A Relapse Story (Vincent) {Trigger Warning}

[Adaryn Breslin]

"I mean, I guess I was expecting it ever since Louise died and I told my mom what I did." The young girl always tried to avoid the subject, but it was necessary today. She had just dug a knife into her arm as deep as she could manage. Vincent saw all the blood. Addie couldn't hold this stuff in anymore. If she did, she'd deteriorate even further and maybe the next time she wouldn't live to tell the tale.

But Addie didn't want a next time.

Adaryn wanted to be happy, and Adaryn wanted to feel free. The more that she spoke, the girl realized, the lighter she felt. The brunette still blamed herself for everything, but she figured she might as well get her insecurities out now. They were on the topic, and Vincent was listening and not judging.

"My mom wouldn't even look at me unless she had to. Whenever she spoke to me, it was monotonous and the only emotion she displayed was contempt. She wouldn't even let me hold Carly, my little sister."

No, Addie was going to continue without choking up. She had to.

"So the minute she could, she shipped me off to the dorms to live here. My dad said nothing because he is the kind of guy who is like 'I love you, but your mom would be happier if you were gone. You have to understand that'. So basically happy wife equals happy life. Forget about how his daughter feels."

Her tone was pained, but she could manage. What Adaryn didn't realize that she was strong. Yes, she hurt herself. But she had stopped for so long. She dealt with parents who barely even cared. She dealt with the pain of thinking she killed her own sister. It was all painful, but yet she kept living. Addie kept living, always trying to make other's happy and not cause them any pain.

At least someone realized that fact for her.

"I just, it hurt. I don't have parents. I don't have anymore siblings. And I lost one of my best friend's not too long ago." She was referring to Monroe, but Vincent didn't need to know that.

"I didn't know what else to do."

[Vincent Meian]

The name rang a bell, vaguely. "Louise was... your sister, correct?" he asked, only that question interrupting the train of thought and emotion. Living relatives were listed in the files, though so were trigger events - according to the recruiter notes, Addie had believe that she killed her own sister when her powers were manifested, though it was later deemed to be a false presumption on the girl's part.

As she spoke, Vincent pieced together his student's predicament; her powers had come in during a time of hardship for the family and amplified the emotions of her sister, who later committed suicide. Their mother had blamed Addie for it and grew cold in the intervening months, her father was likely more sensible about the matter but chose not to fight the process. Her mother had then -recently- cut all ties with the hurt girl, and combined with some sort of falling out with a friend (of which, he could tell, Addie believed she had very few), it had been enough to drive the girl to grievous self-harm. It wasn't all the information he could have received, but it was more than enough to understand her side of the story. And that was all he needed.

"When we hurt, it is hard to believe that there is anyone that will share that burden with us," the tall man answered after a moment of consideration. "Especially in circumstances as yours, where your blood relatives turned from you over a misunderstanding." No, he would not sugar-coat here - a parent should never blame their child for an accident. Accountability was one thing; this was cruelty. "It may feel that your burdens are too great to share, or that no one will understand your feelings. Why the causes, great and small, are so important when an objective view may mark them as insignificant. Such things will often drive a strong person to break."

Vincent would maintain that his student was strong for as long as it took for her to believe it herself, no matter how much time was needed.

"Should anything like this occur again, when you feel you cannot hold up the weight of your pain, I ask you to come to me." He was honest and open with here, his expression kind and understanding. The wounded veteran in him empathized greatly - he had known this hurt, if in a different way. "If there is nothing else I can do for you, I will always listen. You can speak to me on anything that troubles you, and I will listen. I ask only that you think of this before you turn another hurt against yourself."

He paused briefly, then added with a gentle hand on her shoulder, "There are people who wish to see you alive and well, Adaryn-san. Not only myself, but your friends and teachers, those who chose to be a part of your life. If you believe you have no family, you need only to look at those who have opened themselves to you to be proven wrong."

[Adaryn Breslin]

Adaryn listened, never opening her mouth once to interject. There was nothing that she could say that would convince her Trainer of the opinions she had towards herself. There were times where she just felt worthless, such as now, and this is the outcome of such helplessness.

