Page 92 of The Second Kiss
“Just listen, please. Something bad happened to me, the same bad thing that almost happened to you. And it’s the same guy.” She takes in a shaky breath. “I can’t change what he did to me, but I want to make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else. I need your help. Are you willing to tell someone what he tried to do?”
My chest aches. She can only mean Brad. She can only mean what happened at the party. If it happened again, then it was all him. He was lying about Lexie’s part in it, something I’ve suspected all along.
I breathe out. “I don’t have any proof. I can’t–”
“I don’t have much either, but if we all stand together, maybe we can take him down. Think about it, please. I’ll call you back.”
The phone goes dead before I can say anything else. I close my eyes and try to breathe.
“Forget graduation, forget college. I’m going to find a sugar daddy and live like this for the rest of my life,” Jasmine crosses her arms on the massage table and lies back down. Her mom treated us all to a pre-prom spa day at an expensive salon.
“I could get used to this,” I admit. I glance at my phone.
“Don’t worry,” Jasmine says. “I’m sure Taryn has a good excuse for being late. But she is seriously missing out.”
“You’d think she’d at least text us.” I slip my phone into the pocket of my silk robe and try to relax. I am wondering where Taryn is. She’s never been late in her life, but I keep looking atmy phone because my mind is still on the phone call I got last night.
The girl hasn’t called back, and I haven’t figured out what my answer is going to be. A big part of me wants to leave my whole senior year in the past and just head to college–forget about Brad, and the party, all of it. Another part of me is consumed by guilt. If the girl who called me is telling the truth, what happened to her is at least partially my fault. She said, “all of us.” My guess is she means Lexie, the only one who really knows the truth about what Brad tried to do to me.
“Glad you made it,” Jasmine raises her head as Taryn walks in. Her face is pale, her eyes are red, and I can tell she’s been crying.
I sit up. “What’s wrong?”
She just shakes her head, fighting back more tears.
“Ryder?” Jasmine guesses.
Taryn nods, and then the tears flow. “He came over last night, and we talked for a long time. I think...” one of the spa ladies hands her a tissue, and she blows her nose. "I think we were both scared about graduating and trying to do the long-distance thing. It probably won’t work, but… " she sniffles and a watery smile breaks through, “I think we’re going to give it a shot.”
Jasmine looks at me and rolls her eyes. “I take it you don’t want to do Prom with us anymore?”
Taryn shreds a second tissue between her fingers. “I’ll still be there for pictures, and maybe we could have dinner with you guys, but... if it’s okay, I’d really like to go with Ryder.”
“Fine,” Jasmine closes her eyes and lies back down like the matter is closed.
“Jess?” Taryn says.
She has this innocent, hopeful, little-girl look on her face, as if she really believes I might tell her no. As if it matters if I tell her no. Her expression takes me back to grade school and herbookish insecurity. It strikes me how much Taryn has changed since the beginning of the year and how much I’ve missed her.
I hand her another tissue. “Of course you can go with Prince Charming. One of us should get out of high school with some kind of successful relationship.”
Jasmine raises up on one arm. “They have the perfect eye treatment to get rid of the red, but with as puffy as your eyes are now, you should probably get started. And stop crying.”
Taryn throws herself at me, the tears flowing freely. “I love you both so much! I couldn’t have survived high school without you. I can’t believe we only have a few weeks left together.”
“And yet you want to spend prom night with some dude,” Jasmine says, but she sits up to hug Taryn. Her eyes are shiny, and I wonder if all of us might need some of that eye treatment.
forty-six
Unforgettable
“Ladies, you are absolutely stunning!” Kendra squeals as she snaps picture after picture. “I’m totally using these for my portfolio.”
Dad glances at his watch, but Mom shoots him a look. I know he wants to get on the road, but Mom said she wouldn’t leave before I left for prom. They’re taking Matt and Kendra to Lake Chelan for a long weekend before Matt leaves for his first post in Texas.
I’ve never seen my friends look so beautiful. Taryn, with her pale skin, tight curls, and fluffy blue dress, looks like a fairytaleprincess. Jasmine is wearing her hair straight and long. Her body-hugging dress is short, dark green, and paired with gold heels that are at least four inches high. She looks like she could have walked off the runway at a New York fashion show.
And then there’s me.
