"Whoa, hey— deep breath." He takes the papers she pushes towards him, going to set them to the side for the moment so he can focus on her. He reaches out to grab both of her hands, making sure to squeeze them roughly in his own in order to help ground her in some way. He knows how easy it is for her to get lost in her doubts, her insecurities, her anxieties and how quickly she can spiral into catastrophizing like this. Sometimes even worse.
He shifts his seat so he can fully face her, leaning a little to try and force her to catch his eye. "You aren't a failure, or a burden, or weak just because you need help. Do you even see how much you do for me on a regular basis?" He smiles a little, letting go of one of her hands so he can put his fingers under her chin and tilt her head towards him. "You make me breakfast and pack another meal for me to have later on every day just because you know that I won't always eat right if I'm left to do it on my own. It doesn't matter if you've got early classes, you'll make it the night before if you need to. If I forget something at home, you almost always bring it to me at the theatre, even if I don't text you asking you to. Hell, you've even started doing my laundry half the time. All those are contributions. Just because I make more money right now doesn't mean that you're giving nothing."
He sits up a little straighter, letting his hand drop from her chin. "You'll crack in a week making those kinds of promises. I'm going to figure out how much you owe and we're going to set up a payment plan— get you caught up on your late fees and interest and focus on utilities first since they're hitting your credit the hardest. You'll put your credit cards somewhere safe so you don't have them on you to use while you're out until we're done... But that doesn't mean you can't buy things for yourself." He shakes his head at her dramatics, giving a chuckle. "I like getting you gifts, you know."
Jesse turns back to the bills, taking a deep breath. "If you're willing to not let your pride get in the way, I'll contribute enough so that you're only paying back what you actually spent on your cards. You'll have an easier time getting on top of it all that way. I'd say let me pay it out right so you can start from scratch, but I have a feeling that's probably asking too much."
no subject
He shifts his seat so he can fully face her, leaning a little to try and force her to catch his eye. "You aren't a failure, or a burden, or weak just because you need help. Do you even see how much you do for me on a regular basis?" He smiles a little, letting go of one of her hands so he can put his fingers under her chin and tilt her head towards him. "You make me breakfast and pack another meal for me to have later on every day just because you know that I won't always eat right if I'm left to do it on my own. It doesn't matter if you've got early classes, you'll make it the night before if you need to. If I forget something at home, you almost always bring it to me at the theatre, even if I don't text you asking you to. Hell, you've even started doing my laundry half the time. All those are contributions. Just because I make more money right now doesn't mean that you're giving nothing."
He sits up a little straighter, letting his hand drop from her chin. "You'll crack in a week making those kinds of promises. I'm going to figure out how much you owe and we're going to set up a payment plan— get you caught up on your late fees and interest and focus on utilities first since they're hitting your credit the hardest. You'll put your credit cards somewhere safe so you don't have them on you to use while you're out until we're done... But that doesn't mean you can't buy things for yourself." He shakes his head at her dramatics, giving a chuckle. "I like getting you gifts, you know."
Jesse turns back to the bills, taking a deep breath. "If you're willing to not let your pride get in the way, I'll contribute enough so that you're only paying back what you actually spent on your cards. You'll have an easier time getting on top of it all that way. I'd say let me pay it out right so you can start from scratch, but I have a feeling that's probably asking too much."