"It doesn't, you come less and no one gets hurt," Lotte said. She didn't move from where she was on the floor, other than to turn her cheek slightly. For once the coldness felt good. "And I'm not depressed because of it."
There was something odd about him saying that, but she sighed and didn't answer. He was the voice in her head after-all - she knew him just as well as he did. Technically. If her therapist was right - he had to be, at this point - then Erik's voice was just her subconscious, voicing the things she couldn't. Her eyes began to tear up again and she sniffled. There wasn't anything to say to his reassuring her she'd be safe either - it was him, she was scared of after all. If he learned that Christine had lied with his letter...Lotte began to shake. It only became worse when his voice grew angry with her.
Her hands covered her ears, even though she knew it was useless. It was in her head, the voice would still come through and it would stay there with her forever. She couldn't help but start crying again, protesting as she did so. "It's been twelve years."