Distance didn't look dramatic.
It didn't come with arguments or slammed doors.
It came quietly—
in pauses that lasted a second too long,
in messages typed and never sent,
in the way Reyhan started stepping back the moment things felt heavy.
Aira noticed it immediately.
Not because he disappeared.
But because he adjusted.
He waited less.
Asked fewer questions.
Smiled the same—but stayed guarded.
Like he was giving her space she hadn't asked for.
"You're doing that thing again," Aira said after class.
Reyhan blinked. "Doing what?"
"Deciding for me," she replied calmly.
He looked away.
"I just don't want to overwhelm you."
"That's not your decision to make," she said.
"You don't get to push me away and call it care."
That landed harder than she expected.
Reyhan exhaled slowly.
"I don't know how to stay without feeling like I'm asking for too much."
Aira stepped closer.
"Then stop asking," she said.
"Just be here."
He shook his head.
"It's not that simple."
"It is," she replied quietly.
"You're afraid of being wanted too much."
Reyhan's jaw tightened.
"I'm afraid of becoming a burden," he admitted.
That stopped her.
She softened instantly.
"You're not," she said.
"And when you pull away like this… it makes me feel like I imagined everything."
He looked at her sharply.
"That's not fair," he said.
"I'm trying to protect us."
"No," Aira replied gently.
"You're protecting yourself from the risk of staying."
Silence stretched between them.
Reyhan finally said,
"I don't want to be the one who needs more."
Aira met his eyes.
"Then don't need," she said.
"But don't disappear either."
He studied her face.
"You won't leave if I stay?" he asked quietly.
Aira didn't hesitate.
"No," she said.
"But I will if you keep pushing me away without talking."
That truth hurt—but it was clean.
Reyhan nodded slowly.
"Okay," he said.
"I'll stop deciding for you."
Aira smiled faintly.
"And I'll stop assuming you're leaving when you get quiet."
They didn't fix everything.
But they chose not to repeat the same mistake again.
And that mattered.
RULE #58: Don't let him push you away.
Because distance created from fear
hurts more than closeness ever could.