“Why can’t you just be what I need you to be?!” Katherine yelled at her boyfriend David.

David rolled his eyes, “Oh! IM SORRY! Let’s just go down memory lane about what I do for you! I pay for the food that you eat, the water you drink, the house you live in, the clothes on your back, the shoes on your feet! I even paid for the car that you drive! I provide everything for you and you have the gall to tell me that I’m not being what you need?! I am the man of the house, I am the provider and yet I’m not what you need?! Seriously?!” David yelled back.

“That isn’t what I’m talking about! While I need those things I need other things too!” Katherine yelled back. “I need you to be gentle and kind, to be tender, loving, and to be there when I need you to be! You are home all the time because you can’t work, and I get that! But instead of being there for me when I’m struggling with my mental health, you are never there! Even when I try talking to you about it! You ignore me at every chance you get!”

David rolled his eyes again, “oh, I’m sorry!” He said sarcastically. “Cuz I don’t have depression, anxiety, stress, and yet I don’t push my problems on you! I deal with them by myself because that’s what adults do! Jeeze you are such a child! You need me to hold your hand anytime you don’t get what you want!”

Katherine’s eyes welded up with tears, “That’s your problem! Instead of relying on me to help you with that kind of stuff, you choose to do things on your own and then expect me to do the same! I am not like you! My entire life I kept everything to myself, my depression, my anger, my fear and anxiety! The only person I have ever been able to open up to was YOU! I rely on you for that too!” Katherine watched as David’s expression became colder.

“I don’t have time, Kat! Between paying the bills and taking care of your needs, like cooking..” he gestured to the food he was making, “I don’t have time to listen to all your problems like their my own! We have two different priorities, and honestly I don’t want to listen to the problems of a stupid little girl, when I have adult problems like money, insurance, housing, and food!”

Katherine’s heart began to hurt, “So my feelings are stupid to you, irrelevant because they aren’t yours?”

David began to clap his hands, “wow! You got it! And on your first try! You’re a sharp one aren’t you?”

Katherine’s tears began to fall, “I hate you.” She said with pain. “I knew I should have left four months ago. But instead of doing so I fell for your words again. The sweet talk you use to get your way. You made me feel bad for leaving you! Made me think you’d change, and then the next week you went right back to being the cold-hearted, sharp tongued asshole you were when I left!”

David slammed the spatula against the counter, “THEN LEAVE IF I’M SO BAD! DO ME A FAVOR AND GO!”

Katherine nodded, “Fine. I won’t be a burden to you anymore. I don’t want a text back from you, no call, no nothing. We are over. You don’t appreciate me, you don’t care about me, and you sure as hell don’t listen to me when I’m telling you what’s important to me! You care about David, and only David.”

Katherine walked past the kitchen, David’s face looked angry but his eyes showed pain.

“It doesn’t matter anymore.” Katherine thought, “How he feels isn’t the priority. I’ve been in this house for almost a year now, and yet while he’s changed - it isn’t for the better. He is emotionally, mentally, and financially abusive towards me. You deserve better. It doesn’t matter how much you love him, he doesn’t love you the same way.” Katherine began packing her bags in silence.

As Katherine put the last shirt into her suitcase, David walked into the doorway. “You’re really leaving?” His arms crossed, his voice speaking softly. “Yes!” Katherine said angrily.

David walked towards Katherine, “just stop. Dinner’s ready. You can go after you eat.”

Katherine scoffed, “yeah, and be even more indebted to you? No thanks. I’m leaving now, and move back to my parents house. Being there is the same as being here, but at least there; I won’t have the expectations of being loved or listened to. They didn’t love bomb me, or manipulate me into thinking I was loved by them. At least their hatred for me is obvious. Not bipolar, like you.”

David put his hand on the suitcase that Katherine was zipping up. “I’m sorry. Okay? I know I have issues, but I shouldn’t blame you for them.” David said, looking into Katherine’s eyes that were still full of tears. His eyes became soft, as he put his hand on her face. Katherine felt the warmth coming from him.

“Kat, I love you. I’m sorry.” David said sweetly. Katherine snapped back, gently removing David’s hand off her face. “No. You don’t. Our relationship is one sided. I love you and you treat me with distain until I’m fed up, then you come back and tell me you love me and expecting me to believe that. It’s happened a hundred times in the last eight months. You’ve always said ‘actions speak louder than words.’ But what does that say about your so called ‘love’ for me?” Katherine said. Looking at David, searching for an answer, hoping for compassion. For him to show her the love from him she felt when they first started dating.

