Hiding after you mess up is the oldest move there is. Coming back is the bravest.

The first instinct after getting something wrong is to disappear, which is old enough to appear on the first pages of the oldest stories. Hiding feels like damage control and functions as compound interest. Every day you stay out of contact, the return gets harder to imagine. The courage required is mostly the courage to be seen while still in the wrong.

Go back to whoever you have been avoiding, this week rather than when you feel ready. You will not feel ready. Turn up, say the short version, and let them react however they react.