But it was my turn to be honest—about what happened in Nashton. So I told Nick everything. That he didn’t need to worry—Clara had already gotten her revenge out of her system on my old account. That the trolling hadn’t been random comments like I’d told Nick—they’d been personal, mean comments…about him. Clara hadn’t been trying to get at me—this had been about Nick. But I’d closed it all down and never told Nick. It was my way of protecting him, so he’d never had any idea. Maybe if I had, things would have been so much simpler for us both.

Nick was furious—more at himself than Clara. He blamed himself for everything, even though no one could have predicted how she would react. I guess, looking back, I had been so involved with my old account that maybe I was partly to blame. Maybe I’d pushed her away just when she needed me the most. And I’d never let her explain either.

As much as I hated hearing it all out loud, admitting how bad things had gotten, I felt so, so much better for it to all be finally out in the open. And to have my brother back on my side.

Which is why I told him the other thing.

The decision I’d made after my call with Holly. That even if I won the challenge, I wasn’t joining Dove’s crew, however big it made my account. I didn’t need a friend like Dove—I never had.

Ever since I’d said yes to her, all she’d done was ask me to do more things, tell me I wasn’t doing well enough. And the more I’d tried to impress her, the more I hadn’t felt good enough, the more the distance had grown between my online life and my real one. If I hadn’t been trying to prove myself to her, none of that stuff with Woody would have happened. And I wouldn’t have messed things up so much with Fred.

I’d wanted to win the challenge to feel good about myself, to feel like I fit in. But here, in Little Marsh, I’d felt that without even trying. And I’d loved every second. Because Ruby, Fred, Holly, even @_Beckywiththemediocrehair_, had reminded me how having a friend was meant to feel. That it was okay to just be me.

And now I was leaving in just over a day.

I kicked the ground. Guess we might as well get everything out in the open. “You like her, don’t you? Holly?”

“Ermmm, were you not there for the most awkward call in the world?” Nick laughed. “She said it herself, Elle. Flights, not feelings.” His dropped his head onto the steering wheel. “And yes, I can’t believe I just said that either.”