Re: [Log: Gym-to-be, Marta and Holly]
Look, life was frustrating. It was a perpetual thing that happened, and Holly got that. He'd never been the kind of kid who looked for the next good thing, even when he was young. Sure, his mom had been alive and his dad had been sober, but they'd always had more eyes for each other than for him, and they'd made stupid fucking choices... like falling in love with a financially stupid music store. Anyway, the point was that he got it. People not being able to handle your shit? It didn't mean they didn't care about you. He'd gotten than memo before he'd ever even started kindergarten.
But he didn't think about the Juul. He had a script, though he didn't need it; the pods were easy enough to get. But it was the only thing that kept him from hitting the narcotics and benzos hard, and he wasn't about to get addicted to that shit. But, yeah, thoughtless. Blame panic for him not thinking about Sunny's rehab thing, but sometimes people's shit got too overwhelming for them to handle themselves, too.
So, this was as cool as they were going to get at the moment. And she was over there being quiet, so he really didn't think she'd clocked anything going on. Sunny wasn't really super observant of other people's emotions, not that he'd noticed. It was like other people's reactions were things she reacted to, like, herself, and he figured that was just more of her damage. Because Holly? Wasn't a fucking idiot. He understood Sunny had mad-issues going on.
"Okay," so he finally said, when she spoke. He busied himself stacking styrofoam containers and putting them back in their bag. He saw her gouging her palms, and he did realize he was maybe making shit worse. Holly usually let his gut guide him in conversation, but maybe those dug-in fingernails were telling him to shut the fuck up. "There will be rumors everywhere, okay? They aren't real, and everyone knows they're bullshit. And since everyone knows their rumors, the ones floating out there about them, are bullshit? Then they'll know that about yours too. So, chill. And, for what it's worth? There's nothing wrong with trying to get some legal visitation going. I don't get why that fucks with you? It's legal. You got cleaned up, and she's your kid. There's no fucking reason not to pursue it. But if that's too direct? Just pretend I didn't say it." He sighed, and he rubbed his forehead. "I freak you out a lot, huh? When we talk?"