She was right. As much as I hated her guts right now. As much as I wished she hadn't been born she was right. And how the fuck did I expect this to never come out. Secrets always have a way of coming out. And secrets always destroy. Secrets destroy everything.
"Maria....?" I looked up. Mike walked around the corner. His face was ashen white. I'd never seen him look like that. Pale. Sick. Confused.
"Please tell me it's not true?" He sounded desperate. "Please..."
We started the ping-pong tournament again. He glanced from McKenzie to me, and with each look he started to look more and more desperate.
"It was you, wasn't it?" He finally stopped looking and pointed at McKenzie. "Because my best friend would never lie to me like that, right? She would never lie to my face every minute of everyday for weeks, right? It has to be you. You're the mystery mint kisser. McKenzie?" He stared at her intensely; it looked like he was willing her to say the words. For one tiny second, it looked like the situation had finally turned Mckenzie vaguely human, and I saw a glint of what I thought was something that might resemble regret flash in her eyes.
I still hated her. I would never forgive her for this. And Mike was probably going to never forgive me for this either. McKenzie shook her head slowly.
"No." She said, breaking free from my grip.
The world shook and it also shattered. I saw it happen before my eyes. Every hope I had ever had for Mike and I. Every dream and fantasy... exploded into fragments.
Mike looked at me in utter shock. "You lied to me?"
All I could manage was a small nod.
"You lied to me about your parents getting divorced, when you knew what I was going through?"
I managed another small nod.
"Everyday, when you were "helping" me find her, it was you this whole time?"
"Yes." I couldn't hold them back any longer. The tears started to well up in my eyes.
Mike shook his head. "It can't be. I thought, but, you would never lied to me. We've always told each other the truth. Everything. You wouldn't do that to me.... Would you?"
"I'm sorry." My words were so faint that I barely heard them myself. Mike was still shaking his head as if he still couldn't believe it. And then without warning, he moved towards me and grabbed me.
He kissed me. It was hard and frantic, angry even. And then... it slowed down. His hand slipped round to the small of my back, his fingers crept up under my shirt and his fingertips caressed my naked skin. I shivered in his arms as he pulled me closer. I let out a breathy moan as the kiss intensified and deepened. And then, in an instant, it was over.
Mike looked at me and stumbled backwards. He looked like he was backing away from me, like I was contagious.
"It was you." He shook his head and looked at me as if he was disguised.
"Mike, wait." I started to panic and walked towards his, but he held his hand up.
"Don't fucking talk to me again. Just don't."
And with that, he turned and started running off. My knees officially collapsed under me and I melted to the ground.
Mike
I almost hadn't known what was going on when the scout stepped in front of me. Was McKenzie the mystery mint kisser? Really? I didn't believe it at all. There was no way. I didn't even like McKenzie. I wasn't attracted to her, not like Maria. That kiss had been full of passion; McKenzie and I would never share a kiss like that. So what the hell was going on?
I listened to the scout in a kind of daze, my mind kept wondering off to what had just happened. But I wasn't so far gone that I didn't hear the offer. He offered me a full scholarship to a top college, as well as a place, effectively immediately if I liked at a school out of state that had the best tennis team and coaching. Where I could get that extra time and practice. That was totally out of the question though, there was no way I was going to leave half way through the year and go to another school, especially because of Maria. I was sure I could convince her to come to the college with me though. She was super smart, and her parents could afford it.
I was excited to tell Maria, and to figure out what McKenzie was up to. She was clearly pulling one of her now infamous "McKenzie" moves. Maybe she was friends with the real mystery mint kisser and had overheard something? That was the only explanation for this. In fact, I was sure that McKenzie was just being a cruel, bitch again and had probably gotten hold of some information she shouldn't have. I wasn't too fazed, besides it looked like Maria was going to sort her out anyway.
After taking the coaches number and promising to call him this week, I ran off to see her. But instead of seeing Maria, I ran slap bang, literally, into my father. I hadn't seen him since he had supposedly moved out of the house, nor had I seen or spoken to him since I learnt he was nothing more than a liar and a cheat. He raised his hand to shake mine, which was so odd and formal in itself, and that was when I noticed it.
He'd taken off his wedding ring. I started at his finger. A prominent white strip was all that remained. All that remained of a whole life that he
