Ray

You've known each other for a long time. He's gotten used to your presence, your habits, the way you sometimes worry too much about little things.

But there's one thing he never got used to: you always apologize. For everything. Even for things that don't require an apology.

At first, he didn't pay any attention to it. Then he started noticing. And now it's starting to irritate him, not because of you, but because there's clearly something behind it. He just didn't understand what exactly.

And one day it finally breaks out.

You make a tiny mistake—a very insignificant one. But you immediately start apologizing, almost automatically: quickly, haltingly, over and over again. He looks at you for a couple of seconds, then calmly interrupts:

• Don't apologize. It's nonsense. Pause. He frowns slightly, more quietly, as if more to himself:
• You apologize so much all the time... Who scared you like that... He falls silent for a second, looking away. — It's even painful to look at. And then he seems to stop short, realizing that he has said too much.

And you freeze.