09 | F

BETHANY GOH WAS on a mission to search for Vanessa Tan. Despite her best efforts, searching for Vanessa was like searching for a needle in a haystack—damn near impossible.

Vanessa Tan knew how to slip under everyone's radar. Any form of social media she had was privatised and she was a wallflower in terms of social events, always there but never one to draw attention to herself.

She blended right into the background. And if Oaskville wasn't a town that thrived on knowing everything, Bethany wouldn't have noticed her.

However impossible it may seem, Bethany remained optimistic. Impossible didn't mean not possible and she refused to let herself rest until she found Vanessa. Her determination stemmed from the fact that she was searching for the truth, the truth that would give her her official closure.

The truth that would satiate her curiosity that had been growing since meeting Serena and finding out she was nothing like what many depicted her to be. The truth that she would eventually be able to tell to Marigold when she was older, not the glorified version— the raw truth, no matter how brutal it may be.

Serena's truth.

And to do that, she needed to know the real occurrence of events that occurred between Seth Naifeh and Serena Wilson all those years ago. Even with her perseverance, she was unsure if Vanessa would be willing to tell her even when she had found her.

Out of Serena's two closest girlfriends, Yasmin Asghar and Vanessa Tan, Vanessa Tan was the more intimidating of the two— at least, in Bethany's opinion.

Whereas Yasmin Asghar made her opinion of you clear from the onset, Vanessa Tan was the type to take a more implicit approach. Never making her opinion of you clear, her eyes only scanned you calculatively and coldly each time you spoke, the light blue colours seeming to burn into your soul.

That was enough to make anyone run for the hills.

But, she would cross that bridge when it came to be.

As she drove by the Oaksville school, she finally spotted Vanessa—in an embrace with Meiji. Shock coloured her face. Vanessa Tan, hugging someone in itself was a rare sight in itself but with Meiji Osaimai?

Bethany knew Meiji Osaimai from their occasional bump-ins at social scenarios. From personal observations, she knew that he had an estranged relationship with Vanessa.

So to see them hugging each other? Completely gobsmacking. She wouldn't get involved though, their business was their business. Rumours only ever hurt after all.

As she drove into the school's parking compound, the sound of her car revving informed them of her presence. Vanessa retracted her hands just as Bethany cut the ignition of her car.

Vanessa recognised the girl immediately— one of Serena's volunteer buddies, Bethany Goh. Vanessa had never exchanged many words with her in spite of the fact that they shared a number of classes together. She barely noticed her as she kept to herself most of the time.

Vanessa found her voice first and spoke, tone unwavering.

"Can I help you?"

To the average person, her tone may have been rude or even cold but Bethany knew better than to take offense to the girl's methods of elocution. It was just the way she was brought up — dissective and assertive.

"Actually, you can. I want to clarify something about..." she hesitated before gathering sufficient confidence to push through and finish her sentence, "Serena and Seth."

Vanessa's posture hardened immediately, her defensive stance taking place.

"Excuse me? Why-"

Vanessa cut herself off as soon as she saw Bethany clutching a letter tight in her hand, similar to the one she had just received.

Serena. She closed her eyes, "Did Serena send you to me?"

Bethany's expression was sorrowful as she nodded.

"You got one too?" The surprised voice was Meiji's.

She crossed her arms tighter.

"How many letters are there?"

Bethany shrugged, "Beats me, but I'm willing to bet it's more than just the three of us."

The british-chinese girl let out a throaty laugh, the relevation of how well-planned Serena's suicide had been hitting her hard.

It wasn't a whim decision, Serena had carefully curated it.

She'd left a letter to everyone whose lives she had touched.

It was a gift of closure.

Serena always was one disliking things to go unsaid.

Lifting her eyes from the ground, her cold blue eyes met at Bethany's own brown ones.

"Alright. If Serena sent you, then it's her wish which I'll grant. I'll tell you the real story."

"And Meiji," Vanessa directed her attention towards Meiji. "While I'm relaying this story, find Declan Jones. There is no doubt in my mind that he received a letter. Tell him everything. "

She pointedly looked at Meiji as she said. Meiji knew without a doubt she wanted him to tell Declan about Jake. Vanessa may have been a wallflower but she knew of everything that happened within the walls of Oaksville, especially those that concerned Serena Wilson.

He nodded briefly before turning and heading to where he had parked earlier. Vanessa, seemingly satisfied with this response, turned back to Bethany.

