Forever

Part 12

The girls slept well into the afternoon, ordering chinese take out once they woke up. They lounged in the living room, still tired from the night before, scrolling through their phones and watching tv.

"Umm....Sarah...." one of the girls said slowly. "Have you been on insta yet?".

Sarah looked over at her, shaking her head no.

"Well, you might want to see what Nick is tagged in".

Caro grabbed the phone out of her hand, going to sit beside Sarah. They looked at the photos together. They were of Nick and Ann, looking incredibly intimate with each other. Sarah took the phone, zooming in on the pics. Ann was all over Nick, and he wasn't fighting her off. She threw the phone down, storming off. Caro followed her, motioning for the rest of their friends to stay put.

"Sarah, what's going on? Do you know that girl?".

She calmly took her suitcase out of her closet, placing it on the bed. She began filling it with her belongings. 

"Sarah! Stop! What are you doing?!"

"It's his ex, Caro. His fucking ex! He knows how I feel about her, and look!" She pulled out her own phone, reading the caption under the photos on Instagram. "That white girl didn't last long. Looks like Nick is getting back to his roots".

Caro sighed, "Sarah, don't you think you should talk to him?".

"I will, but not here". She looked around the room, finally breaking down, letting the tears flow. "How could he, Caro? As soon as I'm out of sight, he's with her?!" They sat on the bed together, Caro hugging her tightly, Sarah crying her heart out. 

"It's ok, mama", Caro said, wiping her tears away. "I'll take you home".

She laughed bitterly. "Thank God I kept my place".

Caro's heart broke seeing her best friend so hurt. She wanted to believe her brother's best friend could never hurt a girl like Sarah, but she couldn't deny that the pictures were pretty incriminating. "What else do you need?".

She shook her head. "Everything else was gifts from him. I don't want it". She twisted the promise ring around her finger, taking it off, and looking at it. She sniffed her tears back, replaced the ring on her finger and zipped up her bag. She waited for her friends to gather their own belongings, all of them leaving together. She locked the door behind her, sliding her key in the mailbox. 

Caro drove her to her house, going inside with her, helping her get settled. "Do you want me to stay?".

Sarah's face crumbled, tears reappearing. She went to her friend, hugging her tightly. "Yes please".

"Junk food run?".

She nodded, laughing "yes, please".

Caro said she'd be right back and grabbed her car keys. Once she was gone, Sarah checked her phone. There were several missed calls from Nick. She checked her text messages. The first was a response to the picture she had sent last night, telling her how sexy she was and how he was going to destroy her when he got home. The next was asking where she was. The next was asking her to call him to explain the instagram photos. 'It's not what it looks like', it read. The phone rang in her hand. It was Nick. She rejected the call. A text followed the call almost immediately. 

'I'm getting on a plane', it read, 'Please be home when I get there. We need to talk'.

Sarah closed her eyes, sighing deeply, before turning her phone off and setting it down on the counter. She wasn't ready to face him yet. She was too hurt. 

Caro returned with three bags full of junk food. 

"My saviour", Sarah said, forcing a smile. She lent Caro a pair of pj's and they both got changed, climbing into her bed and stuffing their faces while they watched trash tv.  Sarah was so thankful for her friend. They were starting to binge watch their second Netflix series when there was a banging on the front door. Sarah instantly knew it was Nick. "He won't go away. Can you deal with him? Please?".

Caro went without hesitation. She opened the front door, stepping outside quickly and closing the door, blocking it to keep Nick from barging in. "Not now Nick".

Nick looked horrible. "Come on, Caro. I need to talk to her".

She stood firm. "And, she doesn't need to talk to you. Nick, she's a mess. She's legit been crying on my shoulder all day. She'll talk to you, but not now".

"The pictures are lies. I left Ann there at that club that night. I told her she was nothing. I....I don't know what to do".

She felt bad, but her loyalty was to Sarah, not Nick. "Listen, she's torn up right now. I don't know the whole story, but I know her. She doesn't get wound up over things that don't matter. You fucked up, and you have to own that. She doesn't owe you anything right now. You're the one who did wrong".

Nick sighed, rubbing his face in his hands. "Ok". He turned to leave, but turned back. "I love her, Caro. Can you tell her?".

"I'll tell her". She waited until he was gone to go back to the house. Sarah sat on the couch, waiting expectantly. "Oh, Sarah....sweetie".

"Tell me", Sarah said, trying to be strong.

Caro sat beside her. "He looks awful. Exhausted. He swears the pictures aren't telling the truth. That she was at the club, but he left her there. He really wanted me to tell you he loves you".

She put her face in her hands, a tear sliding down his cheek. "What do I do, Caro?".

"You take the time you need, then you talk to him".

She nodded, wiping her face with her hands. "Yeah, maybe I'm over reacting? Maybe the photos isn't showing the whole picture....I don't know. I'm tired". 

"Let's go to bed. We'll figure it out in the morning". Caro said, patting her hand.

Sarah agreed. The two girls went down the hall, into the bedroom, climbing into bed. Caro fell asleep almost immediately, but Sarah tossed and turned all night long.