❝In which two people call up a helpline in order to find someone just as broken as they are. ❞
"Does...does it bother you that my dad's in prison for murder?"
"Well, judging by the fact that I moved away from America to get away from the memory of a...
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Elliot had become accustomed to the resounding beep that signalled an abrupt end to a phone conversation. It was something that he had been forced to become familiar with, the resounding siren that emitted from the receiver of his phone now more familiar than speech itself.
People simply did not appreciate conversation in the same way that he did. Where he saw synchronised patterns of orange, red and blue others saw a flame so powerful that it could burn the communication right off their tongues.
People were so afraid of talking. So terrified of sharing a meaningful word that they would prefer to say nothing at all. Why was it that so many people chose silence over joint suffering? Why did people feel more comfortable keeping it all inside? How could people contain the words bursting out of their throats? What was so wrong with talking to someone about your feelings? Why was that so hard?
Why was hanging up easier than continuing the conversation?
It was safe to say that Elliot finally knew the answer to these questions.
Because, for the first time since he could remember, he had been the one to hang up a phone conversation.
Because he had been afraid to continue the conversation.
