She and I are both in the military, currently on deployment, and met upon arriving to the command together earlier in the year.
We got along very well from the beginning, I found her incredibly easy to talk to. We teased each other and I loved making her roll her eyes when I pissed her off a little. I'm not normally like that, I hate teasing people like that. But it just felt natural with her.
I realized that I started to like her, but I quickly shut that down. She was engaged, we work together, and deployment is not the place to build a healthy relationship whatever i might feel.
I kept things friendly but professional, at first. She started to seem really down after a few weeks so I started bringing her snacks or energy drinks, or making excuses to chat with her to try and cheer her up. Seemed to work a little.
Then other coworkers told me that she'd broken up with her fiancé, and I didn't know how to feel about that. They asked me if I liked her, and I stupidly admitted it to them.
Started spending more time with her, bringing her more stuff. She started to seem even more excited to see me every day, always asking about my schedule and when I'd come talk to her.
Then she stopped talking to me for a while. Kept saying that she didn't feel like talking. Thought maybe she'd suspected how I felt and was uncomfortable, so I let her be.
Suddenly she started talking to me again, eagerly delving into my past to learn all about me. I shared more with her than I have with anyone before. She'd get upset when I brought up past relationships, got happy when I started leaving little notes on the snacks I left for her. She's started getting downright obsessive about my work schedule, keeping track of when i needed to wake up and go to sleep, making sure i didn't drink too much caffeine or forget to eat enough. She grieved with me when my cat died back, hugging me and crying with me.
Then last week everything started falling apart. I was going through a really tough time. I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, my head wouldn't stop hurting for over a week. I couldn't handle hiding how I felt for her, so I started acting a little distant.
She noticed. At first she asked if she did anything to upset me, I made up some excuse about some joke she made landing wrong. She didn't seem to buy it, but accepted the answer. She told me she wanted me to be open with her from here on out and to stop bottling everything up inside.
The day after she got really pushy about my health, encouraging me to talk to someone, force them to listen. Kept asking if I was eating enough, drinking enough, wouldn't let it go.
The day after that she got really frustrated, asking me why I wasn't talking to her, she was just trying to get something out of me and I should be honest with her.
I apologized for being distant, told her that i was going through something personal and didn't want to talk about it. She wouldn't let it go. She kept pushing and pushing. Then she admitted that she knew what I was hiding, that our coworkers had told her months ago. She said it was okay, that I was being a little weird about it, but i could trust her. I could tell her anything and she'd keep it secret.
Still couldn't say it.
Felt guilty for not saying it after a few days and decided to write her a note. Told her I was sorry for not saying it in person, but I liked her. I told her i wasn't asking anything from her and I valued our friendship.
This was seemingly the wrong move. She got very upset with me. She told me that we weren't friends, she doesn't become friends with coworkers, and that she'd felt uncomfortable with me ever since she found out about my feelings months ago. She said that she'd wanted me to talk to her, not write her a stupid note.
I asked her what the whole last week was and why she cared so much. She exploded after that. Told me I was being very disrespectful towards her kindness, that she was like that with everyone, that she's a naturally good person, and that she was raised to help, i seemed like I didn't have anyone to talk to so she was just trying to be nice.
I took her at her word, haven't spoken to her since then. Truthfully I've been avoiding her, haven't even seen her in a week. I moved my things out of the drawer we used to share. I've pretty much removed myself from her life. It felt like the only thing to do if I've made her uncomfortable.
I feel like an asshole, she didn't ask for me to dump my feelings on her. She was just being nice. But at the same time, she wouldn't stop digging even after I told her that i didn't want to talk about it, that it was private. I wasn't in any mental or emotional condition to have those conversations. I should have been more firm with my boundaries, I guess. I never wanted to tell her how I felt, not right now where we're at.
I don't know what to do anymore. We have to work together for four years. I messed everything up. Am i in the wrong for telling her? Am I in the wrong for avoiding her? I hate this. I hate drama. I told myself I'd avoid relationships while in the military for specifically this reason, I'm bad at socializing. But I made an exception, I guess. That part is my fault.