Title: Chapter Three: Rebuilding

Series: Emesen’s Child

Author: Jennifer Lee

Email: jesca10@attbi.com

Web: http://home.attbi.com/~jesca10/ *Fictitious*

Disclaimer: All characters are the property of the author and are not to be reproduced without express consent.

Rating: G

Summery: When a a door shuts on love, look for an open window.

Author’s Notes: Please email me if you want to put this or any of my stories on your website. I never say no, but I like knowing which sites are supporting my writing. Thanks!



Emesen’s Child 3: Rebuilding
By Jennifer Lee

She wasn’t sure how it happened, but life went on after Gabe Stanley. The next morning found her curled up in a corner of her room, reading old love letters from him while steadily going through a box of tissues. The trashcan across the room showed her basket average for the night with the little balled up tissues littering her bedroom floor.

After a while she couldn’t read anymore. Four years of love letters for a couple of kids who spent a good portion of their relationship apart from each other was a lot.

She remembered when her father took her to Yukon, Oklahoma for the first time. She thought it was going to be a boring business weekend, but it beat staying at home with her mother. She loved her mother, but she hated how restrictive and overbearing her mother could be. Martha Blaire was obsessed with her daughter attaining perfection and Sandy felt like she could breathe easier around her father.

They were staying in Yukon for the weekend to meet with an employee of her father’s, a man named George Stanley. George Stanley was the same age as her father, and throughout the years of business they had done with each other, they had built up a good friendship. They enjoyed each other’s company as well as talking business with each other. George had a small real estate business before he met Edward Blaire. Now, a part of his conglomerate, George enjoyed spending the sporadic weekends they spent bass fishing.

Edward was never much of a fisherman, but he was learning. In truth, he visited George because he was a business genius. He spent his spare times investing in the stock market as well as in his business. Although the business was heavily invested in by Blaire Investments, George’s goal of perfection didn’t allow him the luxury of resting on his laurels. He was an honest man with a simple mentality. He enjoyed the good things in life. He had a nice home, a loving wife, a successful football hero in the making for a son, a booming business, and a good year of bass fishing and football. While he taught Edward to fish, Edward sought invaluable business tips and insights from a man who had a sixth sense about it. Edward had many times offered him a job in New York, where the headquarters of Blaire Investments was located, but George Stanley wasn’t interested in big city life. So each year as a thank you, Edward sent him a large Christmas bonus.

Sandy didn’t know anything about fishing, but she was sure that George Stanley had to be a lot more fun than her mother, especially if her father was willing to give a whole weekend to him. She never guessed she’d find love that weekend.

Gabe Stanley drew her attention instantly. As they were driving in the driveway of the moderate sized home, she spotted Gabe, throwing a football into a net. He was completely geared up, as if he were playing in a game. Sandy felt her mouth go dry.

There was never a guy she ever pursued before Gabe. Although she didn’t have to pursue much, since Gabe seemed totally taken with her own beauty, she did smile her best smiles and use her practiced ability of reading people to impress him. After that weekend her father took her every time he went to Yukon. Visits increased in number as Edward saw how happy they were making Sandy. George and Edward silently approved of the two teens and their budding relationship. Sandy was a sophomore in high school and she felt like she had finally found the reason why she never wanted to go steady with any of the boys in her school.

For the first time, it was like someone wanted to be with her because of her and not because of her father. She felt like she could be herself around him, and she became very comfortable with him. Whenever either of them had school dances Edward would fly Sandy to Yukon or he would fly Gabe to Connecticut. The two would write to each other at least once a week and they were constantly on the phone to each other.

When The Academy was interested in recruiting Gabe Stanley for their struggling football team, they had the foresight to recruit Sandy as well, thinking that the young girl would bring her semi-famous boyfriend to The Academy. Although Edward was sorry to see her move all the way to Florida, both Sandy and her mother were happier with this arrangement.

It wasn’t that Martha didn’t love her daughter, but she was jealous of the time Edward spent with Sandy and wanted the competition to move as far away from home as possible. Sandy was very happy to oblige, for although she knew she would miss her father, she felt it was time to strike out on her own.

