So I have this former co-worker, and I'm very confused by his behavior. I'm an introvert, but over time, I've grown tired of doing everything alone. With the help of my therapist, I've been trying to branch out and meet new people. That's where this co-worker comes in.

I'm an empath. I'm very good at reading people's energy, and from the get go, I got "off" vibes from this coworker. He was nice enough, we had similar interests, etc, and I thought he could be someone that I could potentially be friends with. Well...I'm not too sure anymore. Someone on shift asked him if the two of us were friends, and I was clearly in earshot. His response was a nasty, and almost offended, "no." It wasn't in a joking manner either. That really hurt me, because again, I was looking to develop a friendship with this person outside of work, but after hearing that, why would I even bother? I started distancing myself, because...who wouldn't? You just said we aren't friends, and acted as if you didn't want to be friends. Well, this coworker latched onto me, and would make comments about how we need to hangout, and keep in touch once I moved. This floored me, based on previous statements. However, at the same time, he would mock me in front of our other co-workers and customers, and I sorta felt like they were all making fun of me/talking crap behind my back. Again, distanced myself from the negativity.

I just moved cross country, because I got an amazing job opportunity. Before, I left, this co-worker, contradicting his previous behavior, kept saying how much he was going to miss me. Before I left I thought maybe I was just being too sensitive and that I couldn't take a joke, so I gave him another chance. Things were going well. I even ended up getting him a signed poster at a convention I went to that he couldn't attend. Well that all came crashing down when a newer co-worker called him out on his crap. I had left the room, came back in, and this co-worker had said something about how I care about him the most. The new girl turned to me in front of everyone and said, "when you left the room he said that he doesn't care about you." It was silent. The co-worker froze, and seemed so flustered and tried to deny it, but it was clear that what she said was true. Others then piped in and agreed with the new girl. Again, I felt hurt, and stupid (especially because I got a poster signed for him, and could've got something else signed for myself). I'm thankful that, that girl had the balls to tell me in front of everyone, but my heart kinda sank because a lot of my trust issues stem from people in my past talking about me behind my back.

He texts me every so often about how he wants to come and visit, and how we should travel together, but...that's not happening.

I'm just...confused? What do you guys think about his behavior?