“Toby has something he needs to tell everyone,” Meredith says, stepping aside and smiling at Toby.
Vice Principal Davidson tenses at the unplanned change of speakers, but he doesn’t try to intervene.
Toby steps forward and faces the crowd. “I know a lot of you aren’t exactly on my side anymore after my breakup with Meredith, so I felt I should clear some things up.” Meredith’s eyes narrow, but Toby continues. “That breakup you all witnessed in the hallway was staged.”
Meredith shoves him in the shoulder, but he doesn’t budge. He grabs the microphone and keeps going. “Meredith was mad that I broke up with her, and then she caught me kissing Becca Daniels, which pissed her off even more. So she made me pretend to date her.”
“Don’t listen to him! It’s lies!” Meredith screams and tries to rip the microphone from Toby’s hands.
I stand up and make my way down the stands. I can’t let her do this. I can’t let her ruin him because of me.
“All Meredith cared about was her reputation. She blackmailed Becca and me. None of it was real. She lied to all of you, just so you’d like her again. You can’t believe a word she says.”
Meredith lunges at Toby, clawing at his chest and face. Vice Principal Davidson and Mr. Rollar pull her off him and separate them both. Then Davidson returns the microphone to the podium, probably thinking that will end the outburst.
“You can’t listen to him!” Meredith screams. “You don’t know what he’s really like. He’s a monster. I can prove it. Just let me speak!” She’s flailing in Mr. Rollar’s arms.
Davidson’s watching Toby, making sure he doesn’t try to retaliate, not that Toby ever would, physically at least.
“She’s lying. That’s what this is all about. Meredith and her lies.” Toby’s face is bright red with rage. I rush over to him.
Meredith doubles over, her body heaving with sobs. The second Mr. Rollar releases his grip on her, she rushes for the microphone. She tricked him.
“Toby Michaels”—she jabs her finger in Toby’s direction—”is more than just a liar. He’s…he’s…”
Maybe even she can’t do something this horrible. I silently pray she’ll come to her senses. That she’ll realize this goes beyond anything she’s ever done, into unforgivable territory.
Mr. Rollar pulls her away from the microphone, but she continues to yell. “He got me to sleep with him, and then he dumped me. He used me. For sex. That’s the kind of person Toby Michaels really is.”
Oh my God. My stomach drops as she says the words to seal Toby’s fate. It could’ve been worse. She could’ve accused him of rape, but she didn’t. She just made him out to be an asshole instead. The gymnasium is dead silent. Toby shakes his head, but he doesn’t say a word. I look at him and move toward the microphone.
“My turn,” I tell Meredith.
“No. She’s just as bad as he is. They’re both trying to ruin me. Becca assaulted me at Tori’s party, and she tried to punch me at school the other day too.”
I want to do more than just punch her right now, but if I attack her, everyone will think she’s the one who’s telling the truth. I ignore her and grab the microphone instead, ripping it off its stand on the podium before one of the teachers can stop me.
“Do you want to know the truth?”
“Miss Daniels, give me that microphone and take a seat,” Davidson says.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not giving up this microphone until everyone hears what I have to say. Meredith is lying.”
“No, I’m not!” she shrieks.
Mr. Rollar still has a good grip on her, and this time he doesn’t look like he’s going to let her go. He nods for me to continue. That’s interesting, but then again, he’s always liked Toby and it’s clear I’m about to defend him.
“I did something really stupid. I went behind my best friend’s back and dated her brother. I broke her trust, and I lost her because of it. I don’t blame her for hating me. I hate myself for hurting her. But I’m in love with Toby Michaels. I know the kind of person he is.”
“A liar!” Meredith screams.
“How dare you?” I whip around and stare at Meredith, microphone still in my hand. “You couldn’t handle Toby breaking up with you so you forced him to pretend to date you just so you could be the one to end it. You blackmailed both of us, and then when people started making comments about him and me dating, you couldn’t take it so you made up this story about him forcing you to sleep with him. You’re pathetic. You’re the lowest form of life there is to make up something so destructive.” I turn back to the crowd. “She’s lying about all of it because she’s worried about her reputation. Toby would never pressure any girl into sex. He’s not like that.”
“That’s enough, Miss Daniels,” Davidson says, finally yanking the microphone from my hands.
“Hold on,” Tori says, stepping down from the bleachers and walking toward Davidson. “I have something to say.” By the look on her face, I think this is going to be even worse than what Meredith has done.
Chapter 29
“This isn’t open mic night, Ms. Michaels,” Vice Principal Davidson says.
Tori holds her phone up to him so he can read the screen. “I know the truth, and seeing as I hate Meredith and Toby, I think I’m a pretty objective bystander.”
Davidson nods and hands her the microphone, surprising everyone.
“What?” Meredith cries. “We were hanging out. What do you mean you hate me?”
