[ Steve's words hit him like a splash of freezing water. They don't hurt, exactly-- it's not like it even was Steve's intent to hurt him. It's more like a system shock, that wake-up call he's been doing his damnedest to avoid. What Steve says is the truth: he's the reason they haven't been communicating, not Steve. And he knows it-- he's known it, because how could he not? It's been a conscious choice on his part.
But it doesn't mean he's ready to have this talk. He'd put it off longer if it was solely up to him, but it's not; that's not how friendship works. These past couple of weeks, they've been a crash course in remembering what it's like to have that. This conversation might be painful, but it needs to happen. ]
I know. [ It's only two reluctant words, but they carry an undercurrent of guilt that lingers heavily between them. ] But I don't even know what I want you to say.
[ Because everything about him, about the past seventy years, is just so messy, so complicated, so ugly. ]
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But it doesn't mean he's ready to have this talk. He'd put it off longer if it was solely up to him, but it's not; that's not how friendship works. These past couple of weeks, they've been a crash course in remembering what it's like to have that. This conversation might be painful, but it needs to happen. ]
I know. [ It's only two reluctant words, but they carry an undercurrent of guilt that lingers heavily between them. ] But I don't even know what I want you to say.
[ Because everything about him, about the past seventy years, is just so messy, so complicated, so ugly. ]