[He understands the way he's saying it, but doesn't know how to even reply. He feared this, that once again he won't want anything to do with him, he'd even resigned himself to that. But the way he'd been acting initially had made him more hopeful, and now this... He doesn't know what to think]
[Especially when they're still being vague about it, when it's so easy to dismiss it or pretend it's nothing]