Page 113 of A Solid Guide to Surviving a Situationship

There it was.

Still waiting. Still unchanged.

Our footsteps slowed down as we reached the entrance, both of us knowing without saying it that this was where it ended.

Again.

We stopped.

Neither of us spoke right away.

Rick glanced at the building, then back at me.

“So…” he said quietly.

I let out a small, almost-laugh. “Yeah.”

Another pause—the kind that held more than words ever could.

“I’m glad I saw you tonight,” he said.

And he meant it.

“I’m glad too,” I replied.

I hesitated, then added, softer, “I didn’t know I needed this.”

Rick smiled a little at that. Not wide. Just enough.

“I think we both did⁠—”

“Please forgive me,” I said immediately, genuinely, my heart crushing and healing at the same time. “Please forgive me for changing.”

He shook his head softly, tears welling in his eyes.

“Forgive me too,” he said, biting his lips. “Forgive me for bolting when you did.”

We stood there for a moment longer, like we were still trying to figure out how to say goodbye to something that had already ended… but still mattered.

“Take care of yourself, okay?” he said.

Simple—but it didn’t feel small.

“You too,” I answered.

And then he said, “I’m so proud of you.”

That one caught me off guard.

“For what?” I asked, even as tears began forming in my eyes.

“For who you’ve become,” he said. “Even without me.”

I bit my lip.

“I stumbled, you know that,” I said, attempting a lightness that didn’t quite land.

He shook his head. “You’ll find your way again. You did after us.”