Bruce moves her heart, even if he does not persuade the melancholy to abandon her face entirely. She never wonders if he means what he says, truly. The only one she has known him to lie to is himself. Alas, the other truth about Bruce is that he is a man who carries many truths, a man who exists in multitudes. So, she believes him when he says he wanted her upon his awakening, and she also believed him when he said he no longer wished to see her. Now, she stares at him, eyes blinking at expected intervals, though inside her chest, warmth spreads.
It takes her awhile to find her voice. For a moment, she can imagine him, lost in the sheets of his bed, searching for her body that has not been beside his in weeks. She nods, as though to confirm the visual. ā And did that desire end like all your others? ā asks the lover. ā With you denying yourself what you want? ā