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I sit up a little when I read Cass' next text. I don't want to force you to do anything, but I'm sure you might have a little bit more luck talking him into therapy tbh Of course, I had told my dad that the therapists I suggested were from Cass' recommendation, but maybe hearing it from her will make a difference. I just don't want to overburden you I'm sure I'm not the first human who's come along and latched onto Cass - she's talented and beautiful, plus her empathy is almost unending - but I don't want to become to human who asked too much of her.

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Hey I know you're not lol I just have the feeling that Cass and I are alike in more ways than one, my biggest impression being that she doesn't put herself first often. but as your official nurse, I always want to make sure you take care of yourself too ;)

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Then who looks after you? I send the text immediately without thinking.

”Shit,” I sit up in bed and curse again. Wayland retaliates by taking up residence on my pillow.

I debate on texting Nic back saying something stupid like it was a typo or that's lame. I really don't want to hear about how the mystery girl he was hanging all over looks after him just fine. I groan and flop back onto my new pillow. Wayland doesn't budge.

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That gave me pause - she keeps saying how I'm a psychic, but here she is asking who takes care of me? Did she know that it's a shared trait of ours? I guess my dad? Well not right now... I have some friends from work who check in on me I chew on my lip, trying to think of the right thing to say next to assure her I'm fine. I'm pretty self-sufficient on my own though :)

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Hmm, and you don’t think I am? I question him. I hope I’m not coming off as abrasive. It really is just my incessant need to ask questions and learn about things. I guess I want to know if I gave off a vibe that stated I needed to be looked after. Did Nic think he needed to save me or look after me? I was a three-hundred-year-old sorcerer. If anyone was self-sufficient, here it was me.

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Hold on, lemme speak with Wayland - I'm sure he knows :P I can tell I'm encroaching on a borderline sexist conversation here and to be honest, I don't know why she should have someone to support her when I don't want one for myself either.

Alright, fine. If you're anything like me, you're only self-sufficient on basic needs, otherwise you're selfless in how you help others even if it's at your own expense. How warm am I?

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I frown at both messages and turn my head to look at Wayland's fluffy head beside mine. ”Stop talking to him,” I tell Wayland. Also, Max would be the one to talk to about my habits, I think to myself.

I look back at my phone and hover my fingers over the screen. I sigh. Warmish, I guess… Like roasting marshmallows warm. So, not very warm. I send the over-explanation and drop my phone on my chest, staring at the ceiling. I hate that I like him.

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If a campfire is 'not very warm' to you, I'm dying to know what is I shake my head in bemusement. Who is this girl? Sighing, I let my body fall back onto the couch before I type up the next message.

How would you describe your self-sufficiency then? I counter, including the little purple devil emote to make sure she knew I was at least half-joking.

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At first, I typed out the one time a village attempted to burn me alive, but that’s probably too intense. Which wasn’t all that hot since I put myself in a protective bubble, which didn’t help the townspeople from seeing me as anything other than a witch. I delete that and go with the next best thing.

Dragon fire I say simply. His next message comes through, and I sit back up again. Wayland stretches out, grateful I’ve moved, but he neglects to leave the pillow completely. I cross my legs under the cover and ponder Nic’s question.

I’m self sufficient with everything. I’ve saved myself, worked, and provided all my basic needs all my life. My life when I was still a child, a teenager even, was not what you see today. It’s hard to explain since life isn’t like it was for me when I was young. I send the message and think I’m finished when I see glowing eyes in the corner of my room. They are higher than a cat should be and there’s nothing in the corner of my room for a cat to be standing on. The corner is dark, darker than normal. Behind me, Wayland wakes and stares at the corner, but he doesn’t meow or puff out. He just stares like I do.

It’s a rare occurrence for me, a vision from the past. I’m not the type of sorcerer who experiences these often, but when I do, they're powerful. This one is no exception. It’s a vision that brings back painful memories, and I find myself unable to hold back the tears. My vision blurs, and I reluctantly tear my gaze away from the past, back to the present on my phone.

I’m selfless because I feel guilty. I sacrifice because I need to.

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My eyebrows furrow - the tone's shifted even more now. I start typing up a message to see if I she could give more of an explanation when a third message comes in. I sit back upright and don't bother finishing what I was typing, opting instead to call her phone and only send Please pick up.

Guilt as a motivator is not a foreign concept to me, but this sounded like something deeper. I don't know what exactly I'm going to say to her if she picks up, but I at least want to know if in this moment, she's okay.

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Oh, goddess, no. Nic’s text is quickly followed by my phone ringing. Please no. I sniff as I try to wipe the tears away. He’s going to know. Why does he always seem to know?

Wayland finally moves off the pillow and curls into my laugh. I huff a laugh, but it sounds strained because of my tears. My ringtone starts on its second round of ringing. I’m running out of time. I take a deep breath and sigh, sniffing before swiping up.

”Hi.”

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I almost grin when she answers, but I can hear a little bit of thickness in her voice. My brain scrambles to find what to say. "You still have a question you can ask me," I tell her, reminding her of the promise I had made on our way to Caden's house for dinner. "No strings attached, I will answer it completely to the best of my knowledge." Maybe I'm trying to distract her from whatever line of thinking had taken her to say she was guilty and needed to sacrifice.

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I sniff and laugh a little. I wipe my eyes and scratch Wayland's head. ”You didn’t call me in the middle of the night so I can ask you a question,” I say. ”You called because you are worried. You called because you never put yourself first, like me.”

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"So you admit it." I joke half-heartily before I sigh. "You're right though, but I thought I could maybe get you out of your own head for a moment." I chuckle darkly. "What's going on, can you tell me why you sent that last message?"

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I flop back onto my newly vacated pillow and pinch the bridge of my nose. ”That’s more of a conversation to have over drinks. A lot of drinks. And maybe I leave on a plane immediately after,” I half-joke. I fall silent and stare into the corner where the glowing eyes had been.

”It has to do with my family. It has to do with why I left Scotland. It’s…. A lot of things.”

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"If you really want that, we can go somewhere to drink, but I feel like it won't be very private." I sigh again with another chuckle before I straighten. "I don't want to push you if you don't want to tell me, but this sounds like something you're forcing yourself to suffer through. What happened?" I tuck a leg underneath me, turning to place the other leg on my coffee table as I open my laptop, quickly googling Scotland in past centuries.

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”I have whiskey,” I say off-handedly, but I don’t linger. I sigh heavily. ”Nic, you just buried your mother today. Could we maybe stick on your life crisis for another day? Some would say you are deflecting your own problems by trying to solve mine.”

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"Hey now, I started this conversation reminding you that you could ask me anything." I say before I sigh again. "My sister died my last year of pre-med. That's why I didn't become a doctor." I pull at my earlobe, waiting to see what her response will be. I know she had seen the gravestone next to my mother's - to be honest I was impressed she hadn't asked about her yet.

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I shut my eyes, resting a hand over my heart. I knew something must have happened with the way Nic talked about his sister at the shop. ”Nic… I’m so sorry. That can’t have been easy. Where…where the two of you close?” Of course, they must have been if he dropped school because of it. It must have torn a hole through the whole family. No wonder they were so close, and why the last remaining Wus’ hung on to each other so fiercely.