Hemingway was glad to hear her talk like that. He often wondered if he was capable of real change; it was pleasing to know that she thought that he was, and that he was succeeding at it. "I didn't want to be that guy anymore," he explained. "You deserve better."
He didn't know what she was getting at initially, and he just considered the question for what it was before shaking his head lightly. But at the second half of her question he felt a genuine panic in his chest, his heart leaping at the very thought of it. "No," he said definitely, without hesitation. "God, no. I'm a mess without you. There's always a reason to dig myself back out again now. Always someone to get back to."