I Broke My Bryce Boy

Two.

To say our breakup was... hard, was an understatement. Ryan was the only friend I had ever actually known. I had no one else, wanted no one else, but I couldn't. I just couldn't be with him. I never officially gave him a reason; in fact I hadn't said two words to him since three weeks after our breakup. At first, after, Ryan would call constantly, or email, or message, or knock at my door. He did anything he could to get me to talk to him; to try and understand why I had to end things with him. I never told him.

One month later, I left to stay with my aunt in Seattle; it was quite a change from what I was used to. In Seattle, I focused on school and myself, I worked on rebuilding who I was and who I wanted to be. My mother, Rose, came to visit me once a month; my father did not understand why I needed to get away from North Carolina; he called me once or twice every three months to see how I was doing in school and life. We never discussed the reason I'd left, which I was thankful for, but each time we'd talk on the phone I could hear the disappointment in his voice. The fact that I had practically ruined the Cain- Bryce friendship my father had built. I never meant to fall in love with Ryan, I never meant to hurt him either, but I could not handle it.

Time away with my aunt helped.

I returned home one year later, to the day.