here's my dilemma: someone I work with knows The Flake and knows him well. This person sees him at least once a week. I'm pretty open about my past, but I keep catching myself telling half-truths, or not answering direct questions.

The thing is I don't want to affect my coworker's opinion of The Flake. I have my reasons for feeling the way I do about him. He may be a totally different person. He may be the exact same. I don't know. But I don't want to lie about our history. It's facts. It's unchangeable facts, at that.

I can't change who I am inside. I can't be things that I'm not or hide the things that I am. I am who I am because of the things I've done and the people I've loved. And I did love The Flake. Very much.

But I'd really like to never speak about that stuff again.