[her touch is gentle, but she pauses then, breathing deep.]

...I'm going to tell you something that I myself am in the process of learning, so believe me when I say I understand, in a deeper way than most. I know exactly what it feels like. If you keep it to yourself, you're not burdening other people. You aren't giving them too much to handle, and things don't get messy, and instead you can help them with whatever problems and sorrows they're trying to deal with. They don't get hurt because of something you said or did.

[she knows. she knows how to bundle her problems and make them smaller and smaller, until they fit in a drawer she can shut and pretend isn't there, only to unwind them at the end of the night, when her nightmares sink teeth and claw into her mind. she knows how it feels to stifle your own voice.]

But that's...that's not how it works. It isn't, and actually...people are hurt more by keeping it in. It's not fair, if they want to be there for you in return and you aren't allowing it. It just...it's not always safer to be alone.