Slowly over time, she noticed Linus removing more of his things that had gotten mixed with hers. Everyday he shared less and less with her until Bella had no idea what was going on in his life any more.

She didn’t even know where he went. Linus was cold and seemed to had to force even the simplest civility.

If she was lucky, he’ll hug her like he would hug his friends. He didn’t look at her like he used to, in fact he barely looked at her at all.

On the rare occasion that he did touch her in passing or a moment of weakness, whatever the reason may be, it lacked compassion and felt empty of affection.

He stopped listening to her. If or when they would by happenstance find themselves alone, he wouldn’t speak. He would simply go to sleep.

She dreaded these moments. They felt too heavy to bear and Bella feared she would snap under the weight.

Luckily, she didn’t.

However, another string in the disentanglement of Bella and Linus did.