“OMG!” I smile to myself when an old friend’s Instagram post crosses my feed. 

The giant heart pings across the post. Fondness fills my chest as I celebrate quietly for my old friend. 

Days later, she comments on one of mine. “Should I respond?” I debate with myself, biting my lip while my thumbs hover over the keyboard. “Nah.” I decide sorrowfully, “I don’t want her to think I want to reconnect like that.” 

I swipe up out of the app.

Guilt follows me into the real world. The boundary eats away at me.

Sometimes, it’s easier to be a bitch.

Sometimes.

I don’t want them to relearn this version of me. The rejection would ruin me. 

I want them to remember me as I was. 

And it hurts to know that the ghost of me still dwells in someone else’s memories.