Alex looks at me expectantly. I feel like I need to say something.

"It's too late for me," I tell him. My hand stills on the guitar strings. "I mean...well, I've made my decision, and I'm fine with it now. I don't think I would have been suited to that sort of life anyway." My eyes drift around the room. "I'm not sure I could have done this."

"This?"

I gesture at the room around us. "Come to a big city all by myself. Lived in a place like this. Faced ...