The future is never predictable, and sometimes, no matter how perfect everything seems, it's just not meant to last. Dan and Cheryl had been together for four years when things began to fall apart. Cheryl had grown away from her boyfriend, and spending time with him became a chore. Dan cherished Cheryl.
Cheryl never realized the extent of Dan's love. He was one of those guys that fell in love and had no intentions of living his life any differently at any point. Over and over again, he pictured himself marrying her. Cheryl picture herself moving on with her life.
There was an attachment that Dan had for Cheryl that doesn't come around too often, but it was disguised by his quiet, passive nature. Cheryl usually interpreted his actions as his way of saying he didn't care. He cared though. He cared so much he would let her win every argument just so he could see her smile. He would give in to her every request to make her happy. There was nothing he wouldn't do for her, no matter how angry she would make him. It was impossible for him to ever stay mad at her, even though she provoked nearly every fight they ever had.
Still, with every day they were together, Dan's dependency on Cheryl increased blindly to Cheryl's knowledge. Picturing his days without her made me him feel helpless and miserable. Yet, there didn't seem to be much hope for Dan, and for some reason, on this day, every moment they were in a car together, they ended up fighting over their relationship and what it was, or wasn't.
Dan regretted initiating the conversation which then turned into a fight. All he intended to do was gain reassurance of his relationship with Cheryl, but it backfired.
"Do you still love me?" Dan asked this assuming she would say yes, but that wasn't what happened.
"What exactly are you getting at, Dan?" Cheryl snapped at him defensively.
"Whoa... wait a minute. What is up with you?"
"Nothing, Dan! I'm just sick of you questioning me."
"What are you talking about?" Dan asked confused. "I wasn't questioning anything. I don't doubt you or your feelings."
"Then why were you questioning whether or not I love you?"
"Holy shit! Are you serious? I wasn't questioning you. It was just a casual question. People do things like that all the time. You seriously need to chill out."
"Fuck you, Dan. I don't need to ‘chill out'! You need to start trusting me."
"Whoever said I didn't trust you?"
"You know what, Dan. I really don't want to fight with you about this. Thanks for taking me to breakfast. Now take me home."
Cheryl walked out of the restaurant towards Dan's SUV and waited for him to unlock the door and take her home.
On the way, Dan's attempt to comfort her turned into another heated battle, and by the time he had gotten home, he doubted if his relationship would survive the rest of the day.