The Heartwood invasion of the bodysnatchers

His counterpoint wounded her, and silenced her, too. Her eyes seemed to, impossibly, increase in size; the thought alarmed her as much as it hurt her. Did he think that? ...was he right? Leta had kept to herself for a time after all; had he changed so much in the in-between? Did he think that being as he had been was a bad thing? Did that make the way that she was... the way she thought they both were... not good? 

He had gotten shorter now, and Leta realized she had offended him on top of it all (at least, her own interpretation of it). It made her shrink a little, because she had thought she and he so similar and he looked so disappointed in her perception of him that she wondered how he must really look at her. Her ears flattened atop her head as she felt less than all over again. 

Oh, she responded to all of it, voice watery. Oh, no, she thought, swallowing thick lumps in her throat. You're not a baby. Don't cry!!!! Her gaze shifted, and she blinked several times as though this would chase the tears that threatened to come away, her face (unbeknownst to her) scrunched up with the effort of it. Breathily she added, m-maybe not. But, the Newt I know... he was... he was always the coolest... to me... 

Another thick swallow. A sniffle. Grow up. No tears, not yet. And Leta did not want him to think of her as less than he already must. She cared very much so what her family thought of her. And wondered, for once, how she must look to the rest of the world. Blinking something fierce now, she still could not look at Newt or move for fear of the floodgates opening. I will not cry, I will not cry, I will. not. cry!!!