... I-I... I c-could not control... m-my usage... ... It was t-too easy for me, to be... c-consumed by them; they... they made me feel like... a n-normal [- he stumbles over the word -] person, because... b-because then I could talk to people w-without being so afraid, and...
[He trails off a moment.]
... I... I th-thought if, if I didn't, then... th-then Benjamin wouldn't... l-love me, anymore.
... And... and I-I was... right...
[The floodgates break, then. It's too much; Robert just curls forward and weeps into his cupped, cold hands.
[Action]
F-Five years, Helios. Five years...
... I-I... I c-could not control... m-my usage... ... It was t-too easy for me, to be... c-consumed by them; they... they made me feel like... a n-normal [- he stumbles over the word -] person, because... b-because then I could talk to people w-without being so afraid, and...
[He trails off a moment.]
... I... I th-thought if, if I didn't, then... th-then Benjamin wouldn't... l-love me, anymore.
... And... and I-I was... right...
[The floodgates break, then. It's too much; Robert just curls forward and weeps into his cupped, cold hands.
The tears feel strangely hot on his face.]