[ Guilt rises up in his throat and threatens to choke him - and his immediate response is to pull away and run away. To not deal with it. Cold turkey cut Alfie out, nothing is good enough, so fine, let's just not, I'll get a different house and we just won't.
It's an instinct from a long, long time ago, and he has to beat it down. ]
You do things fine most of the time, Alfie, don't. [ And he really thinks that's true - like 95% of the time, Alfie knows exactly what to say to him, it's just. When he doesn't, he really doesn't. His voice is tense and a little upset, because he feels like he's explained this before. ] When I tell you that you are doing something that bothers me, I want you to admit that you do that thing, apologize, and then you can justify it to me.
It makes me angry when you justify first, because it makes me feel like you're not listening to me. It sounds like you are making excuses. Does that make sense? I'm being as clear as I can be.
no subject
It's an instinct from a long, long time ago, and he has to beat it down. ]
You do things fine most of the time, Alfie, don't. [ And he really thinks that's true - like 95% of the time, Alfie knows exactly what to say to him, it's just. When he doesn't, he really doesn't. His voice is tense and a little upset, because he feels like he's explained this before. ] When I tell you that you are doing something that bothers me, I want you to admit that you do that thing, apologize, and then you can justify it to me.
It makes me angry when you justify first, because it makes me feel like you're not listening to me. It sounds like you are making excuses. Does that make sense? I'm being as clear as I can be.