Page 109 of A Solid Guide to Surviving a Situationship

“I did.” Rick didn’t deny it. “I just didn’t know how to say it without sounding like I was leaving.”

I swallowed.

“I didn’t want to hold you back,” I said. “So I let you.”

A small pause.

“And I think I started changing too… before you did.”

He looked at me, listening.

“I got into new things,” I said, half-smiling. “Working out. Posting on social media more. Being out there.”

“Yeah,” he said quietly. “You blew up.”

I shook my head slightly. “It wasn’t even about that. I just… I just wanted something new. Something that felt like mine.”

Rick nodded, but his expression shifted—something more vulnerable now.

“I think that’s when I got scared,” he admitted.

I looked at him. “Of what?”

“Of you outgrowing me,” he said simply.

That landed.

“I saw you building something,” he continued, “and I didn’t know where I fit in it anymore. So I tried to change too.”

He let out a small breath, almost a bitter laugh.

“But I didn’t even know what I was changing into,” he said.

We both went quiet for a second.

“And then we just…” I trailed off.

“We started fighting,” he said.

I nodded.

“Over everything,” I said. “Small things. Big things. Things that didn’t even matter.”

Rick let out a deep exhale. “It felt like we didn’t understand each other anymore.”

“Like we were speaking different languages,” I added.

“Like strangers,” he said.

That word sat heavy in my chest, because it was true.

“We didn’t even say goodbye,” I said. “I just let you leave, and then…” I trailed off.

We had gone from knowing everything about each other to not knowing how to talk at all.

I looked down, my chest tightening slightly.

“When we broke up,” I said slowly, “I thought the world had ended.”