"Can I ask you something?" Zeke says after a while.
"Anything."
"What do you need from me? To feel normal again?"
I think about it. "I need you to let me make my own choices about where I go and when. I need you to trust that I'll reach out if I need help. I need-" I pause, trying to articulate it. "I need to feel like I'm your partner, not your responsibility."
"You've never been just a responsibility. You're everything."
"I know. But sometimes, the way you act, it makes me feel like you see me as fragile. Like I'm something that might break if you're not careful enough."
"You're not fragile. You're the strongest person I know."
"Then treat me like it. Let me be strong. Let me prove to myself that I can handle things."
He nods. "Okay. I can do that. But I need something from you t
