When he texts you after midnight, do not answer him.

No matter the emoji, no matter the pleading, no matter the sweet little words he strings together to try and convince you that he’s worth your time. It doesn’t matter if he calls you ‘baby’ or ‘sweet girl’ or ‘the only one for me’ because he is texting you when the sun is down and there is no one around to hold him accountable for his actions. It doesn’t matter what he calls you because he isn’t calling you when it matters. He’s calling on you after midnight when he doesn’t really have to look you in the eye.

When he texts you after midnight, do not give him a moment of your time.

Leave him with a read receipt, a texting signal that will never end, an unanswered message. Just do not give him the satisfaction of hearing from you. If he wanted to hear from you, you’d be with him at midnight instead of just finding out you’re on his mind at midnight. Because girls who get texts at midnight are simply afterthoughts, and you deserve his full attention at any hour of any day.

When he texts you after midnight, turn your phone off.

Flip it over, put it in another room, silence it, or simply decide you’re done with technology for 8 plus more hours. Take away his ability to crawl into your mind through that stupid screen by simply refusing to allow it. The only power he has is through his method of communication – so sever it. Cut it off. Refuse to allow it. Take back the power he’s trying to steal from you and put it in your own hands by cutting all ties.

When he texts you after midnight, remember you could be anyone.

You’re not special, it doesn’t mean anything, he just happened across your name and moving his thumbs back and forth at this ungodly hour came second nature to him. You could have been anyone, any girl. You could’ve been the girl from the line at the club, the girl who he used to be in love with, the girl who he works with and eyes from across a conference table. It’s not about you. It’s about him. And with boys who only text after midnight, it always will be.

When he texts you after midnight, know that he doesn’t really care.

You are simply an option instead of going home alone, which he will still happily do without you. You are just a fleeting thought of, ‘This might be fun’ not something he actually holds close to his heart. You are just another name in his phone, another would-be notch on his bedpost, another person who he has only seen as a body and not a someone. You need to remember that as difficult as it may be to swallow, you are not someone he values.

When he texts you after midnight, do not answer.

Your answering is your lifeline, and you need to cling on to it. Your answering is your power, and you need to retain it. Your answering is your self-worth, and you need to keep it. Your answering is the only thing you have left, and you owe it to yourself to keep it for you.

And remember. Sometimes, saying nothing is more powerful than saying anything at all.