Love never fails

10| the new girl story

Chapter 90: The Worst Day Ever

Today's story is super crazy—this is probably the worst day of my life. It's a little bit chaotic, and I'm not happy about it at all. You'll see why as I get into it, so let's just jump right in.

Let me start with my dad and his girlfriend, Riley. My dad had been really sad for a while after everything that happened with Riley. She broke his heart when she said those awful things about me, and he was devastated when he found out she had cheated on him. I thought they were done for good, but then...

Ding-dong.

"Oh, hey. What are you doing here?" my dad said, surprised to see Riley standing at the door. She was crying, her makeup smudged from tears.

"I'm sorry for what happened," Riley sobbed. "I didn't mean to say those things about your daughter. I was just mad. Please, can we get back together?"

I couldn't believe my ears when my dad actually considered it. "Okay, but if you ever talk about my daughter like that again or cheat on me, we're done. Forever."

Riley nodded eagerly, wiping her tears. "I promise. I won't."

And just like that, they were back together. My dad kissed her—yeah, gross. I hate it so much. He had just been doing paperwork, and now this? Oh, did I mention that my dad is a detective, just like my brother Eddie? Yeah, that's important.

"What are you doing, my love?" Riley asked, draping herself over him as he tried to focus on his work.

"Just some paperwork for work," he replied, his voice distant.

"Did you find the guy who went after your daughter and son?" Riley asked, a touch too casually.

"No, not yet," my dad said, clearly distracted.

"Well, I'm going to bed. Good night."

"Good night," he replied, barely looking up.

And he didn't tell me any of this. I found out on my own, and it made me sick to my stomach. How could he take her back after everything?

Now, let's get to my story for the day. I was determined to expose Charlotte for who she really was. I was so sick of everyone thinking she was perfect when I knew she wasn't. I got ready for school, putting on a pretty yellow shirt and shorts, and tying my hair up in a ponytail. I needed to look confident, even if I wasn't feeling it.

"Good morning, guys," I said as I came downstairs.

"Good morning," everyone replied in unison.

"Today's my first day at work," I announced, trying to sound excited.

"At Starbucks? Yeah, you told us a million times last night," Mason teased.

"Well, I was checking if you remembered," I shot back, rolling my eyes.

I was nervous about work, but I was even more nervous about what I was planning to do at school. I was going to try to show people who Charlotte really was, but she had already managed to become popular, so it wasn't going to be easy.

All day, Charlotte annoyed me. I kept seeing her everywhere, and it felt like she was always in the middle of everything. And to make matters worse, she was doing a science project with Lorenzo. They were doing the classic Mentos and soda experiment—simple, but effective. Brian and I were working on a project with water and soil, and it just didn't seem as cool in comparison.

After school, I needed a ride to work, but Mason had already started his shift. So, I asked Andrew to take me. As you know, Andrew and I have been kind of dating lately. It's been nice, but everything is still a little complicated because of Lorenzo and all the lingering feelings there. Lorenzo already knows I'm trying to figure out who I really want to be with, and he said he's okay with it as long as I take the time I need to make the right decision.