"'cause if you want to keep me
you gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta got to love me harder
and if you really need me
you gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta got to love me harder"

***

He'd be gone for weeks at a time, months even, without ever attempting to contact you.

It started to feel like a one-sided relationship, then even that ended.

It started to not feel like a relationship at all.

Because neither of you would admit it, but your relationship was broken beyond repair.

Cody had stopped caring, and soon so had you.

You didn't care if he called you or not, and he didn't care about calling you.

You didn't care about answering his calls, and he didn't care if you answered them in the first place.

When he was home, there was limited communication between the two of you.

You'd talk, but you wouldn't normally have a conversation.

80% of the conversations you did end up having were either fights or turned into fights.

It had to end now.

You sat in your bed, awaiting his arrival.

He said he was coming home today in one of his texts, it was in reply to the one you had sent him earlier.

We need to talk. When are you coming home?

Today actually ;)

He was either completely oblivious to the underlying message in your text, or he was just in denial.

Either way, you didn't care.

You needed to get this over with.

You both couldn't keep up with this, it was slowly breaking both of you.

You closed your eyes and your breathing wavered when you heard the sounds of the door opening and shoes being kicked off.

You pulled your knees up to your chest and put your head in between them, hoping he'd take a long time to come to your room.

"Babe?" he called out inside the house.

Your heart broke, realizing the intensity of the situation and what you had to do.

"Babe..."

You heard the bag drop inside your room.

"What's wrong?"

The bed dipped beside you, his arms wrapped around your body and pulled your own into his.

You pushed him off, uncurling out of the ball you had been in before.

"We have to talk."

He nodded, knowing that this conversation would come up at some point.

He just hoped it wouldn't be happening anytime soon, but of course, it was happening now anyways.

"I love you, Cody, I always will..."

He felt tears brim his eyes at the first words you said.

"But this isn't working out, and I'm tired of pretending that it is, or trying to fix it," you started. "it can't be fixed."

"So you just want to throw it away?" he spat more venomously than he had intended.

"No," you knew he would react like this. "but it has to be done."

The tears flowed freely now, and he wiped them away with the sleeve of his jacket that he had yet to take off.

"This had to end, it's not healthy," you got up from the bed. "for me or for you."

"What are you doing?" he asked.

You picked up your suitcase and backpack.

"What has to be done," you smiled, new tears forming in your eyes.

You walked over to his side of the bed and kissed his cheek.

He desperately grasped at any body part of yours that he could get his hand on.

"Wait, please, I-I know that we can make this work if we really try-"

"Darling," you sighed, wiping the tears from your cheeks. "we both stopped trying a long time ago."

You turned around, knowing one look at his tear stricken, heartbroken face would cause you to stay.

And you couldn't stay.

As you walked out the room, you said your last words in that apartment.

"I love you, Cody, I really do, but we're just two pieces of the same puzzle that don't fit together."