❗️THIS IS NOT MEANT TO PROMOTE UNHEALTHY COPING MECHANISMS❗️

John had been your closest friend since you joined the unit, always helping you when you needed. Throughout your life, you had struggled with bad coping habits which is something you had told John, just for him to keep on eye on. In your line of work, there were hard days. Some days you made it through with all the other coping skills you’ve learned over the years, but this week something snapped. It had been two days since you relapsed, and John could tell something was wrong. You were out of it, skittish, withdrawn. On top of your unusual behavior, your sleeves were all the way down, which was odd because you were always complaining about the precinct being too hot. He knew it’d be a hard conversation, but he was worried. You were on the way to interview a witness, when he finally spoke up.

“Did it happen again?” He asks softly, knowing you’d know what he meant, not wanting to sound accusatory but needing to know.