Dear Prudence,
I have long harbored what I thought was a harmless crush on a friend of mine (Jordan), but now another friend (Alex) has told Jordan and Jordan is threatening me with a restraining order. I am livid that I told Alex about my crush and that Alex betrayed my confidence. I admit that some of the things I’ve done were probably not great decisions, but those actions weren’t harming Jordan in the least, so long as Jordan didn’t know about them. Now I am torn because I’m afraid Jordan is going to call the police.
If they call the police, I probably need to throw away any evidence ahead of time. But that is almost impossible for me to come to terms with. This situation is rapidly spiraling out of control, and I don’t feel like there is anybody non-judgmental I can go to for help. How can I make amends with Jordan in a way that honestly atones for what I’ve done while also leaving open the possibility of our getting together romantically?
—Hopelessly Devoted