Chapter 2
And yet, it turned out I was just fooling myself again.
My eyes grew red and, flustered, I quickly swiped away that message.
In a rush, I scrolled back to the previous one.
May 13th.
[Guess I'll never get to have a cat in this life. So annoying.]
The post was accompanied by a picture of an adorable Selkirk Rex cat.
Ava loved cats.
But she only had eyes for this particular breed.
But I was seriously allergic to cat fur.
Ava had wanted to adopt one for years, but her mom never let her have one.
She'd never mentioned it to me before.
I never thought she secretly resented me for it, even if she kept it to herself.
May 3rd.
[I hate those boring family get-togethers on holidays. Such a waste of time.]
I remembered that day clearly — my parents had finally gotten a few days off, and they'd rushed over to meet Mr. and Mrs. Mogan.
It was the holiday season, and train tickets were impossible to get.
They had to stand for five hours straight to make it.
When we saw them off, Ava even said they shouldn't go through all that trouble next time—that she'd often come back home with me.
My parents were really moved. Even after they boarded the train, they messaged me saying Ava was such a sweet kid.
None of us ever realized that deep down, she actually hated these family get-togethers.
The more I thought about it, the more bitter I felt.
April 17.
[Sometimes I like the calm, simple days. Sometimes I get sick of them. Not sure if I'm tired of him or of life itself—maybe both.]
February 10th.
[Forgot to get him a birthday present again. But hey, I talked fast enough—maybe those words counted as one?]
February 5th.
[The most annoying time of the year's coming up again.]
Over the past eight years, Ava hardly posted anything.
But every single post hit me deep inside.
I took my time, spending the whole night reading through them.
It felt like my heart had been carved up with a blunt knife all night.
By the end, it felt like I was slowly building up an immunity to it all.
Some of those words just lost their power to hurt me.
When I finally reached the posts from seven years ago.
That was when I walked straight into another kind of hell.
August 15th.
I knew that date by heart.
It was our anniversary—mine and Ava's.
But the post she made that day wasn't about me. It was about someone else.
She wrote: [I wish you happiness, even if it means I'll never have any.]
My mind went completely blank.
It took me a long time to process it.
That day wasn't just our anniversary—it was also the day Ava broke up with Liam.
He'd flown overseas that very day, chasing his dreams.
And that same night, Ava showed up at my room, drunk and glassy-eyed.
She looked at me and said, "Dylan, why don't we… give it a try?"
The memory was crystal clear—like it had just happened yesterday.
But now, remembering it only brought a searing pain that burrowed into my lungs.
I fell for Ava from the very first moment I saw her.
After we finished high school, I made up my mind to finally tell her how I felt.
But that morning, she had already left before I even woke up.
I waited all the way until noon, but she never showed up.
I couldn't stand the overthinking anymore. So I just called her directly.
But before I could even say hello, Charlotte's voice exploded through the receiver—practically yelling.
"Ava, come get your husband! He's about to win all my money!"
"Don't be ridiculous," Ava said, a soft laugh lacing her words.
Her tone was light, amusement clear in her voice.
But she didn't correct her.
I froze, phone still to my ear.
"Dylan? You there? Did you need something?" Ava said, her voice finally cutting through.
She called my name a few times before I finally answered.
"Yeah, I'm here. I can hear you—uh, but... it's nothing, really," I stammered, forcing the words out.
I swallowed hard, fighting the tightness in my throat.
But my voice shook, and it was painfully obvious how messed up I was.
Ava definitely picked up on it.
There was a brief pause, but she didn't say anything.
"Okay," Ava said.
Right before she hung up, I heard Eric's voice.
"A bet's a bet — you lose, you pay," he said.
My parents and Ava's folks were classmates way back when.
They used to be super close in school, but after graduation, they all drifted apart and lost touch.
They only reconnected years later because I happened to be going to school near Ava's neighborhood.
Once Ava's mom found out, she got together with my parents and suggested I move in with them.
She even joked it'd give her a feel for what having a son is like.
"We'd feel so bad crashing at your place..." my parents said, clearly uncomfortable with the idea.
My folks really didn't want to intrude.
But Ava's mom was stubborn about it. "Oh come on, just say yes already! My daughter's way too independent—barely even talks to me. Not like Dylan here, such a sweet kid! Don't worry, I'll take good care of him."
And just like that, I ended up moving in with the Morgan family.
That was when I finally crossed paths with Ava for real.
I could still remember—she showed up in a simple white dress, looking every bit the quiet girl next door.