Sandy made a deal with her father. As long as she was going to school and applying herself like he knew she could do, and getting good grades, he would pay the balances of her credit cards and she could charge her rent and everything else to them. He didn’t want to see Sandy sacrificing her schooling to work at a part time job, and he wanted her to get the full college experience that he didn’t get to enjoy when he was struggling through college to make himself the man he was. So Sandy did just that.

She and her father drove to Florida a month before school started to be sure to get a good apartment close to the school. He offered to buy Sandy a house, but she didn’t want to be alienated from all of the other students who wouldn’t be living in houses. So they found a good apartment that Sandy was happy with it and signed a lease. After a tearful goodbye, Edward flew back to Connecticut and Martha had all of Sandy’s necessities sent to her.

Gabe was living in a dorm room, but he was quickly moved to a fraternity house when he was accepted into Alpha Beta. Sandy was given a room at Alpha Delta Pi, where she officially lived, but stayed very little.

She and Gabe had made some serious waves in the social headlines at The Academy. He was the most sought after man on campus and was well on his way to a successful college football career. She was the most sought after girl with a killer body, a cheerleader, and a father with enough money to make anyone’s dream come true. Together they seemed an impenetrable force, despite attempts to break them up. They were a team and meant to stay that way. Until now.

Sandy put the letters away as she brought herself back to the present. Last night Gabe had cheated on her with her best friend, and made a fool of her in front of everyone at the party. School hadn’t started yet, but she knew that everyone would hear of this. Her phone had been ringing off the hook last night but she didn’t want to talk to anyone.

This morning, she still didn’t want to face anyone, but there was one person she did want to talk to. Fishing her cell phone out of her purse, Sandy dialed the phone.

“Edward Blaire.”

“Hi Daddy.”

“Sandy? What’s wrong, you sound terrible.”

She had tried to keep the tears from her voice, but it was harsh from the crying and ill use.

“Gabe and I broke up, Daddy.”

“Oh my, Sandy, what happened?” His concern was genuine and she smiled through a few fresh tears that slid down her cheeks.

“Well, we were at a party last night, and I found him with Tammy.”

“Tammy as in Tammy Ross?”

“Yeah.”

There was silence on the line for a moment. Edward was very involved in Sandy’s life, and he knew that over the last couple of years no one had made Sandy as happy as Gabe and Tammy. They were the legs she stood on. Now she was going to have to stand on her own two feet, and he knew that was a hard lesson for her to have to learn.

“I’m very sorry, Sandy. This is terrible news. Why don’t you come home?”

Sandy smiled at the familiar mode of comfort. Her father’s solution suspiciously was always for her to return home.

“No, Daddy, I can’t. Classes start this Monday. I just needed someone to talk to.”

“You know I’m always here for you, darling.”

“Yeah, I know. Thank you, Daddy.”

“Anytime, Princess.”

She smiled at the old nickname. He used to call her his little princess when she was little. But now he only called her that when she was upset or sometimes when they were sharing close moments.

“I just feel so helpless. I don’t know what to do.”

“Helpless? My daughter? You are anything but helpless, Sandy.”

“Well, what can I do? It isn’t like I can stop her from doing what she did.” Sandy sniffled and wiped tears from her eyes.

“Sandy, you can’t control what Tammy Ross or Gabe Stanley does but you can control what you do and who you are. You’re a strong and proud woman whose generous nature opened her up for heartache. There’s nothing wrong with that. But there is a silver lining here.”

“And what’s that?”

“Sandy, there are two sides to everything. How would you know which direction was up if there was no down? How would you know something was good if you had never seen bad? How would you know love-”

“If I’ve never felt pain,” she interrupted.

“Right.”

“That doesn’t help, Daddy.”

“Maybe not now, but it will, sweetheart.” He paused for a moment and then smiled a little. “Would it help if I showed up on his doorstep with a shotgun?”

He heard the faint sound of Sandy stifling a giggle.

