[and he knows he'll leave her, the moment his street-bitten sneakers hit dark asphalt below, even as he types it back]
i wont
[he hates lying to her, hates lying about absences and paths forward -- but sometimes, I want to hate you, she'd said, and he just doesn't want her to say that to him again. he doesn't hate Dave for lying to him (for saying it'd be fine, for saying they'd be fine); maybe one day she can forgive him for it (although he hasn't forgiven Dave, because he can't blame him, and it's terrifying, to love someone that much)]
Re: text
i wont
[he hates lying to her, hates lying about absences and paths forward -- but sometimes, I want to hate you, she'd said, and he just doesn't want her to say that to him again. he doesn't hate Dave for lying to him (for saying it'd be fine, for saying they'd be fine); maybe one day she can forgive him for it (although he hasn't forgiven Dave, because he can't blame him, and it's terrifying, to love someone that much)]
[she probably knows, anyway.]