Even though it's a relief to see that he isn't angry, and that if anything, his reaction is a muted one, Sookie still feels every other emotion under the sky mixed up in one, save for happiness, which seems to elude her just now. What she needs now, more than anything else, may very well be reassurance. But that seems like a cruel thing to get from someone she's just let down in such a way. It seems irresponsible, scrambling for comfort that she doesn't feel deserving of at the moment, and Sookie sighs through her teeth as she tries her best to figure out what she's supposed to do now in return for that smile.

"I'm not running straight back to him," Sookie says, her voice careful, and the words slow. It's hard, she thinks, to express this in the way that she wants, not making excuses for herself, but also not wanting Mathias to get the wrong idea, the notion that he meant so little to her that he was easy to throw aside in the moment. That isn't it. (Not in the slightest.) "We broke up for a reason, and it's a big reason that I guess I don't need to go into, but... I was with him longer than I've ever been with anyone else. And when you find out that there's a chance again, I— I don't know if it'll work out. No matter what, things aren't gonna be perfect right away. But if I didn't tell you now, it'd all feel like a lie, and that is the last thing that I wanna do to anyone. Especially someone like you. I hope that makes. I don't know, some sense. All this aside, I just don't want this to be something that stops us from knowing each other and enjoying each other's company, but I know that's asking for a lot."