"I miss you."

It takes some serious balls to say that. It's a loaded phrase ... more loaded than "I love you." The latter phrase seems more straightforward, filled with one concrete feeling. Yes, love is complicated, but we all know what love means. It's adoration. It's one person's life orbiting around another — whether it be a parent to a child, friend to friend or lover to lover. "I love you" is a positive, to the point phrase. It's known to be powerful, beautiful and poetic.

"I miss you" is layered. It's full of desperation, sadness, and a lot of hope. It's a strange mixture, and it requires so much strength to be able to say. "I miss you ..." Imagine saying it to someone you lost. Just thinking about the feeling of having a a loved one just leave, want nothing to do with you, break apart. It's like a deep bandaid removed, and the stinging has not gone away. Your world is not the same. You don't know your life without them. A feeling starts inside of you. It boils up, but with "I love you," you can't stop yourself from saying it. It's a bubbly feeling almost. Despite being afraid, it feels good to say "I love you."

You're afraid of "I miss you." If you say it, will they just say "go screw yourself," or "good?" With "I love you," there is only one bad response — nothing. Someone has to react to "I miss you" and with only one good reaction and a million bad reactions, you are afraid of saying it. You got to hold that word vomit down, let yourself hurt and let the person you miss walk away.

You would even let them hate you if you broke apart due to a fight. You would let them rip you apart because you believe that saying those three words will only cause more pain. You hurt yourself by holding yourself back, but why?

I have realized that missing someone is worse than loving someone because you actually lose them. That companionship has vanished, and there is no place to go. There is no chance to ever be close again ... unless you make your chances. If you really loved this person, if you were ever close and wanted them back again, you would just say "I miss you."

Just say it. Anytime. Any place. Just say it. They may think you hate them too. They may think your are done with them too. And maybe, just maybe, if you say these words, they will say "I miss you too."

People fight. People break. But if you ever cared, if you want the person who helped make you whole, then say it. It's powerful. It means something. It makes you vulnerable but strong.

"I miss you." That's what mends relationships. "I love you" creates them.