Chapter 15: Choosing Myself

While he was gone, I sold all my grad school prep materials.

I never wanted Lakeview, never wanted a major I hated. I just wanted Caleb.

Now that reason’s gone. I don’t need any of it anymore.

“Aubrey, if you’re not going to grad school, let’s go have fun?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

I smiled and pulled out my study abroad application.

“Now things are even more serious than when I was prepping for grad school.”

I left the library and started spending all my time in the art studio. My wallpaper changed from Caleb to a self-portrait.

Just when I was ready to say goodbye for good and start fresh,

I ran into a girl on my way home from the studio.

As we passed, she called out to me.

“Did you and Caleb really break up?”

I turned to look at her. She looked familiar, but I couldn’t place her.

I didn’t want anything to do with Caleb, so I picked up my pace, planning to ignore her.

But her next words stopped me cold.

“I know who posted your thread.”

My body locked up, mind blank, like I’d just touched a live wire.

She wore black-rimmed glasses, a huge backpack—looked like any other quiet, studious girl.

It was hard to picture her as the person behind that cruel post.

We went to the closest coffee shop. The place smelled like cinnamon and old wood. A couple of frat guys argued over fantasy football at the next table. I let their noise fill the awkward silence.

One coffee, half an hour, and a truth I couldn’t process, no matter how hard I tried.

“Aubrey, that post was made by Caleb Brooks.”

The mug in my hands grew cold... as if the whole world had changed direction and nobody bothered to tell me. My phone buzzed with another campus alert, but all I could hear was her voice: “Aubrey, that post was made by Caleb Brooks.” Everything else went silent.