Separated about a month, now what?

[Zelda09]

We started chatting via text recently. He's still many states away. During one of the texts on the first day of communication again, he said somewhat randomly that he was angry about so many things, the kind of anger that taints everything he believed in about us. I asked him to write me about it, which he did...I took a long time to digest and tried to validate all 23 items in it, in a response. Everything has been tearing me up pretty bad, I can see a lot of the ways he felt so alone - very much like Michele's article on this site, Where were you when I needed you?
He never replied, and later I asked him if he read it - he just said he didn't know what he could say.

I opened up about some of the realizations I'm having, separately, the work I'm doing with a counselor. To which he responded with his support, but was also careful to say he wishes me happiness but doesn't have much to do with that right now. I am careful to ask him not to come home, for answers he doesn't have...once when we were dating we broke up briefly. I remember he made these dire statements, something in the similar vein, there's no hope, etc., and it was like he was pushing me to the edge to argue and battle for the worth of our relationship and prove otherwise -which I did then - and we ended up talking it out. I don't think this is the same situation, but I am tempted to see his hopeless statements as a cry for help he wants me to say something to...but I am not. Maybe I should? I think he knows I wanted him to stay in town and continue going to counseling, I said as much weeks ago. I don't think pushing it will help.

I am trying just to communicate, positively, kindly, and sometimes lightly. He initiated a call on Christmas yesterday but his sign off kind of broke my heart...'takecare, W.' I shouldn't expect anything more.

I am thinking of asking him to be my date on New Year's. The counselor asked us to date 2x a week, but since he's gone on a perm vacation out of state, that's not happening. What do you all think?