Chapter 4: Unfriended

At 9 p.m., I sat down at my desk and powered up my laptop, hands steady.

[Did Caleb Brooks and Aubrey Shea break up today]

I sent a flower-throwing emoji and typed my reply:

[Broke up.]

The post blew up instantly, even bigger than when we first got together. Comments poured in by the dozen.

[Is it true?]

[Must be true. Caleb Brooks hasn’t shown up to class for days. He must’ve dumped Aubrey Shea.]

[Girl, where’d you get this info? If you don’t spill, I’m believing it.]

[That try-hard Aubrey Shea finally got dumped?]

I scrolled the replies and answered:

[Really broke up. I’m that try-hard, Aubrey Shea.]

After hitting send, I closed my tablet and deleted everything on my phone. All of it.

It felt good. I never had to look again. That post could finally disappear…

I slept better than I had in months.

No more jumping at missed calls, no more stressing over getting his cold brew just right.

No more girls giving me side-eye for liking him, no more fear that he’d break up with me out of nowhere.

If I’d known, I never should’ve liked him at all.

My pillow felt lighter, the sheets crisp and cool against my skin. I woke up at dawn, actually craving pancakes and real butter. I texted Tasha to meet me at IHOP, just because I could.