[ His eyes grow soggy as he crumples to the ground. ]

Neither do I. I still love you, too. Call me selfish, but I was so happy thinking you wanted to spend more time with me when you talked about our own place.

That joy then felt premature and short-lived, and I was scared since I was already rejected once before. I had gotten over it, but having it happen twice in succession felt hard to bear and that perhaps the problem lay within me.