Verse 1
I wake up already tired of my name
Like I’ve been disappointing people in my sleep
There’s a dent in the mattress where you used to lay
I keep it there like it’s proof you were real to me
I rehearse conversations you’ll never hear
Apologies that don’t land anymore
I still flinch when my phone lights up
Like maybe you forgot what you were leaving for
Pre-Chorus
I’m not good at being alone
But I’m getting practice now
I talk to your ghost in the hallway
Like it might talk back somehow
Chorus
I loved you in the quiet ways
I never learned how to say
I let my fear do all the talking
While you slowly slipped away
If loving me felt like drowning
I guess I held you under too
I didn’t mean to make you lonely
I just didn’t know what to do
Verse 2
There’s a box in my closet I won’t unpack
It smells like your shampoo and regret
I tell my friends I’m doing “okay”
Which is just code for “not dead yet”
You said I push people away to feel in control
Like leaving first hurts less somehow
I swear I was trying to stay
I just didn’t know how to let you down easy, wow
Pre-Chorus
I keep waiting for closure
Like it’s something I deserve
But all I got is the echo
Of every unreturned word
Chorus
I loved you in the quiet ways
I never learned how to say
I turned my heart into a joke
So you wouldn’t see it shake
If loving me felt like drowning
I guess I held you under too
I didn’t mean to make you lonely
I just didn’t know what to do
Bridge
If I’m honest, I still check your street
When I’m driving home too late
Like maybe I’ll catch your lights on
And pretend it’s not too late
I’d give anything to be braver then
To say “please stay” out loud
But I learned too late that silence
Can hurt just as much as howling now
Final Chorus
I loved you in the quiet ways
And now they’re all I hear
Every unsent message
Ringing in my ears
If loving me felt like drowning
I’m sorry I pulled you down
I hope you’re breathing somewhere
Even if I’m not around
Outro
I’m learning how to miss you
Without asking you to come back
But some nights
That feels like learning how to breathe
With half a lung intact.