[ she didn't expect it. didn't want it. even his leaning forward has her on edge, and she feels herself wanting to recoil from it. proximity with other people- living, breathing, blood-pumping people- makes her nervous. if he'd tried, she would have jerked away. best he didn't have to see that, then. ]

Complaining doesn't change anything. It doesn't feel right to do. But I wish- I wish I knew why- how am I supposed to help anything like this? I just don't understand....

[ she reaches up to rub at the bridge of her nose, shutting her eyes briefly. there's silence- she doesn't like silence as much anymore, because it's never actually silent. ]

Drugs? [ and her voice is high and thin, uncertain, before she can gain control of it. ] What sort of- I mean, how- what, even, I can't even think of anything...

[ a pause. what had alexander told her? ]

A bit. About what happened at the... at the police department. About what you could do. I'd been looking for him- ah, I went to see him the next day... [ she'd been incapacitated the day of, didn't even realize he'd come back until the next day, and then he'd been at home, human as could be. her voice trailed off a little to remember it. ]