Country Mile

HOME

Wrapped in blankets freshly warmed by the dryer and holding hot cocoa topped with gooey fluff in large mugs, Genna and Taylor sat across from one another on the couch. The initial awkward silence gave way to gentle conversation, which soon gave way to laughter and a bonding experience neither girl ever dreamed would occur.

"And then he goes, 'No! Don't rip them out!', but I slowly pulled the false lashes off anyway and he goes completely pale and says, 'Oh God, I think I'm gonna puke.' It was literally the funniest thing ever!" Taylor laughed heartily at the memory.

Genna laughed with her. "Oh my gosh. Boys are truly something special sometimes."

"Yeah," Taylor smiled with a shake of her head. "He's an idiot, but he's my idiot."

"I know it's not really any of my business, but," Genna paused and took a sip of her drink. Treading carefully, she continued, "he really shouldn't put his hands on you like that. I just.. I know how it feels when Valerie does it to me."

Taylor shrugged and took a sip from her mug too.

"I know. He's always been rough around the edges, but he's never treated me like that before. It's definitely something we need to talk about. I care about him enough to give him another chance after I put some boundaries in place, but I care about me more to leave his sorry ass if he doesn't respect those boundaries."

Genna smiled at the enormous strength the little blonde had. "Good."

After a moment, Taylor raised her blue eyes to meet Genna. She whispered, "I'm sorry."

Knowing exactly what she was apologizing for, Genna gave a heartfelt smile. "I know. It's okay."

"No, it's not." Taylor leaned forward and set her mug down on the coffee table. "Look, I.. I know things. About your expulsion. About everything, really. It was all Valerie, and I can prove it."

Genna's heartbeat began to race. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"I have the burner phone that she used to send those fake texts. She bought it and gave it to me along with a printed out conversation to text to a certain number... your number. I didn't piece it all together until after you had already been suspended."

Genna sat her mug down beside Taylor's. "Do you still have the phone?"

Taylor nodded. "She even left the receipt in the bag."

Genna rubbed her hands over her face. "Taylor, I don't want to put you in a bad position, but..."

"Genna," Taylor sighed. "Valerie is a mean, vindictive, manipulative bitch. She always has been. Even to me and Lauren at times. I'm already in a bad position just by being here. Maybe.. maybe when she has no one, she'll realize she can't treat people the way she does and we could all try to be friends. Real friends."

Nodding her head, Genna gave a weak smile. "Thank you for helping me."

"Thank you for helping me."

***

Angry tears streamed down Valerie Davenport's face while Taylor, Genna, and all three girls' parents sat in Mrs. Ramirez's office early Monday morning.

"And this receipt for the phone will match Valerie's credit card info," Taylor mumbled softly as she slid the paper across the Principal's desk.

"You stole that phone to set me up!" Valerie snapped at the blonde.

"No Valerie, that's what you did with my phone," Genna retorted on Taylor's behalf.

"The fuck I did, y—" Valerie's words were cut off by a heavy hand gripping her shoulder. She looked up and was met with her father's smoldering eyes.