“What can I say? I learned how to sneak around and lie by watching my brother and my best friend.” She glares at Toby and me. “Apparently, I’m very convincing. Anyway, I’ll read you all a text message Meredith sent me this morning. It should clear up a few things.” She holds up her phone, reading from the screen. “‘Can’t wait to see the look on Toby’s face if he doesn’t go through with it and dump Becca. I’ll make everyone think he uses girls for sex and dumps them like yesterday’s trash.’”
Those are pretty much exactly the words Meredith used when she told us what she was going to do.
“How could you?” Meredith asks Tori. “You hate him. After what he did to you, you should want to bury him too.”
“One thing I’ve learned from all this is lies always catch up to you in the end.” Tori hands the microphone back to Davidson. “Don’t they, Becca?”
“Tori, I’m sorry,” I say loud enough for everyone to hear. “I can’t make up for what I’ve done, but I’m so sorry.”
She turns and looks at me. “So am I.” She walks out of the gym, and as much as I want to follow her, I know I have to stay to make sure Toby’s okay.
Davidson holds the microphone in front of Meredith. “Would you like to retract anything you said, Ms. Ackles? I think it might be in your best interest to set the record straight. Wrongfully accusing someone of something this severe will result in suspension at the very least.”
She glares at me. “Fine. Here’s the truth. Toby was too much of an idiot to realize I was his best option.”
I rush to Toby’s side and wrap my arms around him. He pulls me close and kisses the side of my head. “I can’t believe Tori saved us like that,” I say.
“I can,” he says, and I realize he’s right. She’s never once let me down. Even now, after I hurt her, she still had my back, and Toby’s.
Davidson brings the microphone to his mouth. “All right. I think that’s enough pep for one rally. Everyone is dismissed.”
After detention, we head to Toby’s house to find Tori. This has to end now. She’s in the kitchen when we walk inside. She eyes us for a moment and goes back to pouring popcorn into a bowl.
“Why did you do it?” I ask.
“You think I want people to think my brother is a complete ass when it comes to girls?”
“You can say that, but I know it’s not the reason.”
Toby sits down at the center island. “Whatever your reason, thanks. I owe you big time.”
“Yeah, you do.�
�
“Tori—”
“We’re not okay, Becca. What I said doesn’t change anything.”
“I know.”
“But you were right about one thing. I wouldn’t have allowed you two to date.” She shrugs. “You chose him. I have to deal with that, and you have to deal with the consequences.”
“So, you’re saying you can’t ever forgive me?”
She shrugs again. “Maybe. I don’t really know.”
“You’re dating my best friend, you know,” Toby says.
“What’s your point?”
“Why the double standard? You can date Ryder, but I can’t date Becca? Not exactly fair.”
“Had you said that before you two started secretly dating, I might have seen your point.”
“She’s right. We messed up.” I look at Tori. “I can keep apologizing, but it’s not going to make things right. Just know I’m here if you ever want to try giving me another chance, but I’ll be with Toby. I can’t give him up. I’m sorry, but I can’t.”
“I know. I saw the way you stood up for him.”
“Did you happen to see the way she confessed and apologized to you in front of the whole school too?” Toby asks.
“I did. But that doesn’t make me trust you again, Becca. Or you, Toby.”
“I know.” I stare into her eyes, begging her to see a glimpse of her former best friend. “I messed up, and I need to earn back your trust. But I will. I’m not going to stop trying to be your friend. I’ve known you all my life.”
“I guess I didn’t really expect you to stop trying. That’s the only reason I’m talking to you now—because I think you really are sorry. And maybe one day you’ll even prove I can trust you again.” She takes the bowl of popcorn upstairs.
I sigh. It wasn’t what I was hoping for, but it’s a start. “Do you think she means it? Do you think she’ll forgive me over time?”
“I think she needs you. She has Ryder, but who knows how long that will last. You’re her best friend.” He pulls me over to him so I’m standing between his bent legs. He leans his head back and looks up at me. “You’re my best friend too, you know.”
I lower my lips to his. “I know. Nothing would make me happier than having you and Tori for my best friends.”
“And boyfriend,” he adds. I smile and kiss him again. Just a soft kiss. He wraps his arms around me. “Give her time, and don’t stop trying.”
“I won’t.” I owe her that much.
***
One month later, Toby and I are still going strong. We keep the couple stuff to a minimum when Tori’s around. She spends most of her time with Ryder, and he’s even convinced her to hang out with us this weekend, sort of a double date. It’s progress. Slow progress, but I expected as much.
Toby and I walk into his house and head upstairs to his room. He wrote me another song and promised to play it for me, but we run into Tori on the stairs.
“Hey,” I say, trying to sound as normal as possible. I keep hoping that one day we’ll just slip back into our old routine, and she’ll be my best friend again. So far it hasn’t happened, but I’m not ready to give up on the idea yet either.
