“It’s the price I pay for my gift,” she said simply. “Nothing is free. Think of it … as conservation of energy. People aren’t designed to handle emotions that … aren’t their own.”
“Yeah, that makes sense,” Isaac agreed, arching an eyebrow, and finally allowed himself to relax a bit. “Well, as I said, you can hide out here for as long as you want to, no one lives here anymore, but most furniture is still here, so it’s kinda functional.”
Summer said wearily, “I can’t hide out here for long. My cat — I’ll have to go home and feed him, take care of him.” She rubbed at her head, wishing her power worked on herself. It would be a circular kind of weirdness. Glancing back up at him, she asked, “Where do you live, then, if not here?”