Her eyes fell to the bloodied shirt she wore, her hand touching the fabric gingerly. An idle thought ran through her head then. What if Vincent never found her? What would have happened then? Would she have lost so much blood that she would have died? Or would she have cut again, or even stabbed herself? What if that blood was not from her arm, but from her stomach as well?

A knot formed in her throat, and she swallowed. Adaryn may have been dead, and then what would happen? Adaryn didn't believe in another world, another life, after death. She always thought of it to be just complete nothingness. No feelings. No people. Just... emptiness. And that was even more terrifying than the thought of living in pain.

So why did she do it?

"You saved me," The girl mumbled, her gaze moving towards her wounded arm. "I thought I was alone, and yet you saved me." Addie knew that her father would have never done such a thing, and instead, would have just shipped her off to the hospital's mental ward.

The blue eyed brunette opened her mouth to say something more, but her lips closed as quickly as they opened. What was going to be said was lost in the back of her mind. It wasn't the right time to say such things, the thought still as painful as the wound she inflicted just a few hours prior to that moment.

"You saved me." She opted for those words instead.

[Vincent Meian]

That he had probably saved Addie's life was not in question; there was the strong possibility that, given her mental state, she would not have considered calling for help. However, Vincent did not believe such things - it takes time for a person to succumb to such injuries, and his student was (is) a strong and smart girl. She would have known herself well enough to cry out before it was too late.

That is what he believed, anyway.

"I was here for you, nothing more," the trainer replied. "You made the decision to trust me and accept my help. To accept that you are not alone. I saved you only as much as you saved yourself."

[Adaryn Breslin]

"I still don't know how to handle this, Mr. Meian." Her string of honesty continued, her body going slack from general exhaustion. She may have just slept for two hours, but it didn't help her much. Especially when she woke up from it, sleeping.

"My parents weren't active in my life since I came to Hammel... but they've always been there. What will happen to me? I won't be able to go to college because I won't have any financial help, and my Job won't be able to pay for all of that."

The girl gave a sigh, placing her head in her hands. But the first thing she saw when doing so was the blood on her shirt. No, she didn't want it there. But she reeked of the bodily fluid, and her hair rested against her face in a sweaty mass. She needed a shower. She needed to sleep.

"I-I just want to shower and change my clothes. I just want to sleep some more... Is that okay?"

[Vincent Meian]

It was a difficult thing, losing things that seemed so solid and sure when you needed them the most. Coming to Hammel should have meant a strong support network in the school, and (in most situations) support from home in one form or another. To have family, blood relatives, simply refuse that obligation was heartbreaking.

But. It wasn't the end of the world. There were still people who cared for Addie, and ways for her to get by so long as she stayed at the school. She was still a minor, now a ward of the state, and she had another year at least before she could be turned out on the world on her own. There were also programs for people like her who had no support from home, though he was still unfamiliar with the US tax code and such programs. Still, there were counselors and teachers who knew more than the tall man in that regard, and he'd be more than happy to direct his student to their expertise.

"For now, nothing will change," Vincent answered calmly. "You are to remain at the Hammel Institute until you have passed both your training and educational requirements, and are no younger than eighteen. You have, at minimum, over a year to plan for the future. The guidance counselors are more versed than I in this country's scholarship and social programs, and I am certain they will find a way for you to attend a university if you so desire."

All of that could wait until later, however. With a nod and another gentle pat on her shoulder, the Japanese man stood and held out a scarred hand to help the slight girl to her feet. "Very well. I must attend other duties as well. Should you need anything - to converse or to simply have companionship - you may call me. I will answer."

He'd leave his cell phone and office numbers on her desk. Better that she have the information and not need it than... well.

"Is there anything else I may do for you, Adaryn-san?" He could take her bloodied clothes to the laundry (or the garbage) once she went into the bathroom, or he could ask the kitchen to prepare a meal for her since she missed dinner, or he could ask Nik to stop by again. Almost anything she needed, the trainer would be willing to provide.