Nyctophobia: A phobia characterized by a severe fear of the dark. It is triggered by the brain's disfigured perception of what would, or could, happen when in a dark environment.
The dark had always held some sort of twisted fascination for you. While you were immensely terrified of it, it also seemed to draw you in, beckoning you to explore its seemingly infinite depths.
A mystery. An enigma. A puzzle you so desperately wanted to crack.
That's what he is to you.
That's what he always will be to you.
At first, he found your fear of the dark a little childish, yet endearing. He loved it when you would immediately search himout whenever it got too dark for you. He loved to take care of you. He loved that you were dependant on him.
He chuckled, knowing as soon as the lights started flickering you'd scurry to his side.
"Hey, here." He said, handing you a mug of hot chocolate to calm your nerves.
He then led you to the living room, where you both settled down on the couch. The light that emanated from his phone served to calm you as you sipped at your drink.
"See? Not that bad, right?" He put an arm around you as he pulled up a video as a distraction.
And for the first time, you weren't so afraid of the dark anymore.
Well, at least he used to.
He used to dote on you, cater to your needs and helped fix your problems.
He was perfect. He was the light against your dark.
Until the day he turned into it.
No one ever saw it coming. You two were the perfect couple; unbreakable, infinite.
"Will you protect me from the dark?" You muttered, after another blackout.
He chuckled, "Forever."
But one day he stopped smiling when you ran to him for shelter from the dark. One day he stopped distracting you from it, and instead emphasized the darkness around you by being silent. Not even the warmth radiating from the person right beside you could even be a slight distraction.
Then one day, he stopped helping you through it altogether.
That's when you knew that you lost him.
It became solid, physical proof once the fights started.
He started picking fights over the littlest things. By now you were tired. At first you just relented, telling him what he needed to hear.
Then things escalated.
What he said... What he said didn't seem like a big deal to him, but to you, it was what tore your world apart.
"You can suffer in the dark on your own, for all I care!"
And then he left.
As soon as the door slammed behind him, and the last of his stuff gone, the real darkness that he had been helping to keep at bay,
consumed you.