Page 101 of My Rules for Revenge
When we looked at each other, streams of tears were rolling down my mom’s cheeks.
“Don’t cry, Mom. That’s depressing. This is a happy moment,” I pointed out.
She began laughing.
“You’re right. This is a happy moment.”
“I know we’ve had our ups and downs, but I want to stay close to you. We’re the only family we’ve got. It’s just us,” I pointed out.
“Oh, we will stay close, trust me. I’m not letting you go anywhere,” she reassured me.
She began sifting her hands through my hair.
“What are you doing?”
“You have beautiful hair,” she observed.
“Oh, thanks.”
“Maybe you should cut it a bit. What do you think?”
“Mom!” I whispered.
“Okay, okay. We’ll talk about it later.”
As strange as it sounded, I had a warm and fuzzy feeling after I spoke with my mom. It felt good to hash things out. I never wanted to stay angry at her anyway, and once I let that go, a weight was lifted off my shoulders. This sense of ease didn’t last long, unfortunately. I still had a couple of good old-fashioned bombshell secrets to discover.
Despite my suspension, Jacob managed to pull a favor with Newman. No surprise there. He allowed us to sit in the school library for exactly one hour after school. After that, I was never allowed back until my suspension was over and done with.
“Hi,” I said in a relatively cautious voice.
“Hi,” Jacob replied hesitantly.
“I see you got a new backpack.”
“Yeah. I can’t say the same about my computer, though.”
Jacob chuckled, and I wanted to crawl out of my skin.
“Alright, I’ll admit it, I may have gone a bit overboard. Somehow, I’ll pay for it,” I assured him.
“Don’t worry about it; I was kidding. You don’t have to pay for anything. I know I deserved it. Listen, I did some bad things to you, and you rightfully returned the favor. I started all this when I wrongfully leaked your pictures. Heather, I’m really and truly sorry,” Jacob said very apologetically.
I remained in stunned silence. I never expected to hear those words coming out of his mouth. I thought I had a better chance of getting eaten by a shark and struck by lightning at the same time. Receiving an apology from Jacob Boruta was the last thing I expected.
“Okay?!” I said with a shocked look on my face.
“I swear it wasn’t me who did that in the auditorium—it was Carlos and Manny,” Jacob confessed.
“That makes a lot of sense,” I affirmed.
“I didn’t give them orders or anything. I barely remember Indira, and I didn’t frame Eddy. I’m trying to be different. I know it’s hard to believe, but what else can I say? It’s the truth.”
“I believe you, Jacob,” I assured him.
“Thank you.”
“Look, Eddy was right. We’ve been doing destructive things to each other, and look at what’s happened. I’m partly to blame for that, and I wanna end this.”
