[ Booker is silent. The question isn't as easy as it seems, and he can't give her the answer he knows she's looking for: of course I had friends.
He had, of course, when he was a very young child. When they had all been too young to know better. But things had changed when he'd gotten older. When he - and the other boys - had realized that he was...different.
It had been a lonely childhood, and he hadn't been any better at fitting in once he'd joined the Army. Loneliness had given way to defensiveness, rage...and, once he'd joined the Pinkertons, outright hostility to nearly everyone he'd met, no matter what side they were on. It was easier to keep everyone at arm's length, to be the big scary man and tell himself he wanted it that way, than to take a chance on letting someone in.
Elizabeth had been a rare exception. She'd been naive and innocent enough not to be any kind of a threat, and through circumstances alone, they'd become close - friends, even - almost before Booker realized what was happening.
The other exception, of course, had been Annabelle. And look what happened to her.
He looks away, his expression hard. ]
You don't need me anymore, Elizabeth. You said I was...your only friend, the first one you'd had. But you have other choices now.
no subject
He had, of course, when he was a very young child. When they had all been too young to know better. But things had changed when he'd gotten older. When he - and the other boys - had realized that he was...different.
It had been a lonely childhood, and he hadn't been any better at fitting in once he'd joined the Army. Loneliness had given way to defensiveness, rage...and, once he'd joined the Pinkertons, outright hostility to nearly everyone he'd met, no matter what side they were on. It was easier to keep everyone at arm's length, to be the big scary man and tell himself he wanted it that way, than to take a chance on letting someone in.
Elizabeth had been a rare exception. She'd been naive and innocent enough not to be any kind of a threat, and through circumstances alone, they'd become close - friends, even - almost before Booker realized what was happening.
The other exception, of course, had been Annabelle. And look what happened to her.
He looks away, his expression hard. ]
You don't need me anymore, Elizabeth. You said I was...your only friend, the first one you'd had. But you have other choices now.
[ Better choices. ]