"And I appreciate that," he says, and means it, even if it can sound like a dismissal. "But bringing this up every time something happens isn't helping me. People cope in their own ways; I have mine. You have yours."

And that's the thing, isn't it. She doesn't have to like how he lives, but she doesn't get to decide that, up to and including using this breed of pushiness. It certainly doesn't endear him to the idea of talking to anyone, least of all her, even if he might've been inclined to at some point.

"I understand that you want to help, but I'm not having this conversation with you again."

Her age, her constant work to understand the world she's in, got her this much leeway; but there are limits, even with him.