06-30-2015, 10:15 AM
Nox was quiet and Connor didn't press him. He'd talk when he was ready. One thing was obvious. The smirking and cockiness and devil-may-care attitude were nowhere in sight. Suddenly he really looked like a kid trying to be a grownup, trying to be responsible for the people in is life.
Connor let him be, giving him the space and privacy he wanted. He'd ask for help when he was ready. Which was gonna be soon, he was sure, the way the kid moved, like he was pent up with frustration.
Finally, on the train, he spoke, it all spilling out of him in a rush. Connor listened in silence. It helped to just define the problem, to verbalize it. When they compounded like that, they felt so overwhelming.
Indeed, despite not having seen her in a while- and having serious mixed feelings about her- hearing about Aria's situation was concerning. Missing. Boyfriend dead of a heart attack. The unnaturalness of it all. A part of him wondered if Aria was to blame- she could manipulate emotion- but he rejected that part. Nox didn't think she was to blame. If anything, he was afraid of how she would react. He'd have to kill her? God, what was wrong with these people? And his friend?
He pushed it out of his mind. Or at least focused on the more human of the problems. Nox's missing sister. A mysterious man. Nox felt guilty, that much was obvious. Felt like he'd pushed her away and now she was gone.
For some reason that resonated most powerfully within him. Last moments were so very potent. He remembered his last moments with people vividly. It was his own hangup. He'd been told more than once he had control issues. And "controlling goodbyes" was a way to impose order on the the randomness of life. It stemmed from watching his dad leave, being a an insecure teenager too old to do more than barely look up and say a casual "later" to him as he took off- and was never seen alive again. Intellectually, he knew the words were just words. His father knew how he felt.
It didn't keep it from shaping is life from that moment onward. And the idea of a loved one having been lost after a fight, or when they were alone and scared while you were oblivious to it, living your own life...yeah, his shrink had some definite ideas about that.
He looked at Nox. What could he say? He nodded, letting confidence fill his voice and face. "Alright. I'll do what I can. Let's start with your sister's phone."
He would help Nox find his sister. He could do that.
Connor let him be, giving him the space and privacy he wanted. He'd ask for help when he was ready. Which was gonna be soon, he was sure, the way the kid moved, like he was pent up with frustration.
Finally, on the train, he spoke, it all spilling out of him in a rush. Connor listened in silence. It helped to just define the problem, to verbalize it. When they compounded like that, they felt so overwhelming.
Indeed, despite not having seen her in a while- and having serious mixed feelings about her- hearing about Aria's situation was concerning. Missing. Boyfriend dead of a heart attack. The unnaturalness of it all. A part of him wondered if Aria was to blame- she could manipulate emotion- but he rejected that part. Nox didn't think she was to blame. If anything, he was afraid of how she would react. He'd have to kill her? God, what was wrong with these people? And his friend?
He pushed it out of his mind. Or at least focused on the more human of the problems. Nox's missing sister. A mysterious man. Nox felt guilty, that much was obvious. Felt like he'd pushed her away and now she was gone.
For some reason that resonated most powerfully within him. Last moments were so very potent. He remembered his last moments with people vividly. It was his own hangup. He'd been told more than once he had control issues. And "controlling goodbyes" was a way to impose order on the the randomness of life. It stemmed from watching his dad leave, being a an insecure teenager too old to do more than barely look up and say a casual "later" to him as he took off- and was never seen alive again. Intellectually, he knew the words were just words. His father knew how he felt.
It didn't keep it from shaping is life from that moment onward. And the idea of a loved one having been lost after a fight, or when they were alone and scared while you were oblivious to it, living your own life...yeah, his shrink had some definite ideas about that.
He looked at Nox. What could he say? He nodded, letting confidence fill his voice and face. "Alright. I'll do what I can. Let's start with your sister's phone."
He would help Nox find his sister. He could do that.