Should I give it a shot ? Read description

So about 3 years ago I met this girl on Facebook I noticed she was always bashing her boyfriend & she ended up venting to me & turns out she was cheating on him & using him for whatever reason I ended up talking to him & I told him this she wasn’t a friend of mine & I felt like what she was doing was horrible. Me & him became really good friends like best best friends we vented to each other about everything & even though he was still with her I never pursued him while they were together & likewise but we did bond tightly. Fast forward to last year him & her finally completely stopped dealing with each other & we finally confessed our feelings for each other but I was in a relationship it was an abusive one though. I met up with him & we had the best day ever like literally but I knew I had to go back home because my ex was gonna get off & flip out if I wasn’t there so I went home & I hit him back up & he just seemed really angry & distant I’m like wtf we argued & we cut each other off. A couple weeks later I finally left my crazy ex. So fast forward to last night I get a message from him explaining everything he’s like he got jealous about my ex & he pushed me away out of fear I’m like that’s not a reason to push me away but I understand. He also told me he had gotten off social media completely for a year or so (which I did notice when I checked his page) but had been trying to find me for the longest. The thing is I’ve always felt a different kind of connection with him he’s like a bestfriend I have serious feelings for & it’s mutual. I want to pursue an actual relationship now that the timing seems right & he’s finally opened up about his feelings. What do you think?