Brianne bristles and huffs out an angry breath. "How dare you!"
Mom smiles. "I'm proud of my daughter. She's smart, beautiful, talented and kind. My daughter would never stoop to the level of your daughter by bullying other people and posting untrue things on a website in an attempt to make someone look bad."
"I didn't do that website!" Kim protests. "That was Jason and Patrick!"
"Yeah, but you didn't do anything to stop it!" I finally find my voice, joining Mom at her side. "You encouraged them and you know it. You probably wrote most of the stuff on there."
"Don't you accuse her of such a thing!" Bri is shouting and the other shoppers raise their heads to stare in our direction.
"It's fine," Mom's smile widens. "The website and anyone found to be involved with it will be handled by the authorities. So, I just hope there isn't any kind of electronic trail that connects you to it, Kim. That would be just awful, wouldn't?"
Kim's jaw drops and then she snaps it shut and averts her eyes.
"And now, if you two ladies will excuse us, Taryn and I have some more shopping to do. Have a nice day!"
Mom leads me away and we make it to the door before I collapse in giggles.
"Mom! Oh my God, that was so bad-ass!"
Mom grins and raises her chin a little, linking her arm with mine. "It was, wasn't it?"
I laugh even harder and kiss her cheek. "I love you, mommy!"
"I love you too, Tar." Mom returns the kiss and then steers me over towards the spa. "Come on. I think us two bad asses deserve a mani-pedi."
A mani-pedi sounds perfect. And for the first time since that horrible day, I think things really might get better.
◆◆◆
"Oh my God, Dad, yes, I will be ready when you get here, I promise!"
I'm the phone with my dad while I finish the last of my packing for the cruise. He and Steve are picking me up at six a.m. tomorrow so we can catch our flight to Miami. I can hear Steve in the background yelling about making sure I pack plenty of sunscreen and tampons.
"Steven, shut up, please!" Dad yells then comes back to me. "Jesus, sorry, Taryn. He's driving me crazy."
I giggle and add a third pair of sandals to my suitcase. Mom made me buy six pairs, but I'm only taking a few. Plus, two suitcases filled with a zillion other outfits Mom insists I need.
Dad and I chat for a bit longer then we hang up and I finish packing.
And then I just stand in the center of my room and think about Manny. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't picture his sweet face and remember being in his arms. Oh my God, will the hurt ever stop? Everything else is slowly returning to normal and I'm almost happy most days. Except when I think of Manny.
I have to make one last try to get him back. I can't leave for two weeks and then go to college without letting him know just how much I truly love him. I can't bear the thought of him thinking that I lied about that too.
I sit at my desk and dig around in the bottom drawer and finally find a stationary pad that I haven't used since Middle School. There are little kittens and hearts at the top which I'm sure won't impress my tough guy, but it's the only writing paper I have. Picking up my pen I think for a minute and then start writing.
Dear Manny,
You haven't returned any of my calls or texts. I know you don't want to see me but I am leaving for my cruise tomorrow morning and I can't go without trying to explain to you how I feel. I love you, Manny. That has never been a lie. You are my soul mate; I know that in my heart. When I was with you, I felt so happy and protected and warm and loved. I've never ever felt that way with any other guy and I don't believe I will ever feel that way again. Not unless it's with you.I am so sorry I lied to you about Michael. Believe me, I wanted to tell you, so many times, but I always chickened out. If I could go back in time, I would totally tell you, but I can't do that. I can only tell you now how sorry I am and beg for your forgiveness. Michael means nothing to me. What I did was horrible but please don't let it ruin what we had. I've always been this girl who gets crushes. Ever since I was little, even in preschool and kindergarten. I was the girl who chased the boys around trying to kiss them. As I grew older the crushes continued; most of the time the guy I was crushing on didn't know I existed. So I'd go crush on someone else. And then one day, my crush returned my feelings. I felt special, wanted, loved. That's all anyone ever really wants, isn't it? But liking someone, because they're cute or you think they're sexy or popular or whatever, is so different than really loving them. Not that I don't think you are sexy and cute, because you are! What I'm trying to say is, I've had crushes, but then I found you. And what I feel for you, Manny, is no crush. It's real. And I miss it and I miss you. If you've made it this far in this letter, maybe it means we have a chance. I hope we do. I leave at 6 am. tomorrow. Please, if you still love me, call me before then.
I love you!
Taryn
I add little hearts next to my name and fold the letter up and slide it into the matching envelope, scrawling his name on the front.
I tell Mom I have to run out to grab some stuff for the trip and head for the