“Hey.” She motions to my shirt. “That one’s actually funny.”
I look down at the saying. Why write on paper when you can write on shirts? “Oh, um thanks. Dad got it for me. I thought it was kind of dumb but since he was so excited about it, I wore it.”
She laughs. “Okay, now it’s even funnier.” She disappears inside her room.
“Well, that was pretty close to friendly,” Toby says as we walk into his room.
“Yeah. Things are getting a little better each day.”
“More than a little better.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “How do you figure? She said three sentences to me, and one was only one word.”
“Yeah, but did you see what she was wearing?”
“What about it?”
“I mean on her feet.”
Her boots. The ones I bought her. “When did she start wearing them again?”
“This morning. First she agrees to a double date, and now she’s wearing the boots you gave her for her birthday. I say by the end of the summer, you two are friends again.”
“Just in time for senior year.” Losing all these months sounds awful, but I think about Kim Kwan. She lost years with her best friend. I can handle a few months.
“So, let’s hear this new song,” I say, needing to change the subject before I get upset over it again.
Toby picks up his guitar and starts to play. It’s a slow ballad, just like the last one. But instead of this song asking me to be his girl, it’s about friendship. A tear trickles down my cheek. As soon as he stops playing, I say, “I don’t want to wait months. God, Toby, I miss her. I want my best friend back. I love you. I do. You’re amazing, and I know we’re more than just boyfriend and girlfriend, we’re best friends too, but a girl needs a girl best friend. We just do.”
“I know.” He gets up and opens his door. Tori is standing on the other side of it, looking every bit as broken down as I am. Without hesitating I rush over to her and throw my arms around her shaking shoulders. We cry on each other for a long time, and Toby gives us space by playing his song over and over for us. When we both finally lose the ability to cry, we pull apart and start laughing. Full belly laughs that have us doubling over on the floor. Toby stops playing and stares at us.
“Is this a girl thing I wouldn’t understand?”
“Yes,” we both say.
We’re laughing because we’re happy, because we’re relieved to not be fighting anymore, because we’re hurting and can’t cry another tear.
“Tori, I’m—”
She holds a hand up. “Me too. I should’ve seen it. I’ve known you all my life. I should’ve made an exception to my stupid rule, knowing you’re nothing like Meredith or Allison. I shouldn’t have made it so hard for you to be honest with me in the first place.”
“That doesn’t excuse what I did. I should’ve tried harder to tell you. Are we good?”
“We’re good.” She stands and holds her hand out to help me up. “Now go kiss my brother or whatever you two do, but stop by my room before you go. I need you to braid my hair for me.”
“You got it.” I smile and watch her walk down the hall. My shoulders relax as the weight of the past month and a half lifts.
“You okay?” Toby asks.
I turn to face him. “I can’t believe you did that.”
“What?”
“You wrote that song, knowing it would bring Tori and me back together.”
“I didn’t know it would work, but I was hoping. I could tell she really wanted to forgive you.”
I walk over to him and press my lips against his. “You really are amazing.”
“Then this seems like a good time for me to open this.” He holds up a wrapped box.
“You never got to open your birthday present.” I can’t believe I forgot about it. “I’m so sorry. I feel awful.”
“Relax. It just makes my birthday last longer, right?”
“If you say so, but I think I royally screwed up on the girlfriend meter.”
“Okay, you can make up for it with one hell of a kiss.”
I happily oblige, tossing the present on the bed and kissing him until my lungs are screaming for air.
“You’re forgiven,” he says with a smile. “Anything else you’d like to apologize for? I’d be happy to let you kiss me like that again.” He gives me a devilish smile.
I smile and grab the wrapped box off the bed. “Open the present.”
He shakes it. “It’s a little thin. Did you get me the Knicks tickets my sister skimped out on?”
“No way.” I wave my hand. “She was right about them. Way too expensive.”
He laughs. “So you’re saying I’m not worth it?”
“No, I’m saying this is better.” I tap the present.
He tears off the wrapping
paper and opens the box. “A reservation card to go skydiving?”
“Yup. We never got to go, remember?”
“I remember.”
“So I’m giving you ‘jumping out of a plane’ for your birthday.”
He laughs. “Add on a kiss at ten thousand feet, and it’s the perfect present.”
“Then we better practice.” I wrap my arms around him and kiss him like we’re ten thousand feet in the air, which is exactly how he makes me feel.
About the Author
Ashelyn Drake is a New Adult and Young Adult contemporary romance author. While it’s rare for her not to have either a book in hand or her fingers flying across a laptop, she also enjoys spending time with her family. She believes you are never too old to enjoy a good swing set and there’s never a bad time for some dark chocolate. She also writes speculative fiction under the name Kelly Hashway. She is represented by Sarah Negovetich of Corvisiero Literary Agency.
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http://ashelyndrake.wordpress.com/
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