We all have "that" relationship. You know, the one where you can feel the earth move whenever your partner leaves for good. Being a big sister comes with a lot of obligations, and protecting my little sister from everything from a bee sting to a broken heart is one of those obligations. However, sometimes I can't protect her from everything, which is why I'm writing to you. When you walked away from my sister, you shook the earth underneath her feet, and I'm busy sorting through the rubble.

Before I address you, I would like to remind you of the girl you met in the beginning. A year ago, my sister had enough confidence in herself to sing out at the top of her lungs and tell the world what she wanted. She had a fire inside of her that I never knew could be extinguished until you came around. There wasn't a second of the day when her eyes went dull because they were always so bright with curiosity and determination. Many times I had to tell her to stop laughing so much because her happiness was annoying. That was the girl you met, and that was the girl you destroyed.

You might not know that you destroyed that girl, my sister. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say that you had no idea what you were doing to her heart. It was a slow process; you drained her of hope like a plant that slowly withered away without water. In this case, your love and attention was her water. Without your water to nourish her ideas and happiness, she couldn't bloom. Her big, bright grin slowly turned into a soft smile that never quite reaches her eyes. The fire that burned inside her soul doesn't seem to be enough anymore.

You might have relished in the moments after a football game when she was the first one to jump into your arms and congratulate you. You might have taken for granted the moments when you got away with doing what you want because she didn't know she needed to be worried. Over time, however, I got to experience different moments of my sister's life. The moments when she was sobbing into my shirt after waiting days without hearing from you. I got to experience the moments when her body went stiff except for the trembles rocking through her because she caught you cheating on her. You might have gotten to see the bright eyes and toothy smile every time you were with her, but I'm stuck trying to fix the dark circles and deep frowns that mark your absence.

I might not ever forgive you for teaching my sister how to fear the worst in a relationship or for ruining her self esteem. I might not ever forgive you for the nights when both my sister and I lost countless hours of sleep because of the harsh words that left your mouth and left her stunned. But she might forgive you, and I hope she does. I hope she uses this experience to form more secure relationships in the future. I hope she uses her story as an example when trying to comfort her friends from their own heartbreak.

I might not forgive you, but I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for allowing my sister to feel something so raw and so real. Thank you for showing her who her true supporters are because those are they people she turned to when she didn't have you. Although it's one of the hardest lessons to learn in life, I'm glad that she learned that people aren't always who they seem to be, so thank you for being the perfect model for that lesson.