Marilyn sighed with relief when he decided to sit back down. At least Carter was willing to hear her out...She continued to hold his hand, squeezing a bit tighter than she had been. The blonde had no intentions of letting it go, either. Hopefully it would help her get this out...

...And the Slytherin would NOT be making eye contact. Marilyn hadn't been so good at masking her emotions lately...and she did not need any waterworks. Tears would not help the situation...

"You know, I thought it would be easier coming back to this place...but I hadn't realized just how many enemies I had made..." She stared down at their clasped hands, finding it somewhat comforting. "Back in first year, a lot of who I was was attitude and arrogance. I wasn't easily lead by what anyone said...but now?" Well, her confidence had been severely shaken. People who were suppose to love and care about her had...kidnapped her, thrown her into dark places by herself, abandoned her, attempted to take her life...and had LIED...

It was a wonder she didn't spend the rest of her Hogwarts days hermitted down the Slytherin dorms, really...

"There's just a lot of self doubt going on within myself, Carter...I keep getting told that because of the way I treat people, I don't deserve to be happy...and I think that's what I'm starting to believe."