<?php $the_query = new WP_Query( 'posts_per_page=5' ); ?>
<?php $postLoops = 0 ?>

<?php while ($the_query -> have_posts()) : $the_query -> the_post(); ?>
<?php $postLoops++;
if ($postLoops == 2) {
    echo '<div class="post-right-half">';
}
if ($postLoops == 1) {
    echo '<div class="post-left-half">';
}

?>
<div class="post-square">
    <div class="post-thumbnail" style="background-image: url(<?php the_post_thumbnail_url(); ?>);"><br></div>
    <div class="content-half">
        <h2 class="post-title"><?php the_title(); ?></h2>
        <p class="post-content"><?php the_excerpt(__('(more…)')); ?</p>
        <a class="read-more" href="<?php the_permalink() ?>">Read More <i class="fa fa-angle-right" aria-hidden="true"></i></a>
    </div>
</div>

<?php
if ($postLoops == 3) {
    echo '</div>';
}
if ($postLoops == 1) {
    echo '</div>';
}
?>

<?php
endwhile;
wp_reset_postdata();
?>