He shrugged. "It's always good to make a few stops. You miss things if you don't." He was such a hypocrite - Brian hated making stops. He hated smelling the flowers, he hated all of it. Because it wasn't real. Reality, to him, often felt like a piece of paper that was hanging by tape from the ceiling. He wanted to rip it apart. He wanted to pull it down and reveal what was hiding behind it, but he couldn't. Every time he tried, something stopped him. He almost feared that this building would push him to the limits of that tenuous relationship, judging on the forums' history.
Though he smiled at her reassurance, it was false. Fake. Imitation. It barely reached his cheeks, let alone his eyes, and it didn't move the way a smile should. "I should think not," he said, his voice almost genuine. "Nothing is all bad in life." If only he could start believing that.