“What are you even saying? You’re leaving?” Kayla asked, throwing her arms up in the air as she watched Seth move around, picking up his stuff as he went along.

She followed him into the bedroom of the apartment they had barely spent a couple of months living in, a dream home nestled in a wonderfully peaceful neighborhood near downtown Cleveland that Kayla had been excited to share with her boyfriend. But now, all that seemed to be falling apart.

“I need to find who I am again,” Seth shrugged, piling shirts that Kayla had washed and ironed for him into his suitcase, tossed onto the bed. “You’re stifling me. I need space.”

“Stifling? I’ve barely even seen you since we moved in together,” Kayla replied, not believing her ears. “You’re either working late or hanging out at bars with your friends…”

“And I can’t even have a good time anymore, knowing that you’re here, waiting up for me,” Seth sighed, zipping up his luggage before finally looking at her. “That’s just… so stressful, you know?”

“How would I know? This is the first I’m even hearing about your ‘stress’,” Kayla countered, flicking her bangs out of her eyes as she stared at the man in front of her.

Seth was tall and lean, with that all-American, boy-next-door vibe that many girls, including Kayla, found charming and attractive. With his blue eyes, sandy hair and soft, rounded features, he was definitely cute, and understatedly handsome.

He and Kayla had been on and off for a couple of years, but just when she had started to think he would never be ready to fully commit to her, they had decided to give their relationship a real shot and moved in together.

What a disaster that has turned into, Kayla thought, trying to handle this like a mature adult and not freak out.

“Well, I didn’t want to stress you out with my stress, obviously,” Seth said, tilting his head at her. “But I’ve come to the conclusion I need to spread my wings a little bit before I can really settle down. It’s nothing you’ve done, really, it’s…”

“Oh, no,” Kayla interjected, waving a finger at him. “Don’t you start giving me the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ speech right now. The lease is in my name, Seth, and I can’t back out of it! I can’t pay the rent on this place all on my own. This was supposed to be our home.”

With her head spinning, she reached out and placed a hand on a nearby nightstand, fearing she was about to fall over at any moment. She had had her doubts about Seth, and whether he could really take their relationship seriously after their rocky history, but her heart had won out in the end.

There had been so many obstacles in their relationship. Many times, Kayla had felt like Seth didn’t really appreciate her or value her time. But there was something about Seth that kept drawing her back in, and the fact he had seemed to finally be committing to her had sealed the deal.

I was so ready to make it work…

She hadn’t even said anything when Seth stayed out most nights, hanging out with friends, watching some football game or having beers. They were still adjusting to life together, after all, and she wanted to give Seth time to settle into this new routine.

“I’m sorry I’ve put you in a tight spot, I really am,” Seth said softly, reaching out to place a hand on her forearm. “But I think you’ll see that in the long run, this is best for both of us. And I’m sure you can find a roommate or something to help cover the costs.”

Kayla was beyond words at that point, caught between being furious, and so hurt it nearly took her breath away. She didn’t even know why she didn’t yell, argue, protest, anything, really. Instead, she just stood there, plastering the most neutral expression onto her face she could muster, even though the man opposite her had just upended her life.

“You’re really doing this?” she asked, her voice sounding as weak and pathetic as she felt.

“It’s the right thing to do, Kay-Kay,” he replied with exaggerated sincerity.

Hearing that stupid nickname made Kayla nauseated as she stared at her feet, unable to look at Seth any longer. He brushed past her without another word, just a pat on her shoulder as he made his way toward the door.

Kayla was still standing in the same place when she heard the front door open and shut, and the finality of it all hit her in full. The drawers in the closet were still half-opened, with clothes sticking out of them, and the picture of her and Seth, framed and sitting on the nightstand, seemed to be mocking her.

How could he do this to me? How did I let him do this to me?

Looking back, Kayla knew she should have seen the red flags, how Seth was distancing himself… Why did he even agree to move in in the first place? She hadn’t even asked him to really, just mentioned she was looking for a new, bigger place.

Did he do it just to keep me on the line? We had been heading for another split…

Kayla knew she would be wrestling with these questions for a while, overthinking and analyzing every conversation, every text message… There was no closure here, just a big apartment she would now have to figure out how to pay for all by herself.

And with that thought, she reached into herself and pulled on whatever determination she had left. Yes, Seth was a shitty, shitty boyfriend and he had left her in a seriously lousy situation, but she was done crying over that man.

It was time to come up with a game plan, before she went into debt and ended up homeless. And she better figure out a solution soon.