“She didn’t love you, Neal. You loved her and your friends were trying to cushion the blow of betrayal. I do know, okay? I’ve been there,” Malcolm tells him. “Better to let the truth go, then cling to a lie, I find.” He levels his gaze at Neal. “And I only know Peter from parts of a file, but from what you’ve said about him, it sounds like he genuinely cares about you but he’s just… bad at being a dad and at being a friend, but not from a lack of care. If you choose to go back there after you graduate, maybe you and he can reckon with all the ways he hurt you just for being, but for now I have to warn you that anyone who mind controls you into a stupor for days? Is not your friend, Neal. It’s fake. It’s jumping over the side right here on the ship. You’ll only graduate and find the life you want if you stop numbing and do the work. There aren’t any shortcuts.”