Page 89 of A Solid Guide to Surviving a Situationship

It was almost midnight when everything finally slowed down.

We were back in bed; the room dim except for the soft glow of our phones. The city outside had quieted into something distant—just the occasional hum of traffic slipping through the windows—but inside, it felt still. Comfortable. Easy.

Kyle sat beside me, scrolling through his phone like nothing in the world could touch him.

I was doing the same… or at least, pretending to.

I had Mel’s chat open.

She was online—the small green dot sat there like it was mocking me, blinking in and out every few minutes. I had already sent five messages. Nothing dramatic. Just enough to start a conversation or if she’ll respond.

She didn’t.

And it wasn’t just tonight.

Ever since Abacca, she had been… off. Distant in a way that didn’t feel like her. Quiet in a way that didn’t feel temporary.

I had asked the others about it—Honey, Andi, and Andre—but they all gave me the same answers.

“She’ll be fine.”

“She’s just shocked.”

“Give her time.”

None of it felt right. It felt rehearsed. Like they were all reading from the same script I wasn’t part of.

There certainly was something they weren’t telling me.

I stared at the screen a little longer, waiting for those typing dots to appear. But they didn’t.

But then suddenly, Kyle let out a deep sigh beside me.

It cut through the quiet just enough to pull me out of my head.

I turned to him. “What?”

He didn’t look at me right away, still staring at his phone. “Nothing.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

I waited still.

He sighed again. Softer this time. “Andre’s being weird.”

That made me sit up a little. “Weird how?”

“He’s… I don’t know.” Kyle shrugged. “Feels like a little mad.”

“At you?”

“Yeah.”

I let out a small breath, almost a laugh. “Join the club.”

That got his attention.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

I hesitated at first, then turned my body to face him. “I don’t know. Everyone’s been acting weird lately. Not just Andre. Mel, too. Even Honey and Andi.”