Wednesday, October 23rd, 2019

Dear Brenden,

Today was my 17th birthday. All my friends make fun of me because they're all turning 18 within the next three months and I'm not gonna be an adult for another year. It's all good though, I've been dealing with their teasing for years now.

I remember my 16th birthday last year. You surprised me by flying out here for the week. I mean, my parents knew and everything and everyone was so excited for me. It was so cool to have you out here with me, I felt like it was a movie--my boyfriend of almost a year, flying out to see me for my birthday, missing a week of his senior year of high school to hang out with my family and be there for me. It was like a slice of heaven. I couldn't believe you cared about me that much.

Look at that, now I'm crying.

Gosh it's hard to miss someone this much. Why does it hurt like this? It's been over a month. You still try to contact me. Your letters make me cry because I want to reply but I know I can't. I have to stay away, which is why this blog is such a good thing for me. Ican reply to your letters, but they'll just never reach you. I wonder if you'll keep writing to me, despite me not answering. I'm sorry if I offended you, and I'm sorry if this is an awful thing to do...but then again, you deserve it. You ruined me and you ruined any chance we had of regaining anything.

I need you to understand that I still love you, and maybe I always will. But I need you to also understand that I can't come back. I have to stay away.

But I won't be forgetting anything. Or forgiving anything, for that matter.

Love,

Aria

A/N: Hey guys!! Sorry that this update is late on Sunday, but I decided to take a three-hour nap instead of write this afternoon and it was GREAT, I literally get no sleep with all the crap I have to do. 

Also, if you didn't see my Author's Note on Dear Sydney (or if you don't read Dear Sydney, which I get because yeah it looks freaking weird) I now have an up-and-running website for my books! It's called Katherine Powell Books, and the link is: http://www.katherinepowellbooks.weebly.com and I will also have the link as the external link for this chapter! On the website I will be posting blog posts under the "Dear Sydney" tab to keep you guys updated on what goes on with the publishing of Dear Sydney, including posting sneak peeks at new chapters, the new set-up for the social media posts (I ditched the original MySpace-looking stuff) and more! So make sure to sign up for the newsletter, and you can always leave a comment on the blogs, drop me a comment through the contact form, which goes straight to my email and I will answer within the day (thanks to you guys who already did that, it was really cool to see it working!), and check the website often! It's gonna be awesome! 

And remember, you can visit the actual site http://www.letterstothelikesofyou.blogspot.com to see Aria's blog posts and comment on them! I've loved seeing the comments you guys have already left, it's so cool! Also feel free to submit covers and banners and other stuff for Love, Aria and Dear Sydney to my email, [email protected]! I love getting messages from you guys! 

Speaking of which, I need to go answer my PM's.

For now, drop a comment letting me know what YOU want to happen in Love, Aria!

-Katherine