FEEL BETTER

Salem can't function.

He doesn't go home. He messages Natalia and asks if she can take Ruby to school for a while—seriously, he can't face her—and she of course says yes. She checks on Salem, but he can't bring himself to talk about it. He gives her a half-assed, implausible excuse that he can't even remember. She doesn't pry, and then he's back to being alone.

He doesn't want to push his problems onto other people. He does attend the counseling sessions, but he gets irritated and leaves early every time. He just refuses to talk about it.

Anyway, yeah, Salem doesn't go home. He just fucking can't, he doesn't want to see anyone. He can't even look at himself in the mirror. He can't move on, can't live his life, for two days. He quite literally spends all his time in his jeep, sitting in the parking lot of the station and only exiting to take showers and attend aforementioned counseling.