When he left, I said, “So this is why we could have no video calls?”
David answered immediately. “I didn’t want you to see me yet.”
“So you just kept lying?”
“I kept meaning to tell you.”
“When?”
“After the first month.”
“But it’s been months now, and you haven’t.”
He looked away.
I felt something in me crack.
“Was I ever supposed to come here?”
David was quiet too long.
I already knew.
“No, I didn’t think I would invite you anytime soon.”
“You never wanted to meet me?”
“That’s not what I said.”
“Then what are you saying?”
He lifted his eyes. “I thought if I kept you far enough away, I could keep being the version of myself you liked.”
The hallway went very quiet.
“Do you understand how cruel that is?”
His face crumpled. “Yes.”
“You decided for me. You decided I wouldn’t like you if I saw you.”
