Lila Allyna month agoI’m 16, in a long-distance relationship with my 16-year-old boyfriend. We’ve been together for five months, but his behavior has been increasingly confusing. Right now, he’s in Ireland for summer while I’m in Australia, so time zones affect our communication. Lately, he’s been distant, and it’s leaving me unsure of where I stand. His effort has been inconsistent, and when I confront him, he usually becomes more attentive for a while, but it’s only temporary. He used to be very affectionate and would message me all the time, even doing things like going behind his parents' backs to keep in touch, and he gave me thoughtful gifts. However, as time passed, he’s stopped putting in the same effort. Sometimes, he doesn’t reply to me for days or gives me short, dry answers. He also lied about sharing something personal I told him with his best friend, and while he apologized, he never really took responsibility for it. I’ve tried talking to him about my feelings twice, and the first time, he apologized and said I’m important to him. The second time, he suggested we break up, but then he went back to normal like nothing happened. He’s also been distant in public, acting like we’re just friends at school, even though people know we’re together. When I ask him about it, he says he doesn’t know what to talk about or that we’ve run out of things to say. I’ve put in a lot of effort, giving him gifts and writing him thoughtful messages, but he hasn’t been reciprocating the same way. Before he left for Ireland, he promised to message me often, but he only replies if I text first, and sometimes not at all. When I stopped texting to see if he would reach out, he didn’t. After I sent a breakup message, he seemed sad but didn’t fight to stay in touch, and even when I tried reconnecting, he remained distant. Although he’s a quiet and reserved person, it feels like he’s stopped putting in the effort, and it hurts because I still care about him and remember the good times. I feel stuck because, despite everything, I can’t help but miss the way things used to be.145
Lila AllynLila Allyn