Elio's mind was a mess, and his body was frozen in shock as he tried to take in Andrew's reaction.
Meanwhile, Andrew stared at him, his heart hurting since the moment Elio started to tell him everything, but the moment he gazed at his eyes, the pain increased tenfold.
Andrew didn't think Elio even knew with what emotions his eyes and face were filled. It was pain, sadness, anger, and hatred.
It was a hidden pain he could see Elio himself didn't know still existed within him. It was a sadness he refused to accept. Anger for that fucker. And hatred to the people who put him into that.
They said he didn't feel emotions. He did. He always did, but he wasn't able to express it well. And no one was capable of making him feel them; no one was capable of seeing them or helping him with it.
Instead of trying to understand him, they thought of him as a monster and tried to make him one. As he gazed at him, Andrew was completely sure that Elio was never a monster, and he was still not.
