Rotten Nostalgia

SAMUEL STRETCH OUT MY LIFE & PICK THE SEAMS OUT "I have a j-job and a store, you..you know." Sam said with an irritated sigh, knowing he was busy enough with things but still feeling automatic guilt from her words. Even when he knew things weren't true he found it hard to swallow the instant reaction of shame they invoked in him. He was honestly, truly, confused by what she said next. What would he have needed to do for her? Evie had had everything she'd ever wanted laid out for her on a silver platter. She had been loved, preferred, accepted; he had never seen her wish for anything. But honestly? No matter what she might have gone through in secret, he didn't feel like it could match his formative years. "Oh. I'm s-sorry, I didn't realise you we...were taken to a sh-shrine and fo-forced to undergo a p-painful transformation because you weren't g-good enough." His voice dripped with bitter sarcasm as he stared into the fire, trying to block out the memories of his first day at the shrine. take what you like, but close my ears and eyes, watch me stumble over and over.