Page 152 of Come Apart
Her eyes find mine. "And when will that be enough?"
"When she's better."
Alyssa looks out the window. "I'm trying here, I really am, because I know you mean well. But I can't do this. I can't be with you unless you let go of this."
"But..."
"From everything you tell me, it's clear she has some kind of serious problem. Maybe depression. Maybe borderline personality disorder. I don't know. I'm not a shrink. And neither are you. Maybe you don't realize this, because you're fortunate enough not to have had any brushes with mental illness, but you can't friendship her out of her sickness. She needs a professional, not a friend, and not a friend acting like a boyfriend."
"I can't just let her... hurt herself."
"You can't stop her," Alyssa says. "If that's what she really wants, you won't be able to stop her."
"Ally..."
She looks right at me. Her eyes are on fire, but there's something so sad about her expression. "I'm sorry, but I love you too much to share you. If we're going to do this, we need to do this all the way."
"Give it another month."
"I can't." She moves into the bedroom. Without a word, she gathers her things and heads for door. "I hope you come to your senses."
And then she's gone. Again.
Fuck.
