SEPTEMBER 2, 2018
ASHFORD: It’s interesting to me, Ms. Novak, that you are so concerned about what I did and did not tell Abby. Given how much you concealed from her and Mr. Kapoor yourself.
SOPHIA: What do you mean?
ASHFORD: You doled out information so carefully. You knew that Abby was investigating your mother’s disappearance, yet you did not tell her about your reflection until she noticed it herself. Nor did you tell her about the girl that you and Mr. Kapoor saw on the beach the night she arrived—not until Mr. Kapoor mentioned it himself.
SOPHIA: I wasn’t trying to deceive her.
Ashford leans back in his chair, considering her.
ASHFORD: Is that so? But you didn’t tell them about this emotional backlash you experienced either. Why?
SOPHIA: Isn’t that obvious?
ASHFORD: Please. Assume I’m ignorant.
Sophia looks down at her hands, fingers laced, palms spread.
SOPHIA: It took me years to learn how to tell when the backlash was coming. And even then, sometimes there was no warning at all. It came sometimes without me pushing away emotion to trigger it. Over time, I learned how to ride it out without hurting myself—or anyone else. But by then, I’d been to too many psychiatrists to count. Been fed drugs that made me sleep and shake and even have a seizure once but never helped. Lost every friend I managed to make. Do you know what it’s like to have people look at you like you aren’t even human?
Her eyes burn with intensity.
SOPHIA: Do you know what it’s like to wonder if they’re right?