It didn't help that she was right. It made things worse. It made things harder. God, could he really let her drag herself down to his level? Let her tie herself to him and all his evil? There was so much sweetness in Sookie that he wanted to cling to, to cleanse himself in, but was that fair to her? Could it make any difference anyway?

And how much of it was for him? How much was she trying to save herself now, as much as Mitchell? She had chosen to turn a blind eye to it, forgive where she had no fucking right. She had chosen to demand honesty, but how much of a virtue was that, when she knew it would only hurt him? When she had no right to hurt him. She wasn't anywhere near as bad as Mitchell, no, but she'd committed her own crimes here as well.

"Look at what you're fighting for, Sookie," he said, voice cold, a bare hint of hysterical humor to it. It was all but done, in his mind. Just words to be said, final notes of a soundtrack played during the credits. "Do you even know? Me, Bill. Do you really want me to feel better, or do you just want to feel better about yourself? Do you really think you can make that much difference?"