My phone vibrates, and I assume it’s Brian, who said he’d be back in an hour, you know, hopefully before our parents get here. I look at the screen and see it’s actually a Tumblr DM, which, fucking great.

Now that I’ve officially cut Drew out of every corner of my life, I finally made a post apologizing to the Diary for all my lies and all the other BS I’d put out back when I thought I actually knew a thing about love.

But I didn’t stick around to hear people’s responses. Honestly, I don’t even know what the Diary should be anymore. It feels disingenuous to keep posting fake stories, but I don’t want to make my relationship with Devin super public ether. A part of me keeps playing Drew’s voice on repeat as he said it was my fault we broke up because I let the Diary get in between us. I know we were doomed to fail all along, but if the Diary really was a part of it, there’s no way I’m letting that mess with my relationship with Devin.

Besides, at the end of the day, the Diary’s about trans people and rekindling their hope for love. I don’t want it to be about me. I want it to be about them.

But still, it leaves me at a loss. The Diary’s important, but if I want it to help young trans people the same way Devin’s coming out helped me, I don’t feel like I’m the best person to manage it anymore. I lost my readers’ trust, and I don’t know how to gain it back. When I last talked to Becca about it, she said she might be able to take over for a while, but I feel like it should be run by a trans author. That, and Becca’s writing fucking sucks.

The message is long, and I consider just ignoring it, but finally, I suck it up and read:

Dear Noah,

You don’t know me, but I’ve been an avid follower of the Meet Cute Diary for some time now. I’m a trans girl living in Wisconsin, and I’ve been dating my boyfriend for almost two years. We first met when my parents’ car broke down and we had to hitchhike our way to a rest stop. Anyway, it’s a really cute story, and I’d love to share it on the Diary, but I’d rather have it credited to my account than posted anonymously. After seeing you share your own story publicly, I think it would mean a lot more that way. Is that something I can do? Please let me know!

I freeze, my eyes roving over the screen again as I reread the message.

“What’s up?” Devin asks.