Chapter 114
Chapter One Hundred Fourteen
DeadStrings: Will you bring dessert?
DeadStrings: Sounds like a plan.
DeadStrings: I’m working on it. Trying to earn it.
StringTheory27: Interesting.
DeadStrings: Right? The question is . . . what if she’s not ready for us? I can do all the work, but what if she’s not there yet—or not interested at all?
Would you be?
StringTheory27: Interested in what?
DeadStrings: A relationship.
StringTheory27: With who? The guy I used to date or a new one?
DeadStrings: What if he’s the same, but you don’t recognize him immediately? Because he’s changed.
StringTheory27: But I still like him, right?
DeadStrings: I’d say you do. You’re still talking to him.
StringTheory27: Then yes. If I still like him and he can accept this version of me—because I’ve changed too—then yeah, I’d give it a try.
DeadStrings: Would you be okay if he’d been keeping something from you?
StringTheory27: So . . . he wasn’t honest?
DeadStrings: He found out something and wasn’t sure if he should tell you. He wasn’t ready to come forward.
StringTheory27: Then he needs to explain that.
“Hey, this happened. I didn’t know how to talk about it. I waited.”
That’s not betrayal. That’s timing. In your case, you have a lot going on. It’s understandable if you couldn’t say it out loud until you were ready. We all hold things back when we’re scared. What matters is choosing to come forward when it counts.
DeadStrings: You think?
StringTheory27: I’m guessing the woman you love doesn’t know something—something big. And you’re terrified it’ll make her walk away.
DeadStrings: Yeah.
StringTheory27: Listen to me:
If, after everything you two have been through, she can’t see you now—can’t even try to understand—then that rejection? That’s on her, not you. You hear me?
DeadStrings: Yeah. Any songs for courage?
StringTheory27: Always
Playlist: Songs for the Scared but Still Showing Up
“Brass in Pocket” —The Pretenders
Because confidence sometimes starts as a whisper before it becomes a roar.
“Heroes” —David Bowie
Even if just for one day. Even if you’re shaking the whole time.
“I Want to Break Free” —Queen
When you’re ready to stop hiding from yourself.
“Don’t Stop” —Fleetwood Mac
It’s not about forgetting—it’s about believing in tomorrow.
“Wouldn’t It Be Nice” —The Beach Boys
Hope in its most innocent form. It helps to believe in good endings.