Page 60 of Love Letter Lost
Looking right at Amber, I spoke. “Ridge Matthews.”
CHAPTERTHIRTY
Hours later,after everyone left, I sprawled on the couch in Aunt Jenna’s basement, Livvy sitting next to me. After revealing that Ridge had been my first kiss, the game of Truth had quickly lost its appeal, and we’d settled in for a chick-flick marathon. Audrey and Chloe stuck by my side the rest of the party, shielding me from Amber’s double threat of death glares and whispered barbs. They refused to leave until Amber was gone. I’d kept my phone on silent, hoping to avoid my mother as well, a decision that proved unnecessary. Apparently, she had decided to give me the silent treatment.
Now I sat in the stillness of a basement I knew better than my parents’ current home. The worn brown sofas and piles of homemade quilts had witnessed many a movie night and sleepover. It was weird to think that tonight would be our last one with Livvy as a single woman.
Despite the familiar setting, the events of the evening continued to play through my head. Amber’s look of complete anger and betrayal played in my mind, bringing with it feelings of both triumph and trepidation.
“Did I make a mistake?” I muttered, turning my head to look at where Livvy sat next to me.
“By telling Amber about your first kiss?” A yawn accompanied Livvy’s question.
“Yes, and by spending so much time with Ridge.”
Livvy stayed quiet, long enough that I lifted my head to watch her. Her brow was pinched and her lips pursed as she considered her response.
“I don’t think so. It’s about time you let all these emotions out. You’ve kept your feelings about Ridge secret for so long.”
I choked down a laugh. “That’s funny, coming from you, Miss Hide-My-Letter-To-Protect-Me.”
“I had the best of intentions!” Livvy sat up and threw her pillow at me. I managed to knock it down before it hit me in the face, but it knocked over an abandoned bowl of popcorn in the rebound.
“It still hurt. Didn’t you trust me to make good decisions?” I rolled to the floor and began picking up the scattered kernels.
Livvy joined me in my cleanup efforts, pausing before responding. “It had nothing to do with trusting you. I wanted to protect you, especially after the accident.”
Silence filled the basement as we worked. We finished with the popcorn, and I moved to the random pink plastic cups scattered around the basement.
“You don’t know what it was like to watch you. When Ridge ghosted you…you turned inward and faded. I could barely get you to come visit, let alone go out and do things that summer, even after your arm was healed. When that letter arrived, you’d just started college, and I was getting you back. You started dating and going to movies and dances again, stopped hiding your scar. I was getting my best friend back. I didn’t know what that letter said, so I stuck it in my yearbook and pushed it out of my mind.” Livvy collapsed back on the couch, covering her face with her hands. “Please don’t hate me. I thought I was doing the right thing.”
I set the cups on a side table and settled on the couch, my arm around Livvy’s back.
“I could never hate you. I’ll admit, I was angry at first. There are so manywhat-ifswhen it comes to Ridge. But I can’t let my past continue to limit my chance for happiness.”
Livvy leaned back, resting her head on my shoulder.
“When did you get so wise?”
I laughed at the absurdity of her question. “I guess it comes with time and heartbreak.”
We continued to sit there, basking in the last few moments before we went to bed and everything changed tomorrow.
“Ridge was mad at me, you know. After he found out about everything. He stormed over here and called me out.”
I glanced at Livvy’s expression. Her face was carefully neutral, as if waiting for my reaction before showing any emotion.
“I can’t really blame him. I was pretty angry myself.”
“I tried to make it up to you! Why else do you think I bailed on almost all of our plans this week? I was giving you and Ridge a chance to talk.”
I wanted to whack the earnest expression from her face with a throw pillow. “You mean you ignored all my phone calls and forced me to spendhoursalone with Ridge so you could feel better about not passing on a letter? How was that supposed to fix anything?”
“I don’t know. It seemed like a good idea at the time. And I really was busy.”
I shook my head, uncertain how to respond. It seemed my mother wasn’t the only meddler in the family.
“I found it interesting, though. If he’s as committed to their relationship as Amber claims, it’s strange that he would care so much about a missed opportunity with a high school flame.” Livvy gave a shrug and stood. “I’m beat, and I need my beauty sleep. Tomorrow, I become Mrs. Olivia Okada.” She gave a dreamy sigh, like an overly dramatic teenager from the movies we’d grown up watching.