"I'll start from the beginning."

***

DECLAN'S EYES WIDENED in disbelief at the information Meiji had just disclosed to him. This was definitely nothing like what he'd been expecting when the Japanese boy had approached him the next day after their class had ended.

"Yo man, I need to talk with you." was how Meiji had begun the conversation. Declan had spun around, a practiced smile on his face as he began their conversation politely. His practised smile morphed into a frown mid-way before conclusively ending in an expression of pure shock.

Serena sent more than one letter. Jake attempted to r-pe her. were the main statements he got in between everything else.

Few knew of Jake's attempts as it was kept very closely under wraps. Only a select few knew ; Meiji, Vanessa, Yasmin, Keith and now Declan.

"Jake?" he chose to blurt out first. "What the fuck?"

Meiji gave him a sympathy-filled look as he responded. "Jake's just disgusting like that. He thinks he's cooler trying to get girls to have unsolicted sex with him, thinks the squirming makes it more fun." he said with disgust potent in his voice.

"Can't say I haven't purposefully just 'accidentally' punched him on the court just to give him a hard time. No one likes Jake but we can't stand up against him for fear of his father defending him and taking our asses to court."

Declan shook his head in disbelief, he had no idea. He couldn't believe it had taken him this long to figure it out. The night of the party, he'd called Serena and told her he was sick with a bad case of the flu and had to tap out for this party.

He regretted doing that now. He had always attended parties with Serena, always, to keep her safe from the drunk asses and perverts. But that night, Serena had been insistent. No matter how much Declan told her not to attend that party, trying out all his reasons even going as far to say that the 'triple threat' would be there. Normally that phrase would've stopped her but this time, she had been insistent.

Declan knew why now. He could've kicked himself, how had he not seen the signs?

That day-it was the anniversary of the accident.

The night that changed everything

It was the night her life was flipped upside down.

She wanted to forget, for one night and she didn't care who was there to witness her breakdown.

Serena never told him of the incident, probably knowing that Declan would decimate Jake. And no matter how badly she was screwed over, Serena would never go out of her way to destroy someone, even if that someone was an utter dick.

Yet now that she was gone, there was no reason for him not to destroy Jake, it was never too late to get her vengeance.

"Where the fuck is he?" a flash of the old Declan surfaced, the one that had garnered him his infamous reputation.

"He's at the court," Meiji replied curtly, not caring that he was throwing his teammate under the bridge. Jake was never someone Meiji would ever consider a brother hence he felt no shame in throwing him to the wolves.

"He always goes there after school to show off his apparent 'skills' to the cheerleaders."

All Delcan saw was red. Marching to the court, as Meiji had predicted, he found Jake on the court with a group of his mates watching him from the side.

Jake was shooting hoops effortlessly. There was no denying his skills as each of the balls he threw landed a clean shot into the basket, his muscles flexing as he did so.

But his skills weren't what Declan paid attention to. Declan walked up to the boy who threw him a smile that screamed arrogance, not sensing his anger. Up close Declan noticed his jaw covered with a thin bandage, the remnants of the injury made courtesy of Seth's punch the other day.

"Jones, to what do I owe the plea-" he was cut off when Declan connected his fist with Jake's cheek.

"Look here you fucking idiot," Declan rasped out, looking at Jake struggling to get up from the ground after he'd delivered the first crushing punch. His 'friends' had scurried off as soon as the first punch was thrown—cowards, all of them.

"I know you're a dick but I didn't know you were this much of a dick."

Throwing his leg in a kick aimed at Jake's stomach, he heard the satisfying crack of his ribs. Jake spit blood out onto the ground as he glanced up at Declan with a crooked smile, knowing his allusion without him even saying it.

"We both know she would've enjoyed it."

Declan kicked him again, deriving some satisfaction from Jake's shrieks of agony. The ground was growing bloodier but nothing satiated him. He needed more.

He was about to throw another punch but a gruff voice interrupted him.

"If you punch him one more time, he's going to end up in the hospital."

Declan spun back to face the source—Seth Naifeh. "And so what about it, Naifeh?"

Seth looked at him pointedly, "Wouldn't you rather he live out his 'long' life in somewhere more...accomodating?"

"Here," he told him, passing him a business card.

Declan took it cautiously, turning it over in his hand.

Merissa Naifeh. Was the name written across the card.

