MY LIFE RIGHT NOW

CHAPTER EIGHT

MY REALITY CHECK-

LUNA'S POV-

At some point...

I got tired.

Not the normal tired.

The kind of tired that reaches your mind.

Your heart.

Your peace.

Because somehow...

Every situation started feeling the same.

Different names.

Different faces.

Same confusion.

And for the first time-

I stopped blaming bad luck.

I sat down and actually thought about everything.

Jake.

Xavier.

Zane.

Gabriel.

All of them.

And the painful part?

Each of them taught me something I didn't want to learn.

JAKE-

Jake taught me that liking someone is not enough.

Because somebody can say sweet things and still lie to your face.

He made promises.

Acted like I mattered.

Meanwhile?

He still had unfinished business with someone else.

And somehow-

I became the confused person in the middle.

Reality check?

Never let somebody make you compete with confusion.

If they want you-

You shouldn't have to wonder.

XAVIER-

Xavier taught me that attention and love are not the same thing.

At first, he felt different.

Comfortable.

Easy to talk to.

Like maybe life was finally calming down.

Then slowly-

Everything changed.

The pressure.

The guilt-tripping.

The lies.

The manipulation.

Reality check?

Anyone who pressures you after you say no doesn't respect your boundaries.

And somebody caring about you should never feel like pressure.

ZANE-

Zane taught me that timing matters.

Maybe he was nice.

Maybe he even meant what he said.

But feelings don't erase problems.

Especially when another person is involved.

Reality check?

You cannot build something good on top of someone else's unfinished situation.

Because if somebody keeps going back and forth-

Eventually, you might become part of the confusion too.

And honestly?

I had enough confusion already.

GABRIEL-

Gabriel taught me something hard.

Being obsessed with someone is not the same thing as caring about them.

Because how do you claim to like someone...

But ignore everything they say?

I said no.

Clearly.

More than once.

Yet somehow-

He created a whole relationship in his head.

Reality check?

Someone liking you does not mean you owe them anything.

Not your time.

Not your feelings.

Not yourself.

And accepting kindness doesn't mean you signed a relationship contract.

LUNA'S POV-

Then came the biggest reality check of all.

Me.

Because after blaming everybody else...

I had to be honest with myself too.

Sometimes-

I ignored red flags.

Sometimes-

I stayed too nice.

Too understanding.

Too quiet when I should've spoken up.

Sometimes-

I let things slide because I didn't want drama.

And maybe...

That was my mistake.

Not loving people.

Not trusting people.

But forgetting to protect myself too.

Because I kept trying to see the good in everybody-

Even when they kept showing me reasons not to.

But finally...

Something changed.

I stopped asking:

"Why do I keep meeting the wrong people?"

And started asking:

"Why do I keep ignoring what I already see?"

That question?

Changed everything.

Because maybe healing isn't about becoming cold.

Maybe it's just learning when to walk away sooner.

And for the first time in a long time

I wasn't angry anymore.

Just wiser.

A little guarded.

But wiser.

N: Sometimes life keeps repeating the same lesson until you finally stop failing the tesCHAPTER 9;

THE VERSION OF ME I ALMOST LOST-

LUNA'S POV-

After everything-

Jake.

Xavier.

Zane.

Gabriel.

I changed.

And honestly?

Not in a dramatic movie way.

Just quietly.

Slowly.

The kind of change people don't notice immediately.

I laughed less.

Thought more.

Trusted less.

People still saw me smiling and assumed I was okay.

But deep down?

I was thinking a lot.

Mostly about myself.

Because somewhere between all the confusion...

I realized something scary.

I had started losing parts of myself.

Trying to understand people.

Trying to excuse behavior.

Trying to keep peace.

And somehow...

I forgot about me.

The old me would laugh without overthinking.

Talk without second-guessing everything.

Trust without expecting disappointment.

Now?

I questioned everything.

Even kindness.

Especially kindness.

Because somehow every "nice" thing started feeling like it came with hidden intentions.

And honestly?

I hated that.

I hated feeling guarded all the time.

Like I had to be careful.

Like everybody wanted something.

One afternoon, Amelia looked at me weirdly.

"What?" I asked.

"You've changed."

I shrugged.

"People change."

"No," she said quietly. "You don't let people in anymore."

That one stayed in my head.

Because maybe she was right.

Maybe I had built walls.

Big ones.

But could anyone blame me?

Jake lied.

Xavier confused me.

Zane complicated things.

Gabriel stressed me out.

At this point, peace felt more attractive than romance.

And honestly?

I liked my peace.

But life has this annoying habit-

Just when you think you finally understand yourself...

Something happens.

Or someone appears.

And suddenly-

You start questioning everything all over again.

Because one random afternoon-

Something happened that I genuinely did not expect.

Something that made me pause and think:

Wait... what now?