Dear Freak of the Week,
The girl that I’ve been talking to over multiple terms and breaks and I just ended things abruptly. We’re no contact, but she’s been liking my TikTok reposts and reposting things that seem like they’re about me. She really hurt me, but I want her back. Is it really over or is this a sign?
- The TikTok Astrologist
In the digital age, we have all become professional astrologists of our respective social media apps. I’m sure you know exactly what I mean by this — you are able to look at little individual signs that someone might leave that undeniably show that they are deeply in love with you. This might be when they view their story, how quickly they like your posts or content, or in this example, how they like your reposts and repost suspicious things that seem like they’re about you.
I’m delusional, so I personally think that you have a pretty good case for this person being interested here. If the posts are about a long-term situationship or something in that vein, then I wouldn’t be surprised if it was about you. There is a chance that these are liked in a joking or disdainful way, though. You also have to be mindful of this person’s personality. Are they the type of person that doesn’t think and likes everything? Or are they more selective and intentional?
The reposts, I think, are a more direct thing. What are your reposts about? Couldn’t they have just liked the original post? Why did they specifically like your repost? The whole thing seems fishy, and because I’m shameless and dumb, I’m going to tell you that based on the evidence compiled, you should just go for it. With one caveat.
It’s a no-brainer to reach out to this person, right? I think it’s a cautious and qualified yes. Imagine being on the other side of this — you messed up, and someone who you’ve known for months simply decides to stop talking to you, full stop, instead of trying to work through or resolve the problem. I’m sure that they’re probably hurting too, and there’s a good chance that they don’t respond, or the relationship just isn’t the same as it was before.
Such abrupt no-contact can be jarring, and in my experience is usually only done in cases of something severe. So I guess if you really miss this person — we’ve all been at the stage of tracking Tik Tok likes, so you clearly do — you should reach out to them, and admit that you were at fault for not sticking around to try to resolve the issue. Tell them that you want to work through it.
In the case that it’s the second circumstance, I would suggest sitting with yourself before you contact them again. If something really warranted you cutting them off, maybe it’s a bad idea to reach out again lest this become the beginning of a toxic cycle.
A good way of gauging which one it is might be talking to your friends. They will have perspective on the situation that you might not have and will also give you perspective with less of the strong feelings you might be feeling right now.
Either way, this seriously stinks. Stay strong, and keep your support systems close. I’m rooting for you to be in a relationship of mutual love and respect, whether that’s trying this one again or looking for something new.
- Eli
Eli Moyse ’27 is an opinion editor and columnist for The Dartmouth. He studies government and creative writing. He publishes various personal work under a pen name on Substack (https://substack.com/@wesmercer), and you can find his other work in various publications.