“You would do that for me?”

“Of course! Consider it done. I’ll pack up my shotgun and all the bullets I have. I’ll march up to his door and when he comes to it I’ll make him watch me load it up and I’ll give him a three second head start.”

“You’d give him a head start? After what he did to me?” Sandy feigned shock as she tried not to giggle.

“Oh, yeah, I suppose you’re right. Ok, I won’t even let him watch me load, I’ll just aim the gun and when he comes to the door I’ll teach him to cheat on my little girl.”

Sandy laughed a moment, feeling better than she did when she called him. She wiped at her nose with a tissue.

“I love you, Daddy.”

“I love you too.”

She hung up and sighed deeply. She looked around her and decided to try to function. After a shower and a change of clothes, Sandy set out to put her room to rights again. She picked up all the letters and put them back in the shoebox she kept them in. She put the shoebox on the top shelf of her closet and closed the door on them. She made short work of picking up all of the tissues that littered her floor and straitened the bed from when she curled up on it the night before for a while.

On her way to the kitchen there was a knock on the front door. She swallowed back her sudden onset of fear and then chided herself. There was nothing to be afraid of or ashamed of. She had a good relationship with Gabe. She had no reason to believe he would do this to her. It wasn’t like she was pretending not to see him screw around on her for years. As far as she knew, she was the only woman he had been with in Florida, besides Tammy last night. She was the victim and she refused to hide any longer.

Putting her shoulders back she opened the door with a smile. It faded slightly when she saw who was at the door.

“Hey Sandy.”

“Carl. Hi.” She stood awkwardly at the door, wondering if she should invite him in or not. He didn’t seem to notice.

“I brought you these.” He held out a small bouquet of flowers that were obviously picked from someone’s garden.

“Oh, Carl…they’re pretty. Thank you.” She smiled politely as she took them.

“So do you want to go out with me?”

Sandy took a deep breath and hung her head for a moment.

“Carl, Gabe and I just broke up last night. I need some time.”

“Well I didn’t mean right now, Sandy. How about tonight.”

“I think I’ll need more time, Carl.”

He frowned in thought. “Well, what about tomorrow night?”

Sandy swallowed back her frustration.

“Carl. I need time to think about my life and where I want it to go. I hadn’t really thought of a life without Gabe and now I need some time to adjust. Please understand.”

“I do. So how about next weekend?” Carl looked at her with child-like innocence, as he sincerely didn’t understand what she meant.

“No, Carl.”

“But…I thought you said you needed time.”

“I do.”

“Well, how much time do you need? You and Gabe have been broke up now for all night.”

Sandy smiled a seemingly patient smile. “How about I let you know, ok Carl?”

“Ok.” He smiled.

“Ok, Carl. I’ll see you later.”

“Ok, Sandy.” He turned and walked away and Sandy could only stare after him in amazement. Most people would have gotten the hint at her blunt ‘don’t call me, I’ll call you’ ending. Not Carl though. When he walked away, she got the distinct impression that he actually expected a call from her when she felt like she had enough time to re-evaluate.

Sandy shook her head and closed the door, looking at the flowers in her hand. She started towards the kitchen when there was another knock on the door. Sandy rolled her eyes and put the flowers down on the table before heading back to the door.

“What?” she asked harshly as she opened the door. Instead of looking into the confused little boy eyes of Carl Williams, she was instead looking into the contrite eyes of Gabe Stanley. Sandy felt a little frozen in place. “What do you want?”

“I just want a chance to talk to you, Sandy.”

Sandy considered letting him in but she firmly stood her ground.

“Gabe, this is too soon. I need more time.”

His shoulders seemed to slump and his hands went into his pockets.

“I had a terrible night last night, Sandy.”

“Could have fooled me, Gabe. From where I was standing you were having a pretty good time.” Her anger was evident.

“I meant afterwards, Sandy. I just spent all night walking around the town. I tried calling you, but you didn’t answer your phone.

She knew by the pause that he expected her to give a reason why she wouldn’t answer the phone, but she just watched him with an unchanged face. She was not going to feel sorry for him.

