“Like yours used to be?” I asked. I was a little freaked out, and also slightly confused, but was glad that the topic of conversation had shifted away from me.

“Mhm.” Nathaniel told me. “I went through a pretty serious depression a while back…”

I heard the hesitation in his voice. I jumped in, “Hey, you don’t have to tell me anything. You hardly know me…”

The last part was much too true. I feared he would never truly know me… I feared that no one would ever fully know me ever again. Thinking these things brought tears to my eyes again. A sob choked up my throat.

“Anabell?” Nathaniel asked. His voice was layered thick with concern, worry, and confusion.

I swallowed the sob back. After taking a deep breath I said, “Hm?”

“Uh, are you okay?” He asked, clearly taken aback by my perfectly stable sounding voice.

“Yup. Just chipper.” I told him, trying desperately to fill my voice with the happiness my insides were lacking.