Some days, it was easy to imagine that Jake's mouth was a completely separate entity that did whatever the hell it wanted without a thought for the rest of him. For anybody else, it would have been a flimsy excuse, but with the way he never seemed to stop talking, Veronica had to wonder if it was a truly uncontrollable compulsion.

"He shouldn't have said it," she reiterated, just to be clear what side she fell on regardless. "I mean, as sob stories go, it's not the worst to have blurted out to everyone you know, but he still shouldn't have said it."