“Sandy, if you’d just give me a chance I’d do better. Please. I’ve never done anything like this before. I messed up and I know it. Can’t I have just one more chance?” he pleaded with her.

“Gabe, it’s too soon for me. Please just let me think, ok?”

He nodded a little, keeping his eyes averted. “Ok. I’ll call you.”

Sandy nodded slightly before closing the door on him.

Throughout the day, Sandy spent time in her apartment. She busied herself by doing housework and cooking. She watched a little television, but mainly she answered the phone and the door. So many people were calling her and coming over that she felt overwhelmed.

Tammy had called to ask her forgiveness saying Gabe had basically forced himself on her. Sandy was mad at Gabe, but she didn’t think he could ever do a thing like that, no matter how much he had drunk. Besides, before Tammy had called, Ricky had. Ricky was a friend of Sandy’s through Gabe and had for a long time now had a crush on Tammy. He was pretty upset by the situation and had told Sandy about the flirtation he overheard before they went to Gabe’s room. She knew Tammy had basically thrown herself at Gabe, but what she didn’t know was why. Ricky’s solution was to ask Sandy if she’d be interested in going to a movie. Sandy had politely declined, but she was a little upset that he would ask her at this time.

She had gotten both a phone call and a visit from Steve Greene. He seemed very concerned about her and she appreciated the friendship, but when he asked her to the Rave, the local dance club that was a favorite among college students, she feigned a headache and he left.

A couple of her friends had called throughout the day as well. People she wasn’t extremely close to as well as a few that she felt pretty close to called her. Some of them wanted to know what it felt like while others wanted to know if she was going to take Gabe back. Some told her to forget him while others told her she couldn’t hope to get better. One girl asked if Sandy would mind if she dated Gabe. The phone calls were driving Sandy up the wall.

Finally unable to handle it, Sandy grabbed a sweater and headed out. First she tried adorning her Liberty costume, instant changing in an alley and staying to the shadows, hunting for some trouble to get in the middle of. The whole town seemed asleep though; she didn’t even get a minor mugging.

After she decided to stop patrolling, she took a walk in a park, sitting on a park bench in front of a pond, watching the moon and the stars reflect off the surface of the water.

“Hey, Sandy.”

She jumped. She hadn’t heard anyone approach, but standing next to the park bench was Darien Maine. She smiled faintly. In the past her and Darien really didn’t get along. They ran in similar circles because of his wealth, but he had always come across as an ass to her in the past. Besides, he was a friend of Barbie’s and didn’t much like when Barbie was expelled from school. Since then, they had been able to be civil, but they hadn’t really become friends and she wasn’t really excited to see him now.

“Hey.”

“Am I interrupting something?” He looked around. “Is this seat taken?”

“Nope.” She threw a rock into the pond as he sat on the other side of the bench, careful not to invade her space.

“You know, it’s kind of dangerous for a pretty girl to be in the parks by herself.” His voice held a soft southern drawl, even though he was as far from being from the south as she was. She had always founding it charming in the past, but she wasn’t in the mood for charming now.

“I can take care of me.” She looked down. The weight of the world seemed to be pressing her into the park bench and she just knew if Darien asked her out she was going to snap.

“Ok. I was just worried.” He watched her a moment before sitting back on the park bench. They shared a long moment of comfortable silence. Neither felt compelled to say anything to the other and Sandy hadn’t felt anything as comforting as his silent presence all day. Finally she smiled at him.

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be a bitch.” It had been a long couple of days and right now the way she used to feel about Darien didn’t much matter to her. She just didn’t want to fight with anyone anymore today.

“You aren’t.” Darien smiled at her, picking up a few rocks and tossing them one by one into the pond creating ripples in the otherwise still water.

“I’ve just not been having the best day.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, what’s wrong?”

“You mean you don’t know?” She looked at him, her eyebrows raised.

“I just got in today, so unless it happened in Oregon, no I don’t.” He smiled easily at her.

