"You up?"
The text that gets us all, right? The one that makes our heart skip a quick little beat and puts a smile on our face, even though we're alone in a room by ourselves. Maybe he actually cares, you think. Maybe there's something there. Maybe, just maybe, he loves you.
He doesn't. He doesn't love you.
He texts you late at night, but he doesn't love you.
He says you look hot, but he doesn't love you.
He listens to you vent about life, but he isn't really listening, because he doesn't love you.
He promises to hang out with you "soon," but he doesn't love you.
He's at the top of your Snapchat best friend list, but he doesn't love you.
He says he's not afraid of commitment, but he won't commit, because he doesn't love you.
He says he's only interested in you, but he doesn't love you.
His words are smooth and exactly what you want to hear, but he doesn't love you.
He apologizes when you're upset, but he doesn't mean it, because he doesn't love you.
It hurts, I know. But it doesn't have to keep you up at night. Turn your phone on silent; you don't need to see his texts or phone calls. Invest your time in others, because there are so many other people in this huge world who actually care about you and really, truly, straight-up honestly love you.
Go get a drink with that friend you haven't seen in months; they love you.
Face-time the friends who are away at college; they love you.
Visit home and hug your family; they love you. Oh how they love you.
Buy some ice cream, because ice cream is good and who doesn't love ice cream?
Meet new people; they will grow to love you more than he ever will.
Call your grandma; I know no one does that these days, but she loves you so much.
Take your dog for a walk; he will love you for it.
Go to the gym and work your ass off; you'll love the results.
When you're sad, text the people who have always had your back; they love you.
They will be there for you at 7 a.m., 3 p.m., and 3 a.m. when you can't sleep and just need someone to talk to. They will bring you soup and orange juice when you're sick. They will FaceTime you when you're cleaning the kitchen or doing homework or just laying around bored.
He won't.
And you don't need him to.
You have a million other people who love you way more than a "Heyyyyyy" text ever will, and someday you'll find someone who means more to you than that.
So be patient, be careful, and be loved in a real way.
He doesn't love you, just like he doesn't love the three other girls he's texting as you read this.
And that is okay.