"It's my mom's." he clarified "She's the best lawyer out there. I'll get her on his case. She'll know what to do with people like him."

Declan's eyes lit up in elation as he relished in the fact that Jake was about to get what he deserved by people who could do far worse than him. Grabbing Jake by the hair with a force so strong if he had put any more strength into the grip he would have ripped his hair from his scalp, he uttered,

"I hope you have fun in juvie."

It was no secret what happened to inmates who were accused of rape, even if you were only in juvie, the consequences were nothing less than terrible. Deliquents had their own hierachical class, rape accusers were at the very bottom of it and often faced the blunt violent forces of the higher up's.

The only response that even slightly indicated Jake's fear was the widening of his eyes.

Should've thought of the consequences before you tried to sexually assault someone.

Declan threw his head back down on the ground, taking faint pleasure as it hit the ground with a sickening thud. Jake groans continued.

Seth looked at his team mate and kneeled down on the ground next to his ear, speaking disgustedly.

"What part of stop was not clear to the miniscule thing that you call a brain? Everyone got it, except you. You think I didn't know? Have you forgotten who I am?"

Jake didn't respond but Seth knew he had heard him, if his groans were any indication of his drifting state.

"Goodbye Jake, I imagine that this is the last time that we'll be talking."

Standing up, he brushed off the imaginary specks of dust, looking at Declan Jones who had an eyebrow raised.

"Stop?" he asked questioningly.

Seth kept quiet, choosing not to respond.

"Why did you help her that night?" he switched his questions, "Meiji told me Keith was the one who helped her but I know better. Keith doesn't have a keen eye during parties. Out of the hoards of bodies present, he wouldn't have noticed her. So tell me, why did you help the one you claim to hate?"

Seth's silence continued. His silence could cause one to believe that he wasn't the one who had told Keith to help her but ever-so-slight stiffening of the male's posture was an otherwise clear indication that he knew exactly what Declan was talking about.

As Declan flipped the business card in his hand, he asked another question.

"Why are you helping her now?"

Once again, Seth didn't respond but Declan swore he saw a flash of pain pass through the male before he cleared it with a cough.

"I've got to go. Give the number a call." he murmured as he walked away from the scene as quick as he'd come leaving behind a puzzled Declan and a barely-conscious Jake.

***

ALONGSIDE DECLAN, BETHANY now knew the tale of what happened between Serena Wilson and Seth Naifeh but that didn't mean that the letters had ended—far from it.

There were still four more souls to receive letters from Serena and so, the journey continued.

Meridian Kohl was one of Serena's oldest friends, keyword being was. Their friendship dated back to when it was just her, Yasmin and Seth— it was that long. But that was before.

Before the accident that wrecked their entire friendship as each of them chose sides.

Before he built a reputation for being an infamous drug dealer, dealing any substance from heroin to cocaine to ecstasy. Now, Meridian Kohl was known notoriously throughout Oaksville for being able to supply practically any drug.

He was the next one to receive a letter.

***

MERIDIAN KOHL KICKED another rock at the side of the road, mind lost in his thoughts. His phone tinged with a notification signalling that he had a new text, bringing him out of his reverie.

He swiped at the screen as it lit up with the unread message.

"Size X of blue t-shirts, regular place. Sam will pick it up."

Meridian had been recruited when he was 12, shortly after his parents had passed respectively of cancer and a car accident. He had started out as a rookie runner before eventually advancing further up in the hierarchy as the years passed.

When he had initially started taking up orders on his own, he had been confused as to why people had used codes such as 't-shirts' or 'size x' but he quickly caught on. It was for discretion. Most were doing drugs without the knowledge of their spouses or family members. Meridian typed back a quick 'ok' in response as he jogged back to his supply house. Opening the door, he wrinkled his nose at the stench of alcohol infused with a random assortment of drugs that greeted him.

He would never get used to that smell, no matter how many years he dealt.

"Yo Mer, something came for you 'oday." his partner, Rick, called to him from the living room whilst injecting himself with a syringe of ecstasy. He sighed as he did so, the pleasure overwhelming him.

Rick was 22 years old, 5 years older than Meridian. He had been abusing drugs for as long as Meridian had known him. But in spite of that, he was someone Meridian considered family. Rick had taken Meridian under his wing when he'd lost everything, showed him the ropes of the drug dealing world and in return, Meridian helped him with the business.

