[He still believes that. About Cairo. He does. But what he knows of Cairo he learned from Riley, who learned it through years of friendship. He doesn't have years of friendship with anyone. The person who knows him best, frankly, is Riley.]
[So why has he been trying so hard with anyone else?]
i love you, you know. i love you anyway, but you're the only person i know who understands this. so i love you for not hiding it from me. i don't think i'd know what to do otherwise.
[. . .]
[What are the words she said? He tries to remember the words.]
what do i do if someone's scared of me? if someone tells me all of it is too much. that seeing me fall apart is frightening, and the way i used to be felt safer. but the way i used to be wasn't real. not entirely. not even mostly. so what do i do?
no subject
[So why has he been trying so hard with anyone else?]
i love you, you know. i love you anyway, but you're the only person i know who understands this. so i love you for not hiding it from me. i don't think i'd know what to do otherwise.
[. . .]
[What are the words she said? He tries to remember the words.]
what do i do if someone's scared of me?
if someone tells me all of it is too much. that seeing me fall apart is frightening, and the way i used to be felt safer.
but the way i used to be wasn't real. not entirely. not even mostly. so what do i do?