01-13-2025, 12:12 AM
Hayden had gotten through to her at least a little. He was glad to see she was taking his advice and looking at ways to make it a home. Nox was not going to ever make a change. The week he'd spent in the safe house he'd lived out of the bag even after Hayden told him to put his things in the drawers or closet. He imagined his things were stuffed in the bags stashed in the closet if he looked now. That was a thing to work on with that one, but Elyse might be able to change the rest, make the rest happen for the kids living here.
And then she started crying and getting to the meat of it. Hayden worked on breakfast as she did her thing. He wouldn't offer comfort to a woman who could be a client like he would have Nox. It was different -- much different. "Guilt is a bitch. Survivor's guilt is tricky. Guilt for things you were indirectly the cause of is hard to wrap your head around. And we can all tell you not to believe what your mind says, but you have to do the work. Figuring out why you feel guilty for certain things might help. Just like making a change may help the rest of it. You aren't do anything wrong. Nothings wrong with you. Our brains are stupid things. Tackle one guilt at a time."
And then she started crying and getting to the meat of it. Hayden worked on breakfast as she did her thing. He wouldn't offer comfort to a woman who could be a client like he would have Nox. It was different -- much different. "Guilt is a bitch. Survivor's guilt is tricky. Guilt for things you were indirectly the cause of is hard to wrap your head around. And we can all tell you not to believe what your mind says, but you have to do the work. Figuring out why you feel guilty for certain things might help. Just like making a change may help the rest of it. You aren't do anything wrong. Nothings wrong with you. Our brains are stupid things. Tackle one guilt at a time."