Should I reach out to someone I’m still attached to, or give them space?

I’m 22F and he’s 21M. We’ve known each other for over a year, and our relationship has been very on-and-off and complicated.

We met in May 2025 and became extremely close. We were never officially together, but it was basically a relationship. He eventually disappeared because he was dealing with a lot personally, and we didn’t speak for months.

We reconnected in May 2026 and became close again. We started seeing each other regularly and eventually became emotionally and yk involved again. Things were good at times, but also very confusing. We’d have really intimate/romantic moments together, while he could also be distant and inconsistent.

Recently I tested positive for gonorrhea. I’ve only been sexually active with him, but neither of us knows where it came from. I wasn’t trying to blame him, but the situation understandably created a lot of distrust and changed the dynamic between us.

He eventually told me that he doesn’t think we should continue whatever we’ve been doing. I told him that I care about him and that I wasn’t seeing anyone else. We haven’t spoken since August 9th.

I don’t necessarily want a traditional relationship with him, but I do care about him deeply and don’t want to lose him completely.

What would you recommend I do from here? Should I continue giving him space and wait to see if he reaches out, or would one low-pressure message be reasonable? If I don’t contact him, how should I approach moving forward when I still have strong feelings for him?