But when Katherine met eyes with him, David’s eyes were dark. Cold. “Fine. Then leave.” David left the room.

Leaving Katherine with yet another broken heart. Nodding her head she messaged her mom.

“Hey mom, can I move back in? David and I aren’t working out.”

“No. You cannot. Your a grown woman now, that you went to live with a man you didn’t date for more than 4 months. Figure it out on your own.” Katherine’s mom texted back.

Katherine sat down, re-reading the message over and over again. Anger and sadness swirled around in Katherine’s mind.

Katherine messaged a income based apartment complex in the town she lived in. And got a message back, “if it’s an emergency, you can come move in, and we will set up your payments on Tuesday.” The landlord stated.

Katherine hauled all her suitcases into her car, and did one last walk through to ensure she had everything she needed. As she was walking out the door she looked at David, who ignored her once again.

“I’m going to say this last thing before I leave. You are a liar, abusive and selfish. You want to be alone? You got your wish. No more stupid little girl ruining your life and being a hinderance to you. You got your wish. And in the process, you lost the only person who only cared about YOU. Not what you have or didn’t have. I loved you for YOU. You just couldn’t do the same for me. We are done. Message the women you have saved and lined up for when you destroyed our relationship. Good bye.”

Katherine turned to leave and David got up. “Give me my house key.” Katherine turned and pointed at the countertop in the kitchen. “It’s on there. Bye.”

David went over to the kitchen and grabbed the key, as he turned back around to say something to Katherine; she had already closed the door and went down the stairs to her car.

David walked out of the door, “wait!” David called out.

Katherine whipped around, “NO! No more waiting. I’ve waited for eight months for you to change! To go back to the man I fell in love with, but every chance I gave you to do so; you decided I wasn’t important enough to you. The only time you put in ANY effort into US, is AFTER I’ve decided to leave. I’m done. You’re done. We are done. You blew your chance because you were too self centered to see how your actions and words affected me. Don’t pretend like you care now, when you haven’t cared at all since you asked me to move in with you. You are scared to be alone? Cool, so am I which is why I have BEGGED YOU to change. Why I gave you chance after chance after chance! And still you spit in my face, call me names, make me cry and make me feel as if I’m the worst thing that’s ever happened to you in you’re entire life. You got all the wrong ideas of what love is supposed to be. You’re toxic. Abusive. And the worst man I’ve ever dated. At least the other guys I’ve dated before you TRIED everyday to show their love for me, even if they had their flaws. Even when they abused me. At least they tried daily to change. You? You can’t even tell me I’m beautiful, or compliment me on what I do for you and your house. I’ve paid my debt to you for my car, for the food, and for everything else through the tears YOU made me cry! There’s no more waiting, I don’t have the patience for it anymore. I don’t have the energy, time, or want to wait for you to change anymore. We are DONE!”

Katherine turned away from David, getting into her car; then backed it out of the driveway. Tears running down her face as she drove into town.

“You’re not gonna regret it.” She repeated over and over again, leaving the man she loved behind in order to love herself for the first time in a long time.

One month later…

Katherine sat in the doctor’s office, waiting to be told the results of the continuous tests they’ve ran on her for the past two weeks.

The doctor came in, chart in hand. “Your test results are..” The doctor’s voice faded as Katherine took in the information. Nodding her head subconsciously. Fear flooded her entire body.

As Katherine walked out to her car, her mind replayed the information she just received.

“Your test results are not what you were hoping for, Katherine. Based on the blood tests that we did two weeks ago, it seems that you are 10 weeks pregnant. There are a few things we can do to help, we can refer to you an OBGYN, or take you on here for your prenatal exams until you reach a certain gestational period, or we can refer to you to an abortion clinic if that’s what you prefer.”

“I want to keep the baby. I have an OBGYN. Thank you, I have to go.” Katherine had said, in a monotone voice,to the doctor after he was done stating her diagnosis.

Katherine pulled out her phone, and sent a text to David:

“I’m 10 weeks pregnant. I don’t want you to be in the child’s life unless you want to be; however we will not be dating again. You have your life and I have mine. If you don’t want anything to do with the baby then you can sign your rights away. Irregardless, I do not want money from you of any kind.”

David replied immediately.

“I’ll sign my rights away. My lawyer will be in contact with you.”

Katherine sighed in relief.

“Big changes are coming. Guess I got to prepare now.” Katherine said as she placed her hand on her belly. “I’ll take care of us. I promise.”