Darren felt…a little guilty, truth be told.
The latest rough patch had been rough—he had eventually succumbed on the Wednesday to the call of the penknife and dug a single, simple slice into the crook of his left elbow with the favoured blade. The shock of doing it, for the first time since August, had rattled even the heavy weight across his chest and head, and he’d woken up on Thursday to the grip of it easing. Slowly, but easing.
The way Jayden folded around him in the requested hug the moment they were inside the Phillips house that Friday was tinged with a little relief and a little desperation, and Darren felt bad about that. He always got so self-involved and stupid on his dark days, and he wasn’t quite used to Jayden wanting to be let in yet. He wasn’t quite used to someone knowi