Meridian was Rick's protege, the successor to the empire. Meridian knew that he would forever be in the business, an inevitable occurrence that was set in stone when he met Rick. He was young, easily manipulated by Rick's promises of glory and although at times he felt that he had had his childhood robbed from him, Meridian knew he should have been grateful.

He had money, and in a world where money seemed to be the driving factor for most things, if not everything, he thought himself lucky.

And in a sense, he was.

Unlike others, Meridian wasn't unhappy about the way he was making money. He was satisfied, he wasn't looking for a way out of the world, the world of drugs in particular. His work got him by, gave him a roof over his head and a reliable— albeit illegal— source of income.

As for his love life, Meridian was content with it being non-existent. He didn't think he would ever get married or even have children, especially not in this line of work.

He had only ever loved one girl but he had since distanced himself from to protect her. Throughout these past few years, he had hoped she had moved on but contradictorily, he also wished she hadn't. He was selfish. He wanted her for himself but such things were not realistic. Perhaps, in another life. For now, he was content with the imaginative visions he would conjure up when he was alone.

Another cough echoed from Rick, bringing Meridian back to the present.

"Go get Alan to run, Sam's picking up a kilo of coke." Meridian gave him a brief nod in acknowledgement as he spoke.

Rick gave him a look that said really man? I was just getting the good stuff but nonetheless, he stumbled to his feet and out the door, in look of the aforementioned 'Alan'.

Rick knew better than to argue with Meridian when it came to dealing.

The student had surpassed the master.

Meridian picked up the empty syringe and sighed. Rick had tried getting clean before, he was never successful. The withdrawals—the headaches, muscle cramps, but most of all the emotional instability—always got too much for him. At the end of the day, he always went back to the drugs.

He threw the empty syringe away, not flinching when the glass shattered upon impact with the bin, as he started to make his way up the rickety stairs into his room.

Despite all the rumours, Meridian was no drug addict. Although, it was a wonder that he hadn't become one given his surroundings. Meridian had never tried the drugs, yes he'd tried a few like weed or cocaine but he knew his limits. He'd never try those 'wild' cards like ecstasy or serious ones like cannabis and heroin.

He closed his door shut, locking it with the three locks he had in place. One never knew who would be coming into a house, especially given Rick's tendencies to spontaneously invite his druggies for a smoke.

Waking up to a random stranger in his bed one night was enough to scar him for life. Walking in to the small square-sized room his eyes fell upon the single photograph in the photo frame he had on his bedside table.

He clenched his fists tightly, the memories resurfacing in his brain.

He should've thrown it out. But he couldn't find the will in him to throw it out.

It was the last evidence that he had even had a life before drug dealing.

There was something else though, something new; it was a piece of paper. It must have been what Rick was drawling about in his drug-infused state a few moments earlier. The paper was placed neatly underneath the photo frame, its crisp outlook standing out vividly against the molding bedside table.

Meridian swooped it up ; who would send him a letter? As far as he was concerned, his relatives were non-existent and—

Meridian stopped his train of thought abruptly as he saw the familiar handwriting in the front.

It was her.

Serena.

Meridian had heard the news of Serena's suicide, hell, everyone had. No one's life was the same anymore.

Her death had shattered everyone, not just the people she thought she touched. Even people who had never personally known Serena were shocked when they heard the news. Serena had been correlated to everybody.

Her impact, her life force went further than anything she could've ever predicted. Everyone had heard of her, even students from as far as Eastview and Curtsville. An abundance of sympathy had poured in for the young girl whose life most believed to have ended far too soon.

Bringing his attention back to the letter, Meridian hesitated. Did he want to read the last words from the girl who had been his best-friend at one point in life? A letter that was likely to be filled with curses and resentment towards him?

After staring at the letter for a good fifteen minutes, he decided fuck it and tore open the letter belligerently.

***

DEAR MERIDIAN,

I know you aren't expecting this letter—especially given the circumstances. Hell, no one ever expects to receive suicide letters, they're always just things we see in movies and think "damn, how can that possibly happen to us?" Well, guess this life's a movie—or a book. A book of life, a book of regrets, I'm not sure what our book would be but it better be a hell of a good one.

Mers, I know we ended on bad terms but hey, life's just full of surprises and I couldn't very well leave without saying goodbye now could I?

This letter I've made a pledge to myself, will not be filled with curses or resentment because writing curse words wouldn't take back the past nor would it make a difference— it's just a waste of ink. But of course, I'm not perfect, I can't guarantee there won't be any slip-ups. Fuck you. Oops. Slip-up number one.

