Heartbreak and hurt are one hell of a way to realize you care. It’s that stinging pain you first feel in your stomach, your chest, and then all over the rest of your body. It stops you in your tracks and you’re forced to face the truth behind it all.

You maybe cared a little more than you originally thought.

There’s nothing wrong with that, and don’t you dare get down on yourself for caring. This is a natural human emotion. When you spend so much time with one person, feelings develop. This doesn’t somehow make you weak or a person unworthy of the same in return.

You’ll start to feel that way, though.

He was great in the beginning. More than great, actually. He was damn near perfect. You didn’t want anything more than what you already had. You were both winning, and it was working out admirably. In the first few months, you couldn’t keep your hands off one another. The attraction was BEYOND real. You were drunk on everything about one another, and the best part? Not a single hangover.

Until now.

Something changed. He changed. He suddenly wasn’t holding doors, offering to warm you up, asking you to come over, or showing a general interest. What happened? The first thing you’re going to do is blame yourself. You’re going to begin questioning your self-worth.

Am I not pretty?

Am I fat?

Am I annoying?

Am I being pushy?

Am I mean?

Is my laugh a little much?

STOP! STOP! STOP!

Don’t you dare question your self-worth, and boys, DON’T YOU DARE MAKE HER FEEL LIKE SHE SHOULD. If you’re having second thoughts or it just isn’t there anymore, TELL HER (insert hand clapping emoji here). She deserves the truth.

You claim to care about her and her feelings? Quit being a little bitch and be honest, because if you don’t, you’ll regret it.

You’ll start to miss her. You’ll find yourself at the local watering holes a little more often than you should. You’ll find that the grass isn’t exactly greener there, but that it’s greener where you water it. You’ll find that having her lying next to you, even if she did sprawl out and take up most of the bed, was worth it. You’ll miss her bobby pins on your window ledge and her panties in your drawer. You’ll miss the stupid jokes she made and the way she laughed at them, at herself. You’ll miss how understanding and real she was, even when you didn’t always deserve it.

You’ll miss HER.

When you miss her, tell her. Chances are she’s missing you just as much. Hurry before another man realizes these special little quirks but isn’t stupid enough to let her go in the first place.

Fellas, go get your girls.