“Well, I thought it would be on the front page of every newspaper by now,” she said sarcastically.

He waited in silence for her to answer him.

“Gabe and I broke up.”

“I see.” He frowned a little in puzzlement. It was almost as if he was trying to figure out why they would break up. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

She looked at him suspiciously. “Aren’t you going to ask me out or try to get with me now?”

He looked surprised. “Do you want me to?”

Sandy frowned a little. “Don’t you want to?”

“Well, Sandy, I wouldn’t think that now was the appropriate time to ask you out. You just told me you broke up with your boyfriend and, if I’m not mistaken, you two had been seeing each other for a few years, hadn’t you?” He seemed genuinely confused and Sandy felt her cheeks starting to redden from her implication. She thanked her luck that it was dark out.

“Ok, well I think I’ve hit an all time low. I probably should be going before I embarrass myself any further.” She stood up, her mind on how many flavors of ice cream it was going to take to drown her embarrassment tonight. She thought about going to the mall to by a size larger wardrobe, just to be prepared.

“Sandy, please don’t go. I’m sorry.” He seemed to be genuinely confused about this conversation, which made her feel more foolish.

“I’m sorry Darien, I know you were probably trying to be very supportive and everything, and I jumped to a conclusion that I shouldn’t have. I mean just because every other guy who I’ve come into contact with today, save my father, has asked me out doesn’t mean you’re going to. It’s just… I’m tired and I’m hurt and frustrated. I just think I need to go home. Thank you for trying, though.”

She hesitated a moment wondering if she should stay or go. Part of her just wanted to scream and pull her hair out. Here was a guy that had always been pretty nice, and she just assumed he’d be an ass like the rest. She turned and started to walk away from him.

“Christie and I broke up, too.”

She stopped in her tracks. She knew that he and his girlfriend, Christie Stockwell had been dating for around the same number of years that her and Gabe had been. Slowly she turned around to face him. He was looking out over the pond.

“She found someone in London who was more her style.” It was a well-known fact that Christie Stockwell was a fashion model with a career that was blooming every time she was seen. It wasn’t long before Sandy started to see the girl on the front of many magazines. Christie had come to The Academy during her freshman year of college, but when a high profile modeling agency wooed her to their fold, she soon had to quit school to pursue her love of modeling. While here, Sandy and Christie were friendly, but Sandy didn’t let woman that beautiful get too close to her. She always felt like they were competing with her and then she would compete with them and real friendship could not ensue. But she knew that Darien and Christie were a hot couple who looked destined to be together, and now they were apart. Just like her and Gabe.

“I’m sorry, Darien.” Slowly she walked back over to him, feeling a little unsure about what she was doing. Part of her screamed at her to get out of the park, pronto.

“I was so sure she was the one. You know how that is?” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked at her briefly before turning back to the water.

“Yeah, all too well. I felt the same way about Gabe.” She put her hand on his arm. “But you know what? If she was too blind to see that, then you’re better off. You deserve someone who can see the great things about you and make that part of their style.”

He smiled faintly but he didn’t look at her. “You think so?”

“Definitely.”

“Is that the advice you’d give to yourself about Gabe?”

She looked down. She felt him move as if he was looking down at her, but she didn’t meet his eyes.

“I guess it’s easier said than felt.”

“Yes, I suppose it is.” He took a deep breath and Sandy could feel his hand cover hers. “Why don’t I walk you home?”

She nodded and they both started the walk. It was a ways away from the apartment complex she lived in, but they didn’t seem to notice as they exchanged small talk. Although they didn’t hit on any deep topics on the walk home, they did achieve something very important, fellowship. They felt comfortable together and slowly but surely Sandy began to feel better and Darien was acting much more at ease and in less pain than by the pond.

When they arrived in front of the apartment complex, Darien looked confused.

“You live here?”

“Yeah. Apartment number fourteen. Why?” she asked.

He smiled. “I live here too. Apartment thirteen. I just moved in today.”

She looked at him in surprise for a moment before she burst out laughing. He smiled at her and then started to chuckle, and finally they were both laughing so hard they couldn’t catch their breaths.

