Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Two weeks later, I was pushing a sad–looking salad around my plate in the dining hall when the notification popped up:
Visa Application Approved.
Mom texted seconds later: Passport’s in the mail. Flight’s booked. You leave in 3 days.
My chest tightened. This was really happening.
Then the door swung open.
Tanner walked in with Ayla hanging off his arm like human jewelry.
They slid into a booth way too close to mine.
Ayla started picking onions out of her burger and dropping them right into Tanner’s fries–like she owned him.
And he let her.
But his eyes? They kept drifting over to me. Waiting. Like any second I’d cave and come over begging for his attention.
For two weeks, I hadn’t called. Hadn’t texted. Hadn’t even looked his way in the quad.
So today–like every other day–I picked up my tray, walked right past their table, and dumped my leftovers without a single glance.
That night, a pic of me eating alone blew up on an IG confession page. Some anon had posted it with:
Who’s the quiet girl at the corner table? Is she single?
I commented under the post:
Yes. Single.
Not even five minutes later, Tanner’s account replied:
???
Since when, Addie?
I’d almost forgotten–I never unfollowed him.
His DM came through like he still had the right:
2 weeks and you’re still mad about a Gatorade? Damn, you’re committed?
You miss me yet or what?
There was a time when that message would’ve wrecked me. When my fingers would’ve trembled just typing back.
But now?
I felt nothing.
Just a hollow kind of calm.
I wrote back:
07:42
Delete, Block, Move On: Your Little Crybaby Upgraded to Untouchable Queen
3.5%
Chapter 5
What do you want, Tanner?
If it’s nothing, I’m unfollowing.
Okay okay do your thing ?, he replied, like I was being dramatic.
Look. Let’s get dinner tomorrow. Just us. No Ayla.
Thanksgiving break’s next week… we’re gonna see each other at home anyway. You can’t avoid me forever, crybaby.
C’mon, Addie.
Be good.
Olivia Harris is an emerging author celebrated for her captivating romantic and steamy DaisyNovel. With a talent for crafting deep emotional connections and fiery chemistry between her characters, Olivia’s stories offer readers an escape into worlds filled with passion, intrigue, and heart-stopping drama.