You don't mean to do it. Someone gets close—really close—and something in you starts to pull back. You pick a fight. You go cold. You find a reason to leave, or you act in a way that makes them leave first. Afterward, you wonder: why do I keep doing this?

You've noticed the pattern. The people you're drawn to—really drawn to, with that pull you can't quite explain—are the ones who don't fully show up. They're charming but hard to pin down. Warm one moment, distant the next. You keep thinking this time will be different. It never is.