I did consult him and he said there wasn't anything he was aware of between us or with her in general. If she does feel like we need more space it wouldn't be like her to suddenly stop talking to me like without talking about it directly. But I've come to expect people to ghost others when something uncomfortable like this happens. You're right, it's the easiest way and not the best but it happens.

We've been going at this friendship with this level of attention for what must be close to a year now. She lives in the middle of nowhere 30 minutes from town and I've visited her roughly once a month. She's had ample opportunity to decide there's too much attention but hasn't, unless something has changed and that very well could be.

For me personally, anything short of a direct answer is going to leave me wondering and being driven nuts. I may as well just pull the tooth out with a pair of pliers and ask if everything is OK so I can quit worrying and let her know I'm here to talk or mourn the loss of a friend and move on.