I perceive Lacroix alive and present in the present-day story as getting in the way of us seeing what Nick's really fighting

Interesting.

I appreciate your perspective. It's some good insight should I ever be in the position to write for you again :)

This nostalgically brings to mind...

It's always fascinating how readers and writers can differ in their understanding of what a story is. I have a Teen Wolf ficlet I wrote that was meant to be an exploration of grief, but the comments I got on it are all about how cute and heartwarming it is--which, to me, is the opposite of what the reader is supposed to get. Still, if the reader liked the story and took something away from it, then I have to consider the writing a success.