I stood frozen for some time, watching the tears fall from his face, and him using his hand to try to stop them. I wasn't emotionally equipped to handle such a situation, but I unfortunately decided to try.
I narrowed the distance between us and put a hand on his shoulder. I rubbed slowly, hoping he would be quick to get himself together and leave. I was surprisingly well put for someone who was completely freaking out.
The sniffling slowed down, and it got better somewhat. I left him and went round the sofa to take a seat. I didn't look at him, hoping he'd be close to leaving by then. Part of me wondered if I was the bad guy here.
Was I?
A few moments of silence passed and I almost thought he was gone, until I heard the springs on the sofa bouncing. I rolled my eyes seeing his jeans next to me. I didn't care if he saw.
"I really do like him you know," he quietly said, just loud enough for me to hear him.
"I'd feel really bad just abandoning him like that," he finished with a whisper.
I hoped he didn't expect me to feel sorry for him. I'd already told him how I felt. Yet, a part of me did want to hear his side of things, just to confirm that I wasn't crazy.
His words seemed sincere, but I knew better than to believe anything from the mouth of someone who couldn't even be honest with his name. I'd met my fair share of dishonest people so my guard was always up.
"Better now than never, you really think it's better to abandon him after he's fallen in love with you?"
My tone was calm but judgemental. I wanted to punch him for making himself into the victim. I held myself back as much as I could, hoping that that would be last time I was talking to him.
What kind of skeletons could he have been hiding in his closet? Did I want to know? Probably not.
"Alright," he said after several more seconds of silence. His voice was steady. He stood up awkwardly and I followed suit, waiting for him to leave and never come back.
"Thanks," he said as he suddenly pulled me into an involuntary hug. Since this was goodbye, I let him have it and hugged him back, though not as tightly as he did me, not wanting to give him the wrong idea.
"We could have been friends you know," he said after pulling away, looking earnestly into my eyes. I instinctively but slowly shook my head with denial. In no universe would I have considered being friends with someone I knew from the bat that he was a liar.
His eyes expressed shock, and vaguely, pain. The truth, though more painful, was better than a lie.
"Not if you lie so much, not if I can't trust a single word you say."
