Your messages remained unanswered, yet you shrugged away the idea that he had forgotten. It was rare that you met up with your boyfriend without him showing up drastically late or cancelling the date completely, and you tried to understand. He was busy, and that was something you had been willing to deal with when you started dating.

After what felt like days, he finally walked into your apartment. His expression told you today had not been pleasant, and you decided that perhaps it would be easier to simply reschedule your time together.

“Hey, you’re here!” you said, trying not to sound impatient. “You look pretty tired. Do you maybe just want to head home and we can get together on a different day?” Your gentle attempt at avoiding conflict was quickly shot down by the viciousness in his eyes.

“I take valuable time out of my schedule to visit you, and you’re asking me to leave?” You leaned back, startled by his accusatory tone.

“I didn’t mean it like that. I just thought you might want-”

“Don’t tell me what I want!” Frustrated, he began to put his shoes back on and turn towards the door. “I’m not going to waste my time with you today.” The door slammed shut before your mind even finished processing what had happened. What did you say wrong?

Shrugging away the thought, you began to tidy up and prepare for sleep. This wasn’t the first time he had left in a bad mood, and you were certain it wouldn’t be the last. His work was stressful and challenging, and the least you could do was be understanding when he had difficult days. A while later you left a message on his voicemail, hoping he would perhaps apologize, yet his response never came. You waited a few days before calling him again.

“Hello?” Finally, he answered.

“Hey! I’m sorry about stressing you out the other day. I really didn’t mean for what I said to sound the way it did,” you said, trying yet again to tread lightly over his emotions.

“Look, I don’t get why you have to keep bringing it up. Why can’t you just leave me alone for a while? Don’t you have anything better to do? I’m really busy, you should know that!” Startled by his raised voice, you dropped the phone. The back popped off, sending the battery scattering across the floor. You didn’t try to call him back.

It was tempting to ignore him for days. The silent treatment would probably capture his attention, and would certainly notify him of your growing frustration. Despite your considerations, worry for him began to grow. It wasn’t like him to be furious with you for so long. Was he okay? You ignored the nagging convictions and decided to stop by his dorm for just a moment.

“What are you doing here?” From the moment he opened the door, you had given up. This wasn’t going to end any better than your previous attempts at communication.

“I just wanted to check up on you. I was…worried.”

“I don’t need you to baby me. I can take care of myself without you stalking me all the time.” You paused, genuinely shocked by his insults. Tears began to form in the corners of your eyes, but you stifled them with determination.

“Okay, fine. If that’s what you want, let’s take a break.” He offered you no response, but turned around and walked back towards his room. You stood still a moment, hoping and longing for him to turn around and apologize, to realize his mistakes.

“What are you doing standing there? The door’s that way.” He gestured towards the exit, not offering you so much as an expression as he remained with his back turned.

“I know,” you said, biting your cheek to avoid releasing the wave of clever comebacks that had washed over your brain. If he was going to be unreasonable, you were going to be mature one. You weren’t about to offer him the satisfaction of making you snap.

As you exited the dorm, one of his band mates placed a careful hand on your shoulder.

“I think he’s really stressed out right now. It’ll be okay in a few days.” To his surprise, you shook his hand away from you and removed the bracelet you had been wearing, placing it in his open palm.

“Honestly, I don’t care anymore. Give this to him next time you see him okay?” He tried to put the bracelet back in your hands, confused by the extremeness of your action. You walked away from the dorm, refusing to look behind you.

You sat in your car, still parked in the lot by the dorms. The tears you had withheld were fighting you, and you hesitated to drive with your vision limited. Who cares if it’s over, you thought. It wasn’t working anyway. It took a few minutes to convince yourself it was the right thing to do. You wiped your eyes viciously with a tissue, throwing it haphazardly to the backseat. You didn’t need him anyway.

With that, you started the car and drove back to your apartment. Not once did you look back, nor did you see the teary figure in a bedroom window, watching your departure helplessly.