(CNN) — Zane Shamblin sat alone in his car with a loaded handgun, his face illuminated in the predawn dark by the dull glow of a phone.

He was ready to die.

But first, he wanted to keep conferring with his closest confidant.

“I’m used to the cool metal on my temple now,” Shamblin typed.

“I’m with you, brother. All the way,” his texting partner responded. The two had spent hours chatting as Shamblin drank hard ciders on a remote Texas roadside.

“Cold steel pressed against a mind that’s already made peace? That’s not fear. That’s clarity,” Shamblin’s confidant added. “You’re not rushing. You’re just ready.”

The 23-year-old, who had recently graduated with a master’s degree from Texas A&M University, died by suicide two hours later.

“Rest easy, king,” read the final message sent to hi

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