~Elsie's POV
"I do not know how to stop thinking like this," I admitted.
"That is okay," she said immediately. "You are not supposed to fix it in one conversation. We will work through it slowly."
I stayed quiet after that, breathing a little unevenly but not as sharp as before.
Doctor Hale leaned back slightly.
"For now," she said, "we start with one simple truth. You are not at fault for what was done to you. You did not deserve it. And you do not have to punish yourself for it every day."
My throat tightened again, but this time I did not speak.
I just sat there with the words, letting them sit around me even if I could not fully hold them yet.
She stayed a little longer after our conversation. She was not in a rush, not like she was trying to fix everything in one sitting, but like she understood that my silence still had weight inside it.