Meridian let out a strained chuckle. Trust Serena to make a joke out of even the most dire circumstances.

In all seriousness though, because this will be my last words to you, I think we both deserve a form of closure. I don't want you to regret your choices because I for now, don't regret any of them. I wouldn't take it back for the world.

Yet sometimes I can't help but wonder what became of us. Meridian, we promised each other we'd always be there for one another.

What happened to that?

You seemed to have forgotten us instantly the day after the accident, finding new friends and not bothering to tell us why you left. At a time when we needed you the most.

I don't blame you, I know you felt guilty. I know you couldn't bear to look at him because you felt an overwhelming sense of responsibility for the fact that it was your parents that were the drunk drivers having a head-on collision with our car. I know because I saw the entire thing happen. Seth may have been asleep but I wasn't. I was wide awake, chatting with his father when the accident occurred.

The night haunts me to this day and oftentimes I wished I had been asleep. It would have saved me lifetimes of restless nights with tosses and turns, if I were ignorant to the cause of the accident. In this case, ignorance truly is bliss. No one ever told Seth it was your parents, no one. To this day, he thinks it was a random couple who died simultaneously.

But that's not a sufficient reason. There are so many others that were affected by the accident ; Yasmin, me, our community even — it wasn't just Seth who was burdened. It wasn't you suffering alone. It was all of us.

It was selfish of you to make a distinction between us just because of your own guilt. But it wasn't even because of the accident that I reciprocated the sudden coldness that shadowed over us.

I didn't care that your parents were responsible for putting me in a comatose state for 6 months because you weren't them. You were your own person but I watched you change, watched as you started to hang with a different crowd, skipped classes, stopped sitting with us during lunches and got sent more and more frequently to the principal's office—that's why I began distancing myself from you.

Your vast change in lifestyle was what caused a bridge to build between us and one day, I was no longer willing to cross it.

By then, everyone had already heard of what happened between me and Seth. Seth and the entire basketball team were targeting me, with a bright red bullseye seared onto my back and everyone else associated with me. Yasmin included. That was how I lost so many of my friends. Although in time she grew a backbone, there was a time when she was like me : meek and shy. Taking the brunt of all the nasty and malicious comments.

I hated myself. Every tear she shed, I took responsibility for. For the longest time, I truly could not see why she bothered to stay by my side. It was so easy to just give me up, throw me to the sharks and save herself yet she endured the bullying. The comments.

But just because she endured, it didn't mean she wasn't affected. The remarks everyone said left scars. Yasmin never really was the same after comments on her body, weight and even sexuality—because apparently being bisexual would cause her to 'end up in hell' and was a 'sin'.

It just made me hate myself more— the fact that I couldn't help the person who had stuck by me for so long. I was useless. To cope with the pain, to feel a semblance of control, I started cutting. Sometimes, I managed to stop but more times than not I always went back because of the relief it gave me.

And throughout, you acted like you didn't care. like you didn't know us. Like we were invisible. Do you even know how badly it hurt her? For you to just pretend she didn't exist. She was hurt, more hurt than when Seth left us and turned on us. She was hurt, because of you. Despite how you might try to justify your actions, I doubt it will ever suffice why you abruptly ended our friendship.

There was a reason I wrote what happened to us down, in this letter, it wasn't to guilt-trip you but to make you understand ; we all have demons. It's the way we deal with them that matters the most.

(bloody hypocritical but shut up and let me have my moment )

I've seen the way you look at her, even now, 4 years later. It's the same way I look at Seth. you never really forgot about us did you?

You may have walked out of her life but I'm begging you, please, don't walk back out now. Not when she needs you the most. Even if she can't admit it herself.

Because before the accident, before everything, you, Seth, me and Yasmin were the four musketeers. We made a promise of always and forever, to never give up on each other in spite of any hurdles that came our way.

Honour that promise.

We're, sorry, You're, all graduating soon. Out of each other's lives forever.

Make your closure before it's too late. Before she's gone— for good.

YOURS TRULY,

Serena Wilson

P.S I never held anything against you, even in this letter. I may have been blunt but it was to get my point across. In actual fact, I'd like to thank you Meridian. You taught the young me to appreciate life in ways the current me wasn't able to.

You gave me a life full of memories, and even though during these last few years we never talked, you'll always have a place in my heart.

