“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sarah asks while pouting and absentmindedly scrolling on her phone. She looks up for a moment to gaze into Jack’s eyes. “I think about a lot of things, I just forget sometimes. You know that.”

Jack huffs and crosses his arms as he glares. “You can barely get through a conversation without staring at your phone. I understand being forgetful but it’s hurtful when you constantly forget things that are important to me. It makes me feel like you don’t care.” He grinds his teeth with irritation as he waits for Sarah to respond. She’s already scrolling again.

“But you’ve known that I’m like this since the moment you met me over fifteen years ago,” Sarah quips as she once again looks up from her phone. She digs in her pockets and finds a stray piece of gum. After opening the wrapper and popping the gum in, she continues. “I’m sorry you feel like I don’t care, I really do. I’ll try harder to do better. What can I do to improve?”

Jack feels his eye twitch and a headache form as he clenches his jaw even harder. He takes a minute to respond as he watches Sarah get bored waiting for a response and her eyes start wandering around the room. Her hand is still hovering over her phone, twitching as she fights not to pick it up. Finally, he grits out through an even tone, “You’re a grown woman. Why should I have to teach you how to be present and in the moment with me? Why should I have to teach you how to keep a calendar with important dates or events? I’m not your parent, I’m not going to coddle or baby you.”

Sarah’s eyes widen and her jaw goes slack as she moves closer to Jack on the sofa. She places a hand on his thigh. “How could you say that? You know I love you. Please, you have to know that. I’m just asking for some compassion and empathy. I promise I’ll try harder to not be so scatterbrained. You have to give me a chance. We’ve been together since the fifth grade, you can’t just spring this on me out of nowhere.” Her eyes are glistening with tears and her face is tight with anxiety.

Jack looks away. He feels guilty for upsetting her but at the same time, he’s been feeling resentment brew inside of him for a long time now. “I think I need some time apart to think about things. About us. I’m going to stay at my brothers place for a couple of days to clear my head. You should use that as an opportunity to think about the same things too.” He gets up abruptly and refuses to look in her direction as he hears her start to sniffle and hyperventilate. For once, he wishes he could be as harebrained as Sarah so he wouldn’t have to think about how much he’s hurting her right now. He’s definitely not going to be able to sleep for days but he needs some separation for himself.

“Please tell me you’re not breaking up with me,” he hears Sarah softly ask in between sobs. His hand is already on the doorknob of their shared apartment. He pretends not to hear and continues to go on his way. As he shuts the door, he hears her sobs grow even louder and he’s never felt more low in his entire life.

Oh God, what has he done? Has he just ruined the best and only relationship in his life over some failed communication? He had been planning on marrying her once he finished grad school next year.

His stomach churned with anxiety and guilt as he walked out to the parking lot into his car. He hadn’t even had the intelligence to grab any clothes or toiletries before he stormed out. Only his wallet and keys. He couldn’t just go back inside his apartment at this point, right? Then his girlfriend would continue to ask him gut wrenching questions that would wreck his soul. He wasn’t ready to fully break up but he wasn’t willing to put up with her right now either.

Maybe he should have reassured her that he wouldn’t break up with her before he left. Maybe then he wouldn’t feel so guilty. Maybe he should’ve just manned up and stayed quiet about his resentment regarding her not considering his feelings…