u/Aggravating_Cow_8775

Maybe because they’re the only ones we trust will stay after seeing the worst parts of us. So we become careless. Comfortable We stop handling their heart gently because somewhere deep down we think they will understand.

Funny thing is, strangers get our politeness.
The people we love get our exhaustion Our silence & Our delayed replies.

We don’t usually lose people in one dramatic moment. It happens slowly. In unanswered calls In pride. In “I’ll fix it later.” In all the small kindnesses we forget to give consistently.

And by the time we realize what they meant to us, they’ve already learned how to live without us. Sometimes people aren’t hard to love. They’re just tired of being hurt by the same hands that once made them feel safe.

It’s confusing, even to yourself. One moment you want someone to txts you, check on you, notice you. You want that feeling of being seen, of knowing someone is thinking about you& then when it actually happens… you suddenly don’t feel like replying.... You just want space.

It’s not that you don’t care. It’s just that being around people, even emotionally, takes energy. Sometimes you want connection without the effort that comes with it. You want someone there… but not too close.

And then you start feeling guilty. Because how do you explain that you want people, but also distance from them? That you crave attention, but can’t always handle it when it’s there?

Maybe it’s not contradiction. Maybe it’s just being human. Wanting to feel less alone… while still needing space to deal with yourself.