***

MERIDIAN CLUTCHED THE letter hard, wrinkles forming in the once-perfectly straight piece of paper. Regret coursed through him. He hadn't known they felt that way, he'd done it for the better of both of them knowing that neither party needed baggage like him to drag them down.

When he had started to get involved in drug-dealings, Meridian knew they wouldn't approve but not knowing how else to get by, he stopped their friendship. But like what she had said in her letter, his reasons would never justify his abrupt end to their friendship. Meridian knew that now. He should've told them why in the very least, or dropped them an occasional text message — it was too late.

It was too late for him to apologise to Serena, but he still had time to make amends with the girl whom he had injured as badly, if not more.

Searching through his phone, his eyes landed on the contact he was searching for ; Yasmin Asghar. Hesitating briefly, a multitude of questions dashed through his head ; was her number still the same? Would she even want to hear him out? Was she still angry? Had she blocked his number?

So many unanswered questions yet he knew none of them would be answered ever if he didn't man the fuck up.

He gathered all of his courage — and dialled the one number he hadn't dialled in almost 4 years praying that her number was still the same.

"Hello?" a familiar melodious voice filled his head, tone confused and disorientated. She had just woken up from a nap, Meridian presumed.

He closed his eyes as he murmured her name for confirmation.

"Yasmin?"

"Speaking," she responded in a clipped tone. "Listen, if you want me to buy some products save it—"

"It's Meridian."

There was a sharp intake of breath from the other end, "Meridian." Yasmin spoke once more, her voice harsher this time.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Can we talk?"

A scoff over the line, "Why the hell do you want to talk now?"

"For closure. An explanation. It's what Serena told me we should do."

Another round of silence and then,

"Berkard Cafe. 15 minutes."

She hung up immediately after that. Meridian ruffled his own hair in nervousness and frustration as he got up from the bed.

It was time to meet the girl he never thought he'd speak to again when he ended their friendship 4 years ago.

***

NOTHING COULD'VE PREPARED Meridian Kohl for the sight that was Yasmin Asghar.

Meridian secretly thanked the stars that she couldn't hear his rapidly thumping heart as she approached his table in apprehension, fingers reaching to fondle with the hem of her shirt.

The four years had been kind to Yasmin Asghar, puberty having only accentuated her features, making her even more beautiful.

Back then, it was no secret between the three of them that he'd taken a liking to Yasmin. Like most cases, it was obvious to everyone but the girl herself. He'd cut it off after he started drug dealing, not wanting to get her involved in his complicated work and its low ethics.

It was easier for him to move on knowing she deserved better. Knowing she didn't reciprocate his feelings.

But he'd always been looking after her from afar. Whether it be when they passed by each other in the hallway or when he caught her eye during one too many classes —small, brief but all the more meaningful interactions—he always saw her. She was inexorable to him.

She crossed her arms over her chest as she sat down, Meridian waved over a waitress. Both gave their orders to the waitress who scampered off quickly.

"It's time for me to apologise," he began earnestly. "There's no good excuse for what I did, because I ended up hurting the both of you more than I ever intended to. But you need to understand that I ended things four years ago for all the good reasons."

At her silence he continued, "I had just started to get into drug-dealing at fourteen, I had known Rick—the guy who took me in after the accident—since I was twelve but this time it was some serious shit because he was teaching me to be a runner. How to not get caught and how to be discreet. I knew this wasn't something I wanted to get either of you involved. Both of you still had families that could look after you but I knew that I was on my own and Rick would only support me for so long."

He hesitated, shuffling his hands together as he concluded his long speech. "So, I did what I did. I know now that it hurt the both of you immensely, and I apologise for the harassment you faced because I had no idea. I was fourteen, immature and just doing what I thought was the best at the time."

Yasmin let out a long sigh as she fisted her palms.

"I don't blame you for doing what you did. It was just how you coped. Lord knows we all dealt with the aftermath of the accident in our own ways."

"We can't take back the past.." she murmured, "But we can learn and grow from it. I forgive you. Just... don't do it again. It hurt us both. In ways that can't just be healed with a simple apology."

"I know, I'm sorry. I'm ready to start making amends with you— for real. Same time tomorrow?"

She shook her head but a ghost of a smile played on her lips.

"Okay. I'll bite. Tomorrow."

It wasn't the blossoming of a romantic relationship instantly, but it was the mending of another long overdue friendship.