A cracked phone can be replaced by Friday. A friendship you cracked takes a lot longer.

Objects and relationships fail in different ways. One is a purchase and a bad week, while the other has no replacement, repairs slowly, and usually keeps a visible line where the break was. Knowing which category something belongs to ought to change how carefully you handle it, and frequently does not.

If a friendship has a fresh crack in it, deal with that before it sets. Go first, name the specific thing, and skip the part where you explain why you were justified. Speed counts for more here than eloquence does.