I actually really like this story and how you can see each of the characters grow through their toxic traits.
I used to hate Tessa, but I really love her growth. She started off as a brat who instigated an affair and basically took advantage of a mentally unstable guy, just because she thought he was hot. She hurt both him and Tommy with what she did, but she genuinely cared about Linus in the end and helped him out of severe depression. Then as she grew up, her marriage became distant and she basically learned what Tommy was probably going through, which she first blamed her for, and decided to leave rather than stay in a relationship which drained her. She still cares for Linus and now pushes him to seek help rather than drain herself again to pull him out of a depressive state he has no intention of leaving.
I actually kind of want to see her and Tommy meet up now that they've both grown up, maybe have an actual conversation about what went down before. I think the Tessa from now could probably realize that Tommy wasn't the neglectful monster she painted her out to be, and would be sorry for how she handled her childish crush.
Not saying that Tommy did everything right in her relationship with Linus BTW, I think she was just a bit self-centered and naive, she made assumptions about Linus' injuries and brushed off the signs of abuse, which Linus also excused and refused to talk about (just as he does with Tessa) . I don't think she was specifically neglectful, she just focused so much on her own life and goals that she ended up brushing off her partner who refused to open up, even though he was in desperate need for help. Once she realized he was suffering from abuse and such, she did care, but at that point it was already too late for their relationship...
And Linus, well... I kind of get it since I also suffer a lot from depression and stuff, but I also understand it's hard for the people around him as well. You can't help someone who's drowning when they refuse to get out of the water, and Linus desperately needs help but refuses to get said help when available. He accepted Tessa's help once and was immensely happy for a while, but he slowly went back to the water and started drowning again. He just doesn't believe he deserves to be happy, so he sabotaged himself over and over again, wallowing in the thought that he deserves it every time...
It does make me happy to see how he's grown to be a good father, and how he's so caring and supportive of the people around him. Hopefully he can see that he's grown up to be so different from his abusive father and move on from that trauma.
I actually really like this story and how you can see each of the characters grow through their toxic traits.
I used to hate Tessa, but I really love her growth. She started off as a brat who instigated an affair and basically took advantage of a mentally unstable guy, just because she thought he was hot. She hurt both him and Tommy with what she did, but she genuinely cared about Linus in the end and helped him out of severe depression. Then as she grew up, her marriage became distant and she basically learned what Tommy was probably going through, which she first blamed her for, and decided to leave rather than stay in a relationship which drained her. She still cares for Linus and now pushes him to seek help rather than drain herself again to pull him out of a depressive state he has no intention of leaving.
I actually kind of want to see her and Tommy meet up now that they've both grown up, maybe have an actual conversation about what went down before. I think the Tessa from now could probably realize that Tommy wasn't the neglectful monster she painted her out to be, and would be sorry for how she handled her childish crush.
Not saying that Tommy did everything right in her relationship with Linus BTW, I think she was just a bit self-centered and naive, she made assumptions about Linus' injuries and brushed off the signs of abuse, which Linus also excused and refused to talk about (just as he does with Tessa) . I don't think she was specifically neglectful, she just focused so much on her own life and goals that she ended up brushing off her partner who refused to open up, even though he was in desperate need for help. Once she realized he was suffering from abuse and such, she did care, but at that point it was already too late for their relationship...
And Linus, well... I kind of get it since I also suffer a lot from depression and stuff, but I also understand it's hard for the people around him as well. You can't help someone who's drowning when they refuse to get out of the water, and Linus desperately needs help but refuses to get said help when available. He accepted Tessa's help once and was immensely happy for a while, but he slowly went back to the water and started drowning again. He just doesn't believe he deserves to be happy, so he sabotaged himself over and over again, wallowing in the thought that he deserves it every time...
It does make me happy to see how he's grown to be a good father, and how he's so caring and supportive of the people around him. Hopefully he can see that he's grown up to be so different from his abusive father and move on from that trauma.