POV: Ava Mitchell
Liam Carter. That name now lived on my phone screen. His texts felt like pieces of sunshine on stormy days.
After that first surprise message on October 31st, things started to shift. We moved from Riley's account to his own. I remember how excited I was when I saw the follow notification from liam.carter_24. I tapped accept so fast it probably broke some kind of speed record.
We talked almost every day.
Not constantly—he wasn't the clingy type—but enough to make me wait for every new notification. It was all so… natural. He wasn't trying too hard. Neither was I. But there was a comfort in the way our words flowed.
He called me "Mitchell" sometimes, teasingly. I'd call him "Blue Shirt," remembering that wedding night.
"You still remember that shirt?" he asked once.
"Hard to forget when someone looks that good," I typed without thinking, then panicked.
He replied with a blushing emoji.
"You're not so forgettable either."
I kept rereading that message for days.
But then—just like that—the mood shifted.
One evening, I opened Instagram and found myself logged out. Weird. I tried logging back into my second account—the one not many people knew about—but I was locked out there too.
Panic rose.
I texted Riley. No reply.
Then… a message from Liam.
"Hey… did you text me from another account?"
I was confused.
"What do you mean?" I replied.
"Someone messaged me. From your other account. Said things. Not cool things."
And my heart dropped.
I realized, in that moment, what had happened.
Riley had access to my second account. She'd asked for it a while ago when we were working on a shared art page. I never thought she'd… No. She wouldn't. Right?
But Liam's next message confirmed it.
"She told me who you were. Said things about me. Abused me. I didn't think it was you, but I can't take chances."
Blocked.
On both accounts.
Gone. Just like that.
I sat on my bed, eyes burning, stomach in knots. I felt humiliated. Betrayed. Stupid.
Why would Riley do this?
Why would he believe her over me?
I tried to explain. Created another account. Sent a message.
"It wasn't me. Please believe me."
No reply.
Blocked again.
And I cried. Quietly. Into my pillow. Because I didn't want my parents to hear. Because grief was already living in our house like a shadow. Because I was supposed to be the strong one.
But inside, I was breaking.
---
Three months passed.
I tried to move on. Focused on school. Helped my mom with dinner more often. Avoided Riley. I stopped checking Liam's profile. Deleted our messages. But some nights… some nights I'd still whisper his name to myself, like maybe saying it would bring him back.
Then came February 16, 2025.
A message.
From Liam.
"Hey, can you come to Riley's house tomorrow?"
I froze.
Was it a prank? A setup?
But no—he confirmed. He'd be visiting. And he wanted to meet.
I stared at the message for a long time before replying.
"Yes. I'll be there."
---
February 17, 2025
I skipped school. Said I wasn't feeling well. My mom didn't ask questions. I put on a hoodie and sneakers and walked to Riley's house with a storm of emotions in my chest.
He was already there.
Liam Carter, in real life again. Taller than I remembered. Hair a little longer. Same shy smile.
We didn't talk about the blocking. Or the second account. Or Riley.
We laughed. We played card games. We shared snacks. We acted like everything was normal. Like there hadn't been months of silence between us.
And it felt right.
Comfortable.
Almost like we'd never stopped talking at all.
When he left the next day, I cried in the shower.
Not because he said goodbye—but because something told me we weren't over.
---