Lying
He’s said it now. He never meant to, really. It just slipped out. Now, it's out there, and there's no way to reel it back in.
This lie, his lie, wasn’t born out of malice. It was a knee-jerk reaction, a panicked attempt to shield himself from judgment and disappointment.
Sitting alone with the truth, he’s burdened with guilt, but he’s sure there‘s no turning back now.
So, he tells another lie, and then another, and then another. He keeps going, piling one on top of another, forever trapped in the story he’s created.