“Come in for a drink.” She shook her head and headed up the stairs, opening the door for him. He smiled and followed her inside. She threw her purse on the dining room table and turned to him. “Want the tour?”

He smiled. “Sure.”

The front door opened up into the living room with the dining room off to the left. She took him into the kitchen to show him. It was a decent sized kitchen and was decorated with towels and hot pads with little neon roses on them. A built in bar divided the kitchen and the dining area where a large expensive looking cherry finished wooden table sat, decorated with place settings and candles. The bar had miniature shot glasses in various hues stacked in a pyramid off to the side. She certainly knew how to give a room her personality.

The living room was large and looked larger because of her furniture. The chairs were a burgundy color and the fabric almost looked like felt or velvet. They were futon chairs, and so they seemed like a smaller chair. On the arms and the back were little cloth throws in a pearl white with silvery-burgundy colored roses and vines on them. The couch was actually a loveseat in the same pearl white and silvery-burgundy material as the cloth throws. Burgundy pillows with silver roses and vines accented the room and border of stenciled roses in burgundy lined the top of the walls. All the wood in the apartment was cherry finished wood and her carpet was a gray that blended well with the silver. Pictures of antique doll houses hung along her walls as well as a mirrored clock. Darien soaked up the atmosphere, trying to get as much information about her from her surroundings as he could.

She led him through an entryway and he looked at the hallway which was lined with pictures of her father, mother, and her during various stages of life. To the right Darien spotted two sinks and a mirror that sat outside of the bathroom, rather than a part of it. It was neatly arranged with her many beauty and hair supplies. Blue and silver heart stickers outlined the mirror and the bathroom matched with dark blue and sliver towels and trimmings.

Across from the sinks was a large bedroom, obviously a spare room. It was decorated in a dark purple and silver. He smiled as he noticed the silver thread that tied all of these rooms together, making them feel very much apart of the same apartment while being completely different colors. The gray carpet was throughout the apartment, helping to blend the silver.

Down the hall, to the left of the hallway opening, was the master bedroom, decorated in hunter green and silver. Another bathroom, in the same colors, adjoined it. The only thing that stood out in the room, however, was the multitude of Polaris posters hanging about. Darien stepped into the middle of the room and slowly spun around, looking at pictures of Polaris with his hands on his hips looking like he had just saved the day, Polaris with his team mates, back when he was part of a team, and some posters of just Polaris’ trademark star on his costume. There were Polaris’ cards and autographs, Polaris magazine pictures, and Polaris newspaper articles. As he turned around, he finally faced Sandy.

“Nice… décor.” He smiled dryly and she giggled.

“You think if he ever came over here, he’d get the hint?”

Darien wanted to say that Polaris probably wouldn’t get the hint if you attached it to a sledgehammer and hit him in the head with it, but instead he just smiled and nodded.

Lastly she took him into the bedroom that was next to the master bedroom and he saw that it was converted into a home office. Everything was very neat and orderly. All her furniture was cherry finished and she had maps adorning her wall, all of them metallic looking with different color themes and of different geographies.

“I’m very impressed.” He smiled at her and she smiled back.

“I was starting to wonder. You haven’t said hardly anything.”

“I was just allowing myself to take it all in. You know you can tell a lot about a person by their surroundings.”

“Really? What can you tell about me.”

Darien smiled and then put a serious look on his face. “Well you abhor Polaris, that’s for certain.”

She giggled and slapped his arm, lightly. He smiled and then became serious for real.

“You’re outgoing and fun-loving, but you’re insecure at the same time. You feel like a little girl playing dress up sometimes, and you worry that you won’t be good enough to please those who seem to rely on you. You want to be gloriously better than you are, and even though you know you can dedicate one hundred and ten percent, you are worried it won’t be enough. You’re organized and neat, but beyond that you really have a need to make things perfect. You need to have an explanation for things. Things have to make sense to you or else they have no place in your life.”

