I have a member of my friend group who I used to be a lot closer with. We went on trips together, sent each other gifts in the mail, and made all kinds of art and writing together. However, we were also both super immature. He picked fights about random things and I would give in and apologize when I had no reason to.
We've addressed it several times and he's upset that I haven't forgiven him given how old some of the incidents are, but he hasn't actually matured. He's more reflective and talks about what he's done wrong a lot, but he still lashes out at people over trivial things and treats people like they're out to get him. I'm still anxious about all the things he lashed out at me for because I have no reason to think he won't do it again.
I think it would be better for both of us to walk away. It's sad, because I have so many photos and gifts and memories. But I'm anxious and I resent him, and he feels like I won't let him move on.
The problem is that he's still talking about the future. He has more gifts to send. Our last trip got canceled but he looks forward to trying again. We had a group chat with our other friends and he still posts daily, while everyone else barely uses it.
I've been keeping my distance from him, but I don't think he noticed because I've also been moving house and it's been time consuming. I know he thinks we're good right now, and this is gonna hit him out of nowhere. I know ending a friendship is hurtful no matter what but I'm incredibly bad at delicate situations like this, so if anyone could share tips for discussing it gently, I'd really appreciate it.