An argument ends, but something lingers.
The words stop, the room grows quiet, and outwardly nothing dramatic happens. There is no escalation, no shouting, no final blow. Yet something in me withdraws. I become distant. Emotionally unavailable. Conversation feels heavy and effortful, as if language itself has receded.
For a long time, I did not understand this pattern. I only knew that it kept repeating, and that the distance it created often felt more damaging than the disagreement that preceded it.
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