He shouldn’t have to screw up to realize how much you mean to him. He shouldn’t have to watch you scream and tear up and threaten to leave him in order to realize how much he wants you to stay. He shouldn’t have to come close to losing you to get whipped into shape. He should not need some extreme circumstance to knock him to his senses.

He shouldn’t have to spend sleepless nights without you in bed next to him and have his messages ignored in order to realize he misses you. In order to realize he cherished his conversations with you. In order to realize he liked you as more than a body, more than a temporary salve to take away his pain late at night. He shouldn’t have to spend time apart from you in order to realize he was happiest when you were by his side.

He shouldn’t have to date a string of other girls in order to realize how good he had it when he was with you. It shouldn’t take a round of one-night stands and multiple failed relationships in order for him to see how much you gave him, how well you treated him, how fortunate he was to get to know you. He shouldn’t have to compare and contrast you with other girls. He shouldn’t have to play the field before making a decision about settling down with you.

He should not have to hurt you, to watch your heart shatter in front of his eyes, in order to realize you are the one he wants to spend forever alongside. He should not have to destroy your self-esteem and crush your dreams of the future in order to realize how much power he has over you, in order to understand how much the relationship meant to you. He should not have to see your tears in order to accept your feelings for him and realize he returns those feelings.

He shouldn’t have to come close to losing you, to be frightened into thinking he has lost his chances with you forever, in order to realize how desperately he wants to date you.

If he was the right one for you, then he would realize how much he liked you from the start, from the first day you met, from the first time you had a conversation. He would not dream of hurting you to test your feelings for him. He would not dream of putting you on hold to date other girls just because he can. He would not dream of letting a girl like you go, not even for a second.

If he was the right one for you, he would not have put you through so much heartache. He would not have been the reason why you cried yourself to sleep at night. He would not have given you reasons to doubt yourself, to hate yourself.

If he was the right one for you, he never would have put your relationship in jeopardy. He never would have risked sending you away.