Knight In Shining Armor or Fool In Wrinkly Tinfoil?

You know that boy that changed your life? The one relationship that altered your outlook on every other relationship, formed who you are, and permanently adjusted everything you previously thought about men? We all have one. I met a guy... Or so the story goes. He rocked the very foundation my world was oh-so-firmly planted on. Never before, and never again, will a man effect me the way I let him. Here goes nothing. Freshly out of high school, very newly single, and looking for a new adventure, I spent almost all of my time searching high and low for my next adrenaline rush. And then my best friend casually suggested I meet this guy. The first time we met, I didn't say more than three words. There was so much to take in. From his big diesel truck and cowboy boots to his pierced ears, messy blonde hair and sunglasses, there wasn't a thing I disliked. He may as well have been on a horse, gleaming in he sun. I was hooked. He was different from any guy I'd ever wanted, so bold and dangerously sexy. We were in constant communication from the beginning, practically inseparable. All dreams come to an end, though, and mine was cut short exactly one week later.

 He ditched me with no notice and left me hanging by myself for the first time a week to the day after we met. He called to say he was on his way and then just... Never came. Five hours later I received a nonchalant text message. Red flag number one, but of course I forgave him. After an amazing weekend, we repeated the pattern. From that first time he made me sob uncontrollably, my life was never the same. I spent more time aimlessly driving in the middle of the night, wandering around on random walking trails, and sitting in scenic lookout points than there were hours in the day. I waited on pins and needles for him to summon me, knowing my desire to see him didn't make a lick of difference. And that was just the way it was.

 Being head over heels for an egotistical scumbag is never easy. I responded to every late night call and random request, hoping that he'd love me back soon. Four months in to this hot pathetic mess, dynamics changed. He had decided to move to North Carolina to work the oil rigs, and he had decided he wanted a girlfriend waiting at home for him. And so, I was granted an official title. For a whopping six days, I had everything I wanted. Never in life have I hated texting as much as I did that night, when I read his cowardly "we need to just be friends" message. We went two weeks without talking until his best friends informed him I was still an emotional train wreck and had cut off all my hair. He came swooping back into my life like every prince charming should. When he rolled up in front of my house the rumble of his engine captured my attention and his all consuming kiss stole my breath. Until he decided he didn't like how much he liked me. And that was that.

 I endured six of the most excruciating months of my life, and then I realized he was just a stupid fool in tinfoil, so I moved my pathetic and shattered heart across the country. From August to December, he left and came back a grand total of eight times. It takes a lot to pick up the pieces from such thorough emotional, physical, and verbal abuse. I discovered that two months of recovery isn't enough when he called me two days ago. He loves me now. Wants me to come home, settle down, and take care of him like I did so well. And you know what I have to say to him? Six months was too much, you had your chance, and I am home and happy here without you. I'm just not that girl anymore.

 It hurts like ripping open a week old wound, feels fresh and real enough to have happened yesterday, and will never completely go away. But I'm stronger now, and I'm refined. Diamonds are beautiful in the rough, but isn't majestic what a little heat and pressure can do?

 Here's to all the single ladies. Because if he didn't want you then, he sure as heck doesn't deserve you now.