Sitting on the edge of my bed, I stared blankly at the wall, the faint glow of my phone screencasting an eerie light in the dim room. The echoes of the evening replayed in my mind, each moment tinged with regret. I couldn’t shake the image of Wayne’s crestfallen expression as he stood there, offering me his best attempt at a dinner date. A Waldorf salad instead of a Cobb? Really? I felt like an i***t. Why did I let my frustration boil over?
I buried my face in my hands, feeling a wave of guilt crash over me. I could still hear the tremor in his voice, the hurt that seeped through the walls he tried to put up. All I wanted to do was push him away, but every time I did, it felt like I was carving out a piece of myself.
Wayne had been nothing but genuine. His enthusiasm had always been in
