“How terrible for you,” Helena said. “You were horribly victimized.” She laughed that mirthless laugh again. “You didn’t ever think, not once, that maybe she didn’t need you to reciprocate her self-loathing fantasies? It didn’t cross your mind that maybe she needed you to be a nice fucking guy? Take her aside and say, ‘You asked me to be your adviser, so I’m going to advise you. You’re a good kid, but we shouldn’t be working together, and I think it would be helpful for you to talk to one of the campus mental health counselors.’ But you couldn’t do that and get what you wanted.” “If I wanted
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