Bennington’s gaze went straight to anger. He turned and put that gaze on Micah. "It’s a terrible thing to lose the one you love, Mr. Callahan."
"Yes, it is," Micah said.
The two men looked at each other, Micah exuding that calm that helped him talk new shapeshifters down when they were about to lose control, and Bennington giving off that tightly wound rage. He turned back to me. "Is that your final answer: you won’t help me bring her back?"
"It’s the only answer I have, Mr. Bennington. I’m sorry that I can’t help you."
"Won’t help, you mean."
"I said what I meant—I can’t."
He shook his head, over and over; his face was bleak, as if some light had gone out of him. Maybe it was hope; maybe I’d been his last hope and now it was gone. I would have given him back his hope, if I could have, but I honestly couldn’t do what he wanted; no one could.
He turned and looked at the three men, slowly, then back to me. "Do you love them?"
I thought about telling him it was none of his business, but in the face of such pain, I told the truth. "Yes."
"All three of them?"
I thought about quibbling, that I love-loved Micah and Nathaniel, but loved Jason as a friend. The fact that I had sex with all of them sort of muddied the waters for most people, but the four of us were clear on how we felt about each other, and all of us knew that Jason was my friend first and everything else second. We were secure, so I gave the short answer: "I do."
He looked at all of us again, nodded once, and then opened the door. "I’ve never been able to love more than one person at a time. It would be easier if I could."
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I didn’t bother. I tried to put my sympathy into my face, and let it go at that.
"Their being here with you proves that at least some of the tallest tales about you are true."
"You keep leaving me not knowing what to say, Mr. Bennington."