Should I text him back?

TL;DR: guy I was dating pulled back hard so I left him on read and he didn’t double text. Could he still like me/should I text back after 5 days?

Hi friends!

I’ve been on a few dates with this guy, he acted really interested, texted me everyday, kept asking for another date, then after the last one he said “wanna do this again” as I was leaving, but afterwards never made solid plans.

Our last date was 2 weeks ago, I asked him if he wanted to hang out last weekend and he said he would like to but he was busy, started only texting me once a day, I met his energy/effort and did the same, and then he took two days to reply to the last one and I had by then assumed he had ghosted me and wasn’t expecting a text back. But he didn’t ask a question, didn’t ask to see me, so I didn’t bother responding.

It’s been 5 days and obviously he hasn’t reached out again. I feel bad for not responding and technically being the one to ghost, but just felt as though he was being really clear that he lost interest by not contacting me so much. I don’t think he cares very much that I didn’t respond.

The anxiety of being left on read is too much sometimes and I constantly was checking my phone. If I were to text back now I know I’d just be waiting again, and I know there’s the big chance he’ll fully ghost me next.

I did really like him and I never like anyone – I’ve been single for 2 years now and am definitely ready for a relationship.

Is there a chance he just needed some space and liked me too, and I should message back now? Or should I just leave it as it is and accept it as disinterest because “if he wanted to he would”?