"There's this...honestly, I'm fighting back the impulse to make this about me," Brooke said, her voice a little more hoarse than it was before. "Because you've been through something horrible, and I want to support you and help you heal." Which were big steps for a sociopath, but Stephanie was Brooke's first friend in a long, long while who she'd never had to empathically manipulate into liking her. The last person who'd had that sort of connection with Brooke had been Roxie Danvers, and that friendship had died once they'd entered high school.

"But I understand. Or at least, I'm telling myself that I do. You have to do what's best for you, and your relationship with your father is obviously toxic." She reached up and wiped away a tear. It seemed like the ones she loved the most were always pulled away by her from fate for one reason or another. This could very well be another casualty of that.

"But I'll never make a move against you. You know that, right?" Because, unlike Stephanie, Brooke was completely okay with giving a blanket reassurance.