to heal a wound, you need to stop touching it
She can sense the precipice that he threatens to throw himself from, having walked this walk with Sunjata a couple of times, now. So Vai beats him to it, reaching out to wrap her arms around him, to draw him close against her in a hug. "Sunny, you're getting overwhelmed with all of this," she murmurs; it's both a calm explanation and a warning in one, as if to give him a chance to take a breath against everything he's just let spill out.
"I know it must be hard. I know, sweetheart. But you are strong enough to get through this. And you will get through it, for your daughter. I can't give you the answers because I can't see the future to say whether Nate will come back. But I don't think he would leave you for good. I've seen you both together." Giving him a gentle squeeze, Vai lets out a long sigh. "What's the biggest thing on your mind? The thing you keep coming back to? Let's start there."
"I know it must be hard. I know, sweetheart. But you are strong enough to get through this. And you will get through it, for your daughter. I can't give you the answers because I can't see the future to say whether Nate will come back. But I don't think he would leave you for good. I've seen you both together." Giving him a gentle squeeze, Vai lets out a long sigh. "What's the biggest thing on your mind? The thing you keep coming back to? Let's start there."
Vervain