re: My worst fear came true.

The OT is a horrible reality check, and a nightmare of cruel and thoughtless retorts, so in the spirit of being decent...

Things that hurt us only means we cared in some capacity. Will or should you be guarded in the future? Maybe, but every relationship we have with a new person is a risk. If you stay too guarded you might miss out on the best thing that ever happened to you. You might even have to go through more hurt to get there, but that only makes the "one" worth it.

Good luck.