Erik's sadness cuts more deeply than his anger, making Tarantulas's own frustration a slippery, tenuous thing, the energy suddenly difficult to sustain. "-- I care for you too," he says into the awkward silence that follows. "But Annabel -- who is she to me? I never knew her before this, I have no ties to her. Why should I --" He stumbles over the word, seeing the mistake but unable to avert it, "-- bother with her?"

He just wanted to be close to River. Why did she have to drag other people into it? But clearly that isn't the answer Erik is looking for. He presses his lips together, staring at the floor. "It's not fair," he says bitterly. "She put up with so much nonsense from that other version of me. Why am I cut off after a single mistake?"