Page 100 of My Rules for Revenge
“Well, that’s a relief,”she sighed.
“I don’t know what to do.”
“About school? Well, I’ll be honest, what you did was pretty crazy. It’s definitely the exact opposite of what I always tell you to do.” She shook her head.
“Yeah, I know,” I nodded.
“You need to make sure you do the hours and keep up with your schoolwork. I spoke with Principal Newman, and he doesn’t think you’ll fall behind.”
“That’s a plus,” I said in a hopeful tone.
“I may have also yelled at him a bit, because I wanted to know what sort of punishment he had given Jacob for leaking your pictures. He tried to play it off. I don’t know what came over me, but I just started yelling at him, and he actually apologized. He told me he’ll make sure that your suspension doesn’t show up on your permanent record, and he might be willing to lessen your community service hours,” she explained.
“Whoa. Are you serious?” I asked with a surprised look on my face.
“Of course, I am. You’re my daughter. After I told you the story about how your father and I met, I realized that I needed to become that person again. I needed to let Newman have it. I should’ve done it a long time ago,” she said with regret.
“Wow! Thanks, Mom. That’s cool of you,” I said joyously.
“You’ll still have to pay the fine from the fire department, however,” she added.
“Yeah, I kind of figured that.”
“It’s okay. We’ll work it out. Just don’t do any other insane stunts, please,” she pleaded.
“Mom, I know. I’m done with that. I’m serious,” I reassured her.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“That’s very unexpected,” she said with a shocked look on her face.
“I know.”
“Listen, I have to tell you something,” she whispered.
“What happened?”
“No, nothing. It’s just… I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything I told you the last time we were here,” she said in a bit louder voice.
“It’s okay, Mom.”
“He’d be very proud of the young woman you’ve become. I mean it.”
“I sure hope so.”
“The truth is, I’m worried about you. I don’t like the way you handle things in the real world. It can be a very cruel place, but I now understand that sometimes you’re forced to fight back and stand up for yourself. What Jacob did to you was cruel, to say the least, but I know you did what you needed to do to make it right.”
“I thought I was doing what I needed to do at first. But what I’ve realized is that having all that hate and anger in your heart can eat at you. I’m learning to forgive. That’s something you have that I’ve always admired in you. Even if I’ve never admitted it before,” I confessed.
We hugged each other.
“Dad knew it too,” I expressed.
“I love you, honey.” She hugged me even harder.
“I love you too, Mom, and I forgive you.”
