That little sign of embarrassment on his face made her cover her mouth to hide a small giggle. It was rare for her to see him falter at all in such a way, even if it was so minor. Her hand patted his shoulder for a moment and very quickly, wanting to keep any physical contact quick and appropriate as much as possible.

"Thank you. And don't worry about it, I am an adult now if you recall. I can handle myself."She stood up straight and tried to make herself as tall as possible, not that it probably made any difference to him. " I'll be able to do it on my own, if not it'll be my mistakes that make it fail. Either way, I want to do it on my own. But you can always just be supportive, I'm happy to have you near by to talk to. You're like a mountain that keeps me above the flood." She smiled brightly, grateful he was so willing to help even though he had to be very busy usually.

Then he asked about her father. She was quiet for a moment. It was as if someone dropped off something disgusting and everyone tried to ignore it as long as possible hoping it would disappear or be taken care of by another. She then sighed and shrugged. "Father's fine. His usual self really. Both of them are." There was true disappointment in her voice. If only the man next to her had adopted her, then she could call him father. It was a small secret wish of hers as impossible as it was. "I only told him I was coming here so they'd know. Not that I expected them to truly notice." She also wanted to make sure she could reach her money out here already having planned to get her monthly stipend transferred out to here, so she wouldn't have to depend on Malachi's kindness. He had his own life here and she wanted to help that grow.