bandaids-for-the-heart:

“I always thought I would be smarter than that. But when you’re living in it, the explosive looks like humanity. The manipulation looks like genuine regret. It’s so subtle. You can’t cut people off the moment their toe crosses the line. Because we all get too excited sometimes. So the first time your toe crossed my line, I picked up that line and I moved it and I called it compromise. After all, you were quick to apologize. So we moved on and then it happened again. But this time, you had been so upset. Who could blame you for not noticing that line when your vision was blurred from the tears in your eyes. So I gave you a hug and I picked it up and I moved it and then it happened again. But maybe that time, it was my fault. I didn’t draw the line bold enough. How were you supposed to know it was there? You can’t read my mind. So we talked about it and let it slide. After all, that’s what communication looks like. And in the in-betweens, you stayed on your side and I stayed on mine and we laughed and we danced and everything was fine. Until the day that I realized you had nine tenths of the room. That was the day you accused me of crossing your line to get to the door.”

— Crossing Your Line, V.P.