Chapter 50 – Young Girls Forbidden Love Series: My Best Friend’s Daddy

Filed to story: Young Girls Forbidden Love Series: My Best Friend’s Daddy

*Shelby*

I managed to calm myself down at my apartment, telling Lin and Aubrey that I really couldn’t talk right then, because my head wasn’t in the best spot.

I drowned myself in books, particularly those of law, to remind myself just how important this was to me. I couldn’t let some lovestruck incident stop me from chasing my dreams.

When I finally looked at the clock, it was 11:03 PM. I gasped, surprised at just how well losing myself in rounding out my studies had worked to eat up time.

Tossing and turning in my bed, I couldn’t get Michael’s expression out of my head. Everything about that situation made me feel horrible.

Had I made the right decision?

I still felt that strong urge to contact Michael again and apologize for how I behaved.

Running back would achieve the opposite of what I wanted, though. I had to let this all go. I could do that, right? Judging by how closely I clutched my pillow that night, imagining it was Michael, I wasn’t so sure.

The next morning, I woke up, yawning and rubbing my eyes. The smell of fresh bacon hit my nose, causing my stomach to rumble. Through all of this stress, I found myself eating less than I should lately.

I really should pay attention to my health. All of this stress was, no doubt, horrible for me. I entered the kitchen area, looking over to Aubrey. Her eyes sparkled with concern as she stared me down, tilting her head.

“How are you?” she asked with hesitation, as if concerned the question would shatter me to pieces. I responded with a shrug.

“Been better. My focus is on packing. We have a lot to finish,” I offered. Aubrey nodded, finishing breakfast up and serving us at the table.

She sat down across from me, munching on the scrumptious bacon and gesturing for me to help myself. That I did, something I definitely didn’t regret. Cooked to perfection and warming my stomach at least a little bit, the bacon helped ease me even if only a smidgeon.

I was grateful for the silence during eating, though, as I was still gathering my thoughts.

When all was finished, we returned to packing. I hauled some books and packed them into some boxes neatly, letting out a light sigh. Lin joined us soon, her cheerful expression fading upon seeing my face.

Were there circles under my eyes? Probably. I went to bed at a less-than-reasonable hour. Not to mention, I tossed and turned all night, which probably contributed to how slow I was right now.

I broke the awkward silence first. “I was very harsh with Michael yesterday,” I began. Lin gasped, taken aback by this.

“The same guy you said you had amazing sex with? But why?” she asked. Aubrey leaned forward, flabbergasted by this knowledge as well. I nodded, biting my lip and feeling tears coming on again. I cried a lot lately, didn’t I?

“Because it isn’t working out,” I said with a short tone, gathering my bearings. A few items in boxes later, I decided to elaborate.

“My reputation is at risk. I really want to become a lawyer, guys. I am so scared. I got a threatening note, and if pictures get out of us together, I’ll be done for. You know how the media is. I will never be able to practice. My dreams are at risk of being completely destroyed,” I muttered.

Aubrey and Lin exchanged a glance, probably debating how to approach this. I glanced up toward them, waiting for their response. My arms were a little bit achy from moving some of the heavier objects into the boxes, but I made do. Probably best to rest after these final days of packing.

“And you’re sure you’re completely miserable, Shelby?” Aubrey asked softly. I hesitated but slowly nodded. Her eyes had a skeptical spark to them, but she dipped her head. “I’ll take your word for it even if you seem a little unsure. The stress is getting to you. I can tell.”

“Yeah,” Lin agreed. “The way you talked about him was hot. I still wish I had a guy like that, but if it’s not going to work out, then it’s best to move on. Moving will probably be the best thing that can happen.”

“New York isn’t a good place to be right now,” Aubrey added, her nose wrinkling. “So many problems, and on top of all this? Thank goodness Cambridge is quiet. At least, it should be quieter. Look, I’ll hold the fort for you here. You promise to stay in contact, though?”

Realizing I was losing one of my close friends, I teared up all over again. The best I could do was nod. I spread my arms, and my two friends rushed over to me. One group hug and many tears later, I pulled away from them.

