[Trey stays there, and his hand drifts to Cater's upper back, slowly rubbing as everything comes spilling out. His expression is somber and unchanging, eyes resting on the counter.

He lets out a small sigh at the end. That's... incredibly heavy. He'd always had a suspicion what was going on in Cater's mind, but never had this clear a picture. A lot of things make sense, now.]

Sounds like you have a lot of experience with abandonment.

[It's a quiet comment as he stews over what all he heard.

Finally, he goes with:]

I know this might be difficult to believe, but you aren't someone who I've just tolerated through high school and into college. You're my friend, and I care about you.

It wasn't ever as if I was just going to forget about you. Even if we both hadn't ended up here, I still had full intention of keeping in contact.

But... I guess I still didn't do it often enough to have you think otherwise.

[If there was anything he could have done, really. Cater seems to be fully immersed in this story where he's always alone. Besides being a self-fulfilling prophecy, any genuine attempts at connection are less likely to be noticed. Easier to doubt.]