It started with a slow reply.Then a shorter one.Then nothing.
I waited an hour. Then three.Checked his status. Checked if my message was delivered.Told myself he was probably asleep. Or working. Or offline.
Even though I knew his sleep pattern.Knew his work hours.Knew him.
Day one – I said, "He's just tired."Day two – "He's probably overwhelmed."Day three – "Maybe I said something weird?"Day four – "Should I check in again?"Day five – Silence, and the slow ache of acceptance.
By day six, I stopped pretending.He was gone.Just gone.
No fight. No warning.No message that said, "This isn't working."Just… stillness. A pause that never unpaused.
And the worst part?I blamed myself.
I kept replaying the last message he sent before it all shifted.It was one word:"Cool."
All lowercase. No emoji. No warmth.No effort.
I'd sent him a long voice note the night before, laughing, sharing a childhood story that meant something to me.I thought it would make him smile.I thought it would open a door.Instead, it closed one.
I stared at the word for ten minutes, trying to stretch it into meaning.Trying to convince myself it wasn't as empty as it felt.
That was the beginning of the quiet.I just didn't want to believe it.
I didn't call him right away.I told myself I was giving him space.That's what people do when they care, right?
So I waited. A whole week.No follow-up from him.No "I've been busy."No "Sorry, been off."Not even a lazy emoji.
Eventually, I caved.One message: "Hey, are you okay?"
His reply was colder than the silence had been.Blunt. Defensive. Like I'd overstepped some invisible rule.Like I was bothering him.
It stunned me.How did giving space make me the villain?
Nia watched it all unfold in real time.She didn't say much at first, just stayed nearby, watching the shift in me.By day eight, when she finally spoke, her words cut through everything:
"He's not coming back, Ariah."
And I couldn't argue.
I just nodded and walked into the bathroom.Sat on the floor and cried into a towel.
Not because I'd lost him,But because I realized I never really had him.
I kept checking my phone for weeks.Every notification made my chest clench.Every skate session, I looked over my shoulder, hoping he'd just… appear.Say "Where've you been?" like he hadn't vanished.
I didn't block him. Didn't unfollow. Didn't rage.
I just faded slowly.Still breathing.Still smiling when people looked.