I just listened to a 43-minute voice note of him crying over his ex, but the second I asked if we’re ever going on an actual date, he hit me with 'let's just keep things chill'. I'm 22, stuck in my childhood bedroom whispering into WhatsApp at 2 AM like an idiot. Why am I good enough to fix his heartbreak, but too much to ask out?

Short version: You’re not his situationship, you’re his unpaid late-night therapist. He wants the VIP emotional buffet—the deep late-night intimacy, the listening ear, the ego boost—without paying the cover charge of actually committing to you. That icy wall that drops the moment you ask for something back? It’s not about you being 'too much'. It’s him realizing he might actually have to show up for somebody else for once. You didn't move back home to host a free walk-in clinic for an emotionally unavailable guy's ex-trauma from under your teenage duvet. The next time his voice memo looks like a podcast episode, don't press play. Send one tidy sentence: 'Sounds like you have a lot to unpack, but I’m looking for someone who’s ready to date me, not mourn their past with me. Good luck.' And then mute him. Your 2 AM sleep is worth way more than being someone's emotional rebound sponge.