Filed to story: Young Girls Forbidden Love Series: My Best Friend’s Daddy
“That’s what I figured until he got out of the shower. He saw me holding his phone and got super defensive about it. Last night, I brought it up again because we never actually got to the bottom of it because he distracted me by biting my…”
“Anyway!” I interrupted, not wanting to hear where that story was going to go.
“Anyway, we fought about it again last night. He told me I was being paranoid,” Lauren said with a big sniff.
Just in time, a knock sounded on my door, and I rushed to get it. Brenna carried in a tray with a pot of coffee, two mugs, some expensive-looking tissues, and a box of chocolates.
That Brenna was a smart one. I quietly thanked her, and she nodded, smiling at me as if to say, ‘good luck.’
I handed Lauren a tissue, and she dabbed at her dripping nose.
“I’m sorry. Look at me; I am a mess.”
“Don’t worry about it, Lauren; we can get you cleaned up after you feel better.”
I poured a cup of coffee and handed it to Lauren.
“What did you say when he told you, you were being paranoid?” I asked.
“I told him I had every right to be paranoid with the way he was acting, but then I took it too far and said I should have known he would cheat again.”
“What?!” I was about to take a sip of my own coffee, but I held it frozen in midair.
“Oh, he hasn’t cheated on me before,” Lauren said, not understanding why her statement shocked me.
“He had some girlfriend when we met, and it took him a while after we started sleeping together for him to end it finally. Anyway, so I went outside to look for him and found him rolling around in the sand with some girl.”
“You can’t be serious,” I said, and the edges of my vision turned red.
“I am serious; I was horrified. She wasn’t even that pretty! You could totally tell her boobs were fake.”
“No, Lauren, not that, you knew he had a girlfriend, and you hooked up with him anyway?”
“I am not the bad guy here; that slut on the beach is! Whose friend are you anyway!” Lauren said angrily.
“I thought you were my friend, Lauren.” The words were coming out of my mouth before I could stop them. “It was me that Todd was cheating on!” I yelled, letting the secret finally slip out.
Lauren stared at me in disbelief and then started laughing.
“Todd would never date someone like you,” she said, still giggling through her tears.
It seemed like she really thought I was telling a joke, but her responding by putting me down was infuriating.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean, Lauren? We dated for three years, so he must have been attracted to me at one point,” I said defensively.
“I know you are trying to cheer me up, Shelbs, but I need real advice right now, not just laughs.”
“I am not lying to you, Lauren,” I said and pulled out my phone, swiping through countless pictures of Todd and me when we were happy, or at least when I thought we were happy.
I showed Lauren a picture of Todd and me at a coffee shop in New York, and Todd was kissing me on the cheek.
“Oh, my God…”
“I told you, Lauren, we really did date for three years. Todd is a cheater. Trust me, I know breakups are hard, but you are going to be so much better off without him.”
“I never said anything about breaking up with him,” Lauren said. I was surprised that she was now the one being defensive.
“Lauren, you just caught him f*cking with another woman, and you are going to stay with him.”
“I am not leaving him for a little slip-up,” she responded. My mouth dropped open. I couldn’t believe that she considered cheating just a slip-up.
“I can’t believe Todd would stoop so low.” Lauren stood and looked out the windows after glancing at me with contempt.
“Exactly what I was saying. He isn’t worth it.” I said, relieved that Lauren was coming around.
“No, I can’t believe he stooped so low by dating you. He is completely out of your league.” Lauren turned to look at me; anger etched in her features.
“Ouch, Lauren. I know you are hurting, but I am just trying to help. You don’t have to take your anger at Todd out on me,” I said.
“Well, you’re not helping. You are a complete embarrassment. I don’t need a reminder of my fiance’s poor judgment hanging around. I think it would be best if you left. You’ve been such a bummer the whole time anyway.”
“Get out of my room,” I said in a low voice. It took everything I had not to scream at her. My hands were trembling with anger.
“Shelby, this is my dad’s house. You are the one who needs to leave,” she crossed her arms as though she was planning on waiting for me to pack my bags.
I stood up and glared daggers at her.
“Get the f*ck out of my room!”
“Fine, but I want you gone. I don’t want to see you ever again!” Lauren quickly made her way across the room.
“The feeling is mutual!” I shouted, and Lauren slammed the door closed.
The tears started flowing again. I’d cried on this trip more than I had in my entire college career, except for maybe when Todd had first cheated on me, and that was really saying something.
I was going to need some serious therapy for what was supposed to be a relaxing vacation.
I went back to the shower and let the water wash away the tears. I got out and was surprised that Lauren had not sent her mother upstairs to attempt to kick me out.
I threw on a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt. Then, I wheeled my suitcase out of the closet, and I threw it onto my bed.
With a lack of energy, I shoved everything I had with me into the empty container haphazardly.
I took one last look around the beautiful bedroom and out at the amazing view of the ocean. It was a shame that I did not get to enjoy the balcony off of my bedroom.
This entire vacation ended up being more trouble than it was worth, except for Michael. I would have done it all over again, just to spend more time with him.
I slipped his two notes into my back pocket and held the little pink shell in my palm, not wanting to let go. Not wanting to let Michael go.
I set the little pink shell back on the nightstand.
I hoped he would find it and know what he had meant to me on this trip.
*************************
*Shelby*
The wheels of my suitcase got stuck in the gravel at the end of the driveway. I sighed and pulled harder, having no idea how I was going to get to the airport from here. The suitcase was too heavy; it was crammed full of all of the clothes that Michael bought for me.
I realized I had not thought my escape plan through. I didn’t want to do the messy goodbyes with anyone in the house, and I figured I would be able to find a taxi eventually, but my first priority was to get as far away from the mansion as possible.