I placed her hands on Aubrey’s shoulders. “Lin and I are going to miss you so much, we will absolutely stay in contact. How could we not, you’re like our sister?”

We all hugged again, crying at splitting up. It had been us against the world for so long.

The sadness was interrupted by our need to load the Uhaul. That was even worse than carrying all of the heavy boxes around, admittedly.

The conversation turned from the obvious panic-inducing subject of the Michael situation to brighter, happier topics. At least there wasn’t a cloud in the sky above this time, making the move a bit more pleasant.

I smiled and entered the apartment, wanting to take one last break before heading out with the final boxes. The stormy mood hanging around my head was at least starting to dissipate.

Lin and Aubrey took a seat before me, munching on some ham sandwiches for lunch. Lin eyed me and asked, “You ever think about writing a book or something? Your life sounds like a movie.”

After a harsh look from Aubrey, Lin grinned sheepishly and coughed. “Er, this will hopefully be a happy ending.”

I chuckled, shaking my head and wiping away some sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand. “No, but I should, shouldn’t I?” I chuckled.

Then, I sobered a bit. “We don’t need to avoid the subject if you have questions, though. I can tell there’s something on the tip of your tongue.”

Lin glanced over to Aubrey, who shook her head. Evidently my friend decided to ask the question anyway. “Do you think he will follow you? How bad was your fight, anyway? You said ‘very harsh’ but that could mean a lot.”

Aubrey leaned over and elbowed her, and Lin gave her a look that said, ‘What? We were both wondering that.’

I sighed and shook my head. “I don’t think he will. At least, I hope not. I will put my foot down and tell him to go away if he does. Even if I really, really don’t want to.”

Aubrey’s eyes sparkled with sympathy as she stared at me. “Still in love, huh? Not every day you find a man that looks at you the way you described, Shelby. But, again, you should do what’s best for you. Before everything else.

“There will be other men out there! If you think this won’t work out, yeah, moving on is good. Not awesome, but good.” I nodded, wanting to take my friend’s advice to heart and not put myself in any more danger.

“We are really going to miss you Aubrey, life won’t be the same without your great advice and support,” I said and Lin nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, who’s going to keep my mouth in check now?” Lin said with a grin, though tears were in her eyes.

“No more crying!” Aubrey said, and we all laughed. It was going to be hard to leave this, our friendship meant so much to us all. I tried not to think about what Lin said. But I couldn’t stop the thoughts running through my mind now.

What if he does follow me? Will I really tell him to go away? Or will I cave? This really isn’t his fault, at all, but regardless of who’s causing the issue, us together can’t work.

I felt my heart clench at that, really, really not wanting to accept it. Thankfully, there was no way he would show up anywhere soon. He was too busy, right?

I finished up my break with the other two, exchanging hugs again. They each took a few heavy boxes and headed out to the Uhaul, grunting at how heavy they were.

As Aubrey passed me, she said, “You really take your studies seriously, huh? I’m glad you did what’s best for you in that case, because just by all of this, your career being in danger would obviously crush you. Even more so than these heavy boxes are crushing me.”

I had to laugh at her antics.

Placing the last box at the bottom of the moving truck, I wiped more sweat from my brow and smiled to myself. I could look to the future, leave this place behind, and start anew. I had so much going for me!

All of this drama would be behind me soon. So would Michael. I bit my lip, not liking that thought. Maybe I should have been nicer as opposed to storming out like that. “Very harsh,” I whispered to myself.

“Uh… Shelby?” came Lin’s voice. I was resting there, staring at a box, lost in thought. Letting out a sigh, I waved my hand without turning around.

“Give me a minute, please,” I responded, wanting to gather my bearings once more. All of my swarming thoughts kept contradicting me, after all.

“I don’t think we have a minute. Someone is here to see you,” she said. I furrowed my brow and rolled my shoulders back, turning to see what in the world she could be talking about.

My eyes widened and my jaws dropped as I spotted a very familiar face. My entire body tensed, and my breath caught as the I took in the man standing before me. The man I’d driven away from and left there in tears only a day before.

He wore a forlorn, lost expression, guilt seeping from every pore.

“Michael,” I breathed. “What are you doing here?”

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