Kane didn't like the days he didn't see Vera. They were so much more boring. And after he finished his books, he had hours in which to do nothing but go back out to the common area and watch sports. Again.
After being in this place forced to participate for a few weeks with no sign of Casey reappearing, she had only missed a three or four days but those days were the worst. He needed both her food and her entertainment value. Even if dealing with her could be exhausting because he didn't understand her and she was always sad.
He didn't know how to deal with sadness. That wasn't an emotion he had ever experienced for himself.
"What do you do with people when they're sad?" he ended up asking in individual therapy one day.
Dr. Pratchett looked at him with a neutral expression. "Why do you want to know?"
"I don't like it."
"Are you talking about Vera?"
