Chapter 11
Of course I regretted it.
I regretted not coming here sooner.
All the exhaustion from senior year seemed to melt away under the Florida sun, healed by endless beaches, coconut water, and fresh seafood.
When Olivia heard about Tanner’s betrayal, she went full protective cousin mode–threatening to set me up with every hot guy in Miami while dragging me to every fun spot in the city.
“That asshole doesn’t deserve you,” she’d rage while planning our next adventure.
‘We’re gonna make you so hot he’ll cry.”
Summer in Miami was surprisingly manageable–fewer tourists, decent weather.
We hit the beach at sunrise, went jet skiing, parasailing, deep–sea fishing, hit up water parks, tried cliff diving…
Every day was so packed I’d collapse into bed completely drained, with no mental energy left to think about toxic people back home.
Tanner’s group seemed to be having their own blast.
The girls‘ group chat kept sharing photos from their Alaska adventure–scenic shots that honestly looked incredible.
been avoiding looking at any of it, but the girls kept gushing about how “aesthetic” everything looked.
one afternoon when Olivia finally crashed from exhaustion and gave me some downtime, I mindlessly scrolled d clicked before I could stop myself.
Their group had hit all the major spots–group photos at every scenic overlook, everyone looking annoyingly photogenic.
But it was the couples shots that absolutely destroyed me.
Harper had posted a whole Instagram carousel, and dead center of every grid was her and Tanner.
Against endless mountain ranges, crystal–clear lakes, towering glaciers–all the places I’d dreamed of visiting for
years.
Every single backdrop was somewhere Tanner and I had planned to see together,
The ache in my chest was immediate and brutal, like someone had ripped my heart out through my throat.
16:14
Bye Bye Lovesick Puppy: No Longer Chasing Your Glow, I Became My Own Sun
101
Chapter 11
All those places we’d promised to explore–he was seeing them with someone else, making new memories that erased ours completely.
Turns out nobody’s actually irreplaceable. What a fucking joke.
Olivia caught me spiraling when she woke up and immediately started roasting me.
“It’s just some Instagram posts, babe. Who can’t take pretty pictures? I’ve never lost a photo battle in my life.”
I’ve been telling you–you just never bothered with your glow–up. Clean yourself up for college and those MIT boys won’t know what hit them. You’ll forget all about your basic–ass childhood friend.”
From that day on, Olivia forced me into a complete makeover montage.
envy.
Even my mom was shocked when she saw the photos, actually tearing up: “My little girl’s all grown up.”
My Instagram was absolutely exploding.
All the positive feedback made me self–conscious, so I jumped into the chat to deflect: “You guys are too sweet–it’s all good lighting and editing.”
Everyone went even more insane, including our teachers.
Verify captcha to read the content
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Bye Bye Lovesick Puppy No Longer Chasing Your Glow, I Became My Own Sun