She stared at him, her eyes wide, her mouth parted as she listed to him. He smiled a little and walked closer to her, bending down to get face to face with her. “You’re also rich.”

Her face split into a smile and she looked away from him, looking around her office. “You got all that from my apartment?”

He smiled in answer. She looked over at him and smiled, leading him back to the living room. She offered him a seat and he opted to sit on the loveseat. Across from the dining room table, behind the door, was a glass and silver portable bar on wheels. On top of it was some nice looking bottles and shot glasses and decanters. He suspected they were mostly for show, because he didn’t picture her being a big drinker.

“So what will you have?” she smiled in question.

“Scotch no rocks, please.” He smiled and watched her pour him a drink before going to the kitchen and coming back with a fuzzy navel flavored wine cooler. She handed him his drink and sat beside him on the couch, pulling her knees up and turning sideways to face him. He took a drink from his drink and looked over at her.

She took a drink of her drink, suddenly not sure what to say now.

Darien just smiled and waited for her to say something, not looking nearly as uncomfortable as she was getting.

“Well, so classes start on Monday.” She sighed. She knew she sounded lame, talking about school now.

“Yeah. What are you going to do about Tammy?”

“I don’t know yet. I just…” she let the sentence die on her lips and his eyebrows rose in question. “Wait a minute. I didn’t say anything about Tammy. All I said was that Gabe and I broke up. I didn’t say why or anything about Tammy. You said you hadn’t heard.” Her eyes narrowed suspiciously and he smiled playfully at her.

“Well, I might have heard something.”

“Uh-huh.” She was trying not to smile, but his easy smile was too contagious.

“From the grapevine.”

“Yeah. I’ve been meaning to get ride of that nosey grapevine.”

He chuckled and took another drink and she took a drink from her bottle. The smile slowly left her face.

“I don’t know what to do about Tammy. She and I were best friends. Now when I need a best friend most, I don’t have anyone. I know I have to proceed carefully here or else this could haunt me much longer than it already will. If I’m not careful I’ll lose my hold on the sorority, my other friends, and things will become a lot more difficult here at The Academy.”

“But if you do the right thing, you could win it all and Tammy would come off looking like the bitch.”

“Right.” She looked at him. “So what would you do?”

“I would make everyone see her as if she slept with their boyfriends. Ask them, if she would do this to her best friend, wouldn’t she do this to them? Can she really be trusted? Ruin her. If you sit around and do nothing about her, she’ll move in on you and all that is yours. Your sorority, your cheerleading squad, your popularity, and your friends. Don’t let her run you away. Be aggressive.”

She smiled and nodded, feeling better. She looked at Darien and her smile widened.

“You know, you’re a pretty surprising person. I think I’ve misjudged you.”

“It happens.” He smiled and finished off his drink.

The rest of the night was spent getting to know one another. Sandy was surprised to find Darien to be a very likable person. He grew up on a ranch in Oregon and lived right next door to Carl Williams most of his life. He made her laugh until she cried when he told her stories about their childhood together. She really got the idea that Carl was an important person in his life but when she admitted to Darien that she didn’t really like Carl much, he just smiled.

“He’s an acquired taste,” he said with a smile.

He was so non-judgmental of her and was very supportive. Best of all, he didn’t hit on her the whole time. They just sat and talked until the sun started showing through the window.

Neither of them were tired, so they agreed to get cleaned up and go out for breakfast. After quick showers and getting dressed in fresh clothes, the two went out, spending most of the afternoon together before finally splitting up to take a nap. After a few hours of a nap though, they were at it again. For the whole weekend it was if they couldn’t get enough of each other.

When school started on Monday, Sandy wasn’t the broken and hurt girl from the previous Friday. She held her head high and her shoulders were square. Her brilliant smile wasn’t forced and the spring in her step was genuine. Even though a few people asked her about her tragedy, she waved it off and declared herself over Gabe Stanley. People seemed impressed with the way she handled herself, and Sandy knew she had learned a good lesson. No matter what life threw at you, it was possible to rebuild.



To Be Continued...