DEAR HARRIETTE: I hit it off with a new friend, and we’ve been chatting on social media. We have exchanged numbers and have been texting every day. The conversation flowed smoothly.
Recently, I've been noticing a pullback. He started to take several hours to respond to my messages, then suddenly and completely stopped. I waited a couple of days before sending more messages. I then sent a message asking if everything was going well, and I received no response. Initially I hoped that nothing bad happened to him, but my gut tells me that something fishy is going on. Why would a person cut off communication so abruptly? -- Stopped Short
DEAR STOPPED SHORT: Chances are, this man is either married or in a committed relationship. That he was totally engaged and communicating regularly with you only to abruptly stop suggests that outside forces were involved.
While it can be disconcerting to have enjoyed so much one-on-one time with him only to have him disappear, it is probably best for you to cut your losses. You cannot force him to write to you. Whatever happened has taken him away from you. Let him go; if he does resurface, he will need to explain what happened, but I wouldn’t wait for him to return.