“I was a different person then. I didn’t appreciate what we had, not in the way I should have. You were my best friend, and I let you walk right out of my life. I’m sorry, Avery. I was so consumed with my own ego to believe I could somehow fix the world for everyone around me, all the while hurting the one person who mattered the most in mine.” His finger crooked under my chin and gently lifted it so I could look into his eyes. His voice was soft, almost a whisper. “But don’t think for a minute that I walked away completely unscathed.”
