The doctor nodded.
“So.. you say you ‘fell’ for this girl.”
“Yes..”
“And what happened when it ended?”
“Well, she ended it, so I was kind of down afterwards…”
“And that eventually turned into this?” the doctor motioned toward Nathaniel.
“No… I was down, but I never cut or anything like that.”
“Mmm so when did you decide that you hadn’t truly fallen for her?”
Nathaniel shrugged, leaning back against the bed.
“I guess when I was over her. I figured that love would’ve been alot harder to lose than just a first relationship.”
The doctor smiled, as though he were about to applaud him.
“You’re very wise in this instance. Teenagers often misconstrew feelings of like and love, which are two very different feelings. And you’re right in saying that losing a loved one would hurt alot more than losing a liked one…” the doctor trailed off once more, this time catching the boy’s eyes. Nathaniel thought he saw a flicker of pain, but the doctor looked away before he could be sure.