stupid of her to dig for it.  Like Penn would ever be smart enough to catch a fucking hint.

It really was better this way.  She tried to convince herself of that, but as she walked away from another lifeline, she felt her breath begin to catch.  She was far enough away for Penn not to hear or see her, which was all she needed.  She stopped and pressed the top of her head against the rough bark of a tree, breathing in and out slowly.

This was so fucked.

There was no one she could depend on when shit went sideways except for Figment.  She needed to learn to be okay with that but, for some reason, she kept running to the same places and expecting different outcomes.  And why?

She knew the answer.  She just didn't want to acknowledge it.

She took a few moments to collect herself before she moved on to find where her brother was scouting.  She wouldn't tell him she ran into Penn.  There was no real reason to, after all.