Verse 1
It’s embarrassing, honestly
How many times I circled back
Like maybe on the seventh try
A red flag wouldn’t still be red
I’d lived this story once before
Swore I’d recognize the plot
He did his damage for entertainment
At least you apologized a lot
I used to judge the girls who stayed
Like leaving came for free
Funny how I knew exactly what to do
Till it happened again to me
Somewhere between “please don’t leave”
And you telling me to go
I forgot I had a whole damn life
Before I made you home
Pre-Chorus
I got loud, I’ll own the volume
But don’t rewrite what made me scream
You can hate the way I said it
Without changing what you did to me
Chorus
I forgot who the hell I was
Trying to be who you could love
Turned myself into an apology
And still it wasn’t enough
You said, “I won’t give up on you”
God, I’d never had that before
So I believed you every time
You pulled me in, then showed me the door
Yeah, I yelled, I’ll own the thunder
But thunder doesn’t make the rain
My reaction wasn’t permission
For you to hand me all that pain
Verse 2
You wanted an apology
For something I never said
You heard it through your history
Then put those words inside my head
I’ll answer for what I meant
I’ll take the blame that’s mine
But I won’t confess to your translation
Just to make your version rhyme
Funny how my tone was unforgivable
But your actions needed context
Every contradiction got a footnote
Every lie came with a “but” next
Verse 3
You hated when I cried
Said it made you feel like a monster
But tears were never my best weapon
I could’ve cut a whole lot sharper
I could’ve always been meaner
I knew exactly where to aim
We all have demons living in us
Mine know how to play that game
I knew the words that would’ve followed you
Long after I was gone
The kind that make you question
Every place you thought you belonged
But even when I hated you
I kept those demons on a leash
I protected you from the worst of me
You never did the same for me
Bridge
The embarrassing part isn’t loving you
It’s how cheap I sold myself
Kept lowering the asking price
To stay sitting on your shelf
Called breadcrumbs “potential”
Called chaos something deep
Lost myself trying to keep a man
Who couldn’t even give me peace
Final Chorus
Now I remember who I am
And she ain’t begging you to stay
She knows an “I’ll never give up”
Shouldn’t have an expiration date
I’ll own the nights I raised my voice
I’ll own the things I did
But your hurt doesn’t make mine fiction
Or excuse the lines you crossed with it
I could’ve cut you where it counted
Could’ve made you doubt your name
Could’ve handed all your demons
Every match to every flame
But I knew what words could do to you
So I swallowed mine instead
Maybe that’s the difference
Maybe that’s what sets me free
I was careful with your breaking points
You weren’t careful with me
You met the worst parts of my temper
I met the worst parts of your truth
I spent all that time protecting you
While nobody protected me from you.