in

I Left Because You Never Asked Me to Stay

For a considerable amount of time, I enjoyed your company, immersed in the comfort that our connection created.

This didn’t appear to be an almost-relationship, as we both put forth equal investment into one another. As that investment grew stronger and deeper, there didn’t seem to be an end in sight—so I looked to the future.

I saw our travels to vibrant places, celebratory dinners for two, and quiet nights indoors with Chinese food. We would see the world around us while enjoying the one that we shared together.

Some of these plans were mutually vocalized as others remained internalized, but one thing seemed for certain: that we would be moving forward as a pair.

It wasn’t until you began executing large-scale plans that didn’t involve me that I realized that we weren’t as in-sync as I had believed.

We were still a part of each other, but the path in front of us didn’t appear to be a single road.

As I reevaluated my individual future, I knew that I had been losing sight of myself because I was wrapped up in the possibility of us.

While you appeared to be full of promise, I wasn’t going to wait for you to make one to me. So I left.

I left because you never asked me to stay; I left because our future plans became a fantasy that was past tense.

I chose myself and my path, rather than seeing it as ours. I remembered that we are—and always were—two people, not one.

I also realized that when I parted from you, I wasn’t less of a person without you. I was still a whole person…with my own plans.

In essence, it was when I left your life that I reclaimed my own.