He freezes in place at the drape of arm, but at least doesn't knock it away, only slumps after a few long moments, as if in defeat. Fucked up is an understatement, he knows that. It's not a thing most kids had to deal with, he's pretty sure of that much, but that doesn't make things any less complicated. It's all he knows, what the hell else is he gonna do about it.

And there's always been a part of him that figures he deserves it. His mom left him behind; he's always figured, deep down, there was a reason she didn't take him with her. That she left him with the monster. And if she left him with the monster, then maybe that meant he was a monster too. Especially after everything with the Mindflayer, it just cemented it. He deserved everything he got. End of story.

"It's whatever. Can't change it now, right?"