... I know. It did matter, what you thought. It mattered a lot to me.

[He reaches out, slides the phone over to sit in front of him. He clasps it in one hand tightly.]

I nudged at you all the time, tried to see if you'd admit there was something just — wrong with me, like I thought there was. Like I knew there was, since... god, I can't even remember when I started feeling it. And every time I poked and prodded and pissed you off, you'd say something that made me second-guess the crap I felt about myself, despite everything I seemed to be.

[He breathes out, rapping his fingers on the table top.]

I guess at some point, I just gave in to what I thought, instead.