It hurt at first. It hurt when you left. It hurt so fucking bad. I cried for weeks, wondering why. Why would you choose your new group— the ones who laughed at me, not with me? Why did you throw away ten years of friendship like it was nothing? Or was it me? The woman I called Mom told me it was. She told you not to hang with me, called me boy crazy, said I talked too much— like my voice was a problem. Her dad? I laughed with him. I called him Dad. And it felt real. I loved your family, but now they’re strangers. Because you chose your new group and left me behind. Maybe I was the problem— couldn’t fit in your new group. Felicity tried, but even she couldn’t save what you let go. I was still holding on— to the girl I called my best friend. But she’s gone. Not since you became her. I don’t know who you are anymore, and that breaks me in two. I tried. God, I tried. But you’re too far gone. Still— losing you was worth reclaiming my happiness. It doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt. It doesn’t mean I didn’t love you. And I still miss the version of you who once loved me back. .