Chapter 13

Thursday, August 13

I must have cried in my sleep last night, as my pillow was wet, but they must have been happy tears, as I slept really well. I felt like I was being held while I slept. Warm, safe, and wrapped in someone's loving arms. I hated getting out of bed. Still I was happy to see Faith again. I went down, invited her in, and thanked her again for last night. I still can't believe how good I feel. Even with what happened latter. Faith seemed very pleased by that.

I quickly took care of my bathroomy things, and then we went down to the beach. We had a really nice workout. We came back, had a quick shower in our own trailers, and met at the rec. hall's kitchen. That's when things went bad. The guys kept trying to impress me, and that made the girls jealous. Not May, as she knew I wasn't interested, but the other girls were jealous. They kept making petty comments behind my back while I grilled cheese sandwiches. Faith told them to stop it several times, but she had her hands full with some unruly five-year-olds. I was able to mostly ignore them, until one of them said, "I heard she's here because she had breakdown."

The other said, "Really? I thought she was here because her friends died."

"Yeah, but why do you think they died together? Her boyfriend and best friend were having an affair!"

"That's a lie!" I said quietly, and all the noise stopped as everyone turned to stare at me as I turned towards her. "That's a lie," I said again.

"They died after buying an engagement ring for me. Paul asked Shelly to help him pick it out, as he wanted to be sure to get a ring I liked."

The girl rolled her eyes.

I hooked my finger into my top, pulled my necklace out, and held it up so they could see the ring. She flinched as if I'd hit her. Then she tried to recover, and said, "Y-yeah right. How do we know you didn't buy that yourself?"

I stalked up to her and thrust the ring into her face. "Read the inscription you spiteful little bitch!" I yelled. Ok, I suppose I was a little out of line, but I was angry and upset. What she had said really hurt. I knew they were lies, but they still hurt.

"Still not enough proof? How about I get the receipt and show you where Paul signed his name. Better yet, you can call the jeweler and ask him!" and I stalked out of the room and headed for my trailer. I came back a few minutes later with Mitch's cell phone and the jewelry box. The receipt was inside it. I thrust both at her and demanded that she call the jeweler. By this time we were both in tears. Faith pulled me away from her saying, "Sam, Sam, that's enough! You've proved your point." Then she held me while I cried. When my sobs turned to sniffles, Faith had May walk me home. I think she went to comfort the girl, but I don't know. I regret it now, but what she had said had hurt.

As we walked, May said, "Gee, Sam, you really let Angelique have it. Not that she didn't deserve it. Still, remind me not to piss you off until after your period."

I think she was just trying to lighten the mood, but my face still flushed with embarrassment. Partially, it was because I was embarrassed about losing my temper. It was also because I was pretty close to having my period and I was embarrassed that she knew.

I guess I looked shocked, as May shrugged and said, "I get bitchy when I'm PMSing too. Besides, you're normally pretty quiet. I don't think you'd have blown up quite as bad if she'd pushed your buttons some other time. Even if you weren't, she deserved what she got. What she said was way out of line."

I sniffled, and said, "Will you tell her I'm sorry?"

May shrugged, "Sure if you want, but I think I'll wait until she's had some time to think about it first. Anyway, I'm sure she'll be over here to apologize before too long."

I sighed. I wasn't really looking forward to that.

When we got to my trailer, we went inside, and May had me sit while she got me a drink and started to make lunch. I told her she didn't have to, but she said, "It's ok, you need lunch too. Besides, I'd rather eat lunch here with you, if that's ok?"

I smiled and nodded. She cooked while I put the box and cell phone away and washed my face. When I came out of the bathroom, she asked if we could watch TV. I turned it on, and we flipped channels until we found a movie to watch. It was really a documentary, but it felt like a movie as it was all reenacted except for the occasional diagram and commentary. It was still pretty good.

As we ate, I asked May if she was going to get into trouble for being late for school. She shook her head. "It's all independent study for me anyway, and I can get credit for watching this." I shrugged, said, "Ok," and we continued to watch and eat. I wasn't really that hungry, but I didn't want May's efforts to go to waste. A little while later, Faith joined us, and we both started apologizing. Eventually, Faith said that, while I had gone a bit overboard, Angelique had more than asked for it. She also apologized for not stopping Angelique sooner.

After all the apologizing was over, I said, "I hope this doesn't cause you any trouble."

Faith shook her head. "When her mom found out what Angelique had said, she nearly handed her, her head. She also said to tell you that she is very sorry about what happened, and to say that Angelique would be severely punished for it."