Page 62 of A Solid Guide to Surviving a Situationship

“You gave time,” he went on. “Attention. Consistency. You showed up like it was something real. So, of course it hurts. You invested in something that had no guarantee of return.”

I stared at my drink. “So what am I supposed to do with that? Just not give a shit next time?”

Andre shook his head. “No. you don’t stop giving. You just stop giving where it’s not clear.”

I let out a breath, shaking my head slightly. “I tried, you know,” I said. “I asked him once—what we were.”

“And?”

“He hated the question.”

“What do you mean?”

“He got defensive. Made it sound like I was ruining what we had just by asking.”

Andre’s expression didn’t change—but his jaw tightened.

“So I dropped it,” I continued. “I figured… maybe if I stopped asking, we’d just naturally become something.”

“Did you?”

I frowned. “Become something?”

I looked down.

“…No.”

Andre nodded once.

“James.”

“What?” I looked at him.

“You keep saying he never gave you an answer, but he did.”

My brows pulled together.

“No, he didn’t.”

“He did,” he said. “He just didn’t give you the answer you wanted.”

I stared at him.

Andre rested his forearms on the table.

“Think about it. You asked for clarity and he responded by making you feel guilty for asking.”

I opened my mouth to counter, but nothing came.

“People think answers only come in words,” he continued. “But most of the time, they come in reactions.”

A beat.

“James, pay attention to the answer, not the hope”

I looked at him.

“If someone makes you feel like asking for clarity is a problem—that is your clarity.”