"So… think of everything as if it's dancing," Eve suggested. "What do you do to get better at dancing?" She didn't wait for him to respond. "You practice. Practice all the time, build muscle, build confidence, learn new routines and steps. Independence from your parents is little steps that combine to make a routine of you living your own life. You're here aren't you? You've moved out, which is a phenomenal start. And you're not pathetic, so don't even get me started down that path."
Rowan sighed and closed his eyes. "But if I change anything in my routine, they get mad and question me and threaten me… I feel like at some point, it's not worth the trouble, right? They'll be furious, and they'll cause a scene or ruin my whole life somehow…"
Eve's eyes widened, and she gripped Rowan's hand quickly. "They threaten you?" she asked quickly. "How?"
Rowan paled when Eve grabbed his hand, looking uneasy. His pulse noticeably quickened as well. "It's nothing… I don't even live there anymore, so it doesn't really matter."
Her eyes were worried. "Tell me," she begged. "What have they said to you?"
"I-It's nothing, really… mostly just… I'm only successful because of them, they'll take away the apartment, they'll… I dunno…" Rowan looked away, clearly uncomfortable.
"No they won't. I'll pay for it. You can still live here," Eve promised.
"I don't want you to have to do that, Eve… it's not fair to you. I-I don't want to be a burden on you too." Rowan insisted.
"You're not a burden," Eve dismissed his claim quickly. "It wouldn't be any trouble. You could repay me with your cooking." She cracked a smile, hoping he would too.
Rowan's lip quivered briefly before he buried his face in Eve's shoulder. "No, no… no… they would show up. They… they would be so angry with me… I c-can't…"
Eve gasped softly, but she embraced him lovingly. "Hey, hey… it's okay," she whispered. "It's okay."
"If they… if I step out of line at all, t-they're going to show up and deal with me… m-make sure I don't… do it again…" Rowan whispered weakly, clinging to Eve. "G-God, I'm so pathetic… look at me."
"And I will be there when they do to give them a piece of my mind," Eve finished. "You are not pathetic, now would you stop saying that?"
"B-But I am… I'm freaking out over my parents and I'm… I'm an adult…" Rowan's breathing was pretty shallow by now, and he was trembling a bit. "I c-can't do it… I can't see them again. Please…"
Eve held Rowan tightly, resting her cheek against his hair. "Relax, darling, please," she urged him gently. "You'll be alright, I promise."
Rowan tightened his grip on Eve, his heart beating a mile a minute. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm s-so sorry…" He whispered shakily. His hands were shaking badly by now, and what was visible of his face was very pale.
"Shhh, shhh," Eve whispered. Her hands gently rubbed his back in alternating directions to calm him down. "Relax. They're not here. You're safe. You're safe."
It took Rowan a while to start breathing more regularly again, and he was pale and jittery. He was still clinging to Eve for comfort. He kept whispering apologies, although his voice was getting weaker.
Eve continued rubbing his back and whispering sweet little nothings to him to help him feel better as she waited for him to relax.
When Rowan was finally a bit calmer, he seemed exhausted, and he was still a bit pale and quaky. His breathing was pretty raspy now, and his grip on Eve was significantly weaker. "M'sorry…"
Eve relaxed her grip slightly as Rowan's weakened. "Don't be," she whispered. "Don't apologize for trauma, darling. Everyone has dealt with it at some point."
Rowan looked up at Eve weakly, his eyes distant and dull. "But it shouldn't fall to you to deal with me, I… I-I normally do this by myself…" He whispered.
"I think it's time you let go and shared your pain with someone else," Eve murmured.
Rowan shook his head weakly. "No… no… I-I gotta do it myself…" He mumbled. "M'sorry… you shouldn't have to deal with my problems, Eve…"
"You've already dealt with some of mine," Eve protested. "This is weighing on you too heavily. I can tell. Please let me help."
"But… but I can't… you'll think less of me than I'm sure you already do." Rowan whispered in reply.
Eve frowned. "Look at me," she instructed and used her fingertips under Rowan's chin to turn his head so he faced her. "I don't think any less of you because of your parents." She leaned in and placed a brief, chaste kiss on his lips before pulling away to look back into his eyes. "In fact, I think very highly of you now."
Rowan looked drained, and pretty upset, although he wasn't quite crying. He might as well have been specifically trained not to cry by his parents. "But I'm so… weak. I never fight back. I just let them walk all over me all the time, Eve… you don't think less of me for being such a pushover?"
Her eyes softened as she cupped his face in her hands and looked deeply and earnestly into his eyes. "Never."
"Well… you should. I don't deserve your respect…" Rowan closed his eyes and leaned into Eve's gentle touch, clearly craving some positive attention.
