The Good Girls (14 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Ellie

I
grabbed the last of my boxes from the closet, looking around my room one last time. I’d changed so much in the little time that I’d lived here. I walked in with a broken heart and no idea of who I really was. Today I’d leave the same way but for a very different reason. I’d lost myself somewhere along the way here, but because of Brody, I was able to struggle through it all and come out the other side relatively unscathed. When I wanted to get lost in the bottom of a bottle of tequila, he forced me to finish my homework. I would never be able to thank him enough for all he’d done for me.

I carried my last two boxes down the stairs and out to the trunk of my red Sundance that I’d gotten for my birthday. David had stayed by my side; even when I struggled to push him from my life, he refused to walk away. I knew he regretted leaving my mother all of those years ago, but I didn’t blame him. Loving someone who doesn’t love you back is excruciating. He deserved to have his feelings reciprocated. I stopped when I saw him standing by the driver-side door. I knew he had to work today, and I had said my good-byes to him last night, so I was caught off-guard.

“What are you doing home?” I walked to the back of the car, to my open trunk, and frowned. All of my boxes I’d placed in there were now gone. I glanced up at David, who was smiling and holding up a set of keys. I dropped the boxes I held on the ground.

“I don’t want you going off with an unreliable vehicle. Leaving us for college is bad enough without having to wonder if you’re broken down on the side of the highway.”

I smiled as happy tears pricked my eyes. “Thanks, Dad.” I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. We’d come a long way from the strangers we were just a few months ago.

With all of my self-discovery, I’d learned that we all have many sides to us. David wasn’t just one thing that he’d done, and he didn’t have to be a biological relative to be my dad. He held me tightly against him before pulling back and holding the keys between us.

“The Prius will save you a lot of money on gas.”

I grabbed the keys as I looked to his shiny black car. “You love that car.”

He smiled as he kicked at the dirt on the driveway. “I love you more. Besides, Dawn and I need something roomier.”

“But now it’s just the two of you.” I narrowed my eyes. He smiled as he waited for what he was saying to click. “You’re going to have a baby?” I squealed, hugging him again as we both laughed.

“I wasn’t sure how’d you react to that.”

“I’m really happy for you both.” He released me, clearing his throat, and I knew this good-bye was hard for him. We’d just gotten to be in each other’s lives again.

“I’ll be home to visit whenever I get the chance. I promise.”

He nodded and took a step back from me. I grabbed my final boxes and carried them toward my new car. I shoved the boxes in the back and turned back to look at my father one last time.

“I love you, Dad.”

“Love you too, Ellie.” He waved, and I slipped into the driver’s seat. With a deep breath, I pulled out and headed off to start a new chapter in my life.

It took me two hours to unpack most of my boxes. I’d finally found a place for most of my things and was down to only one last box that was still packed from when I left my mom’s. I sat down on my bed and pulled off the packing tape. When I looked inside I gasped, my hand covering my mouth as I let out a sigh.

I could feel warm tears slide down my cheeks as I reached inside the box and pulled out small paper cranes, in various sizes, covered in writing. The box was full of them, and I realized that the writing was my own. These were the scraps of paper from my future plans notebook, which I’d destroyed the first night I’d moved in with my father.

I pulled them out one by one and sat them on my bed. When I’d reached the bottom of the box there was a note.

El,

Someone I love once told me that there is a Japanese legend that says if you make a thousand origami cranes that you will be granted one wish. All I’ve ever wished for was for someone to love me for who I really am, and I was lucky enough to have you see something in me that was worth your heart.

These cranes are the first step in my very long journey to redemption.

I’m wishing that you will find the kind of love that isn’t afraid—the fearless love that you gave me when I didn’t deserve it.

Love Always,

Cara

For the first time in weeks, I cried as I thought of Cara, but I wasn’t sad. It broke my heart when she left, and I wasn’t sure I’d ever understand why she did, but it gave me closure to know that she was trying to change herself.

There was a knock at the door, and I pulled it open to find a girl with short red hair, her nose peppered with freckles.

“Hi. I think I’m your new roommate.” Her smile beamed as I stepped to the side and let her enter, followed by an older man who I assumed was her father.

She sat down her bags and turned back to me. “I’m Julie,” she held out her hand, and I slid mine into hers.

“I’m Ellie. It’s nice to meet you.”

Her father was beaming, but his eyes were filled with tears. I knew he was struggling to walk away from his daughter.

“I can help you bring up your boxes if you need an extra hand,” I offered, but Julie waved her hand.

“My dad has the rest of my stuff.”

As soon as she spoke, another man stepped through the door and set down a stack of boxes. “What did you pack in there, Jules?” he asked with a chuckle as he slipped his arm around the other man.

“I had to bring all of my heels so you don’t stretch them out while I’m gone,” she joked.

“Ellie,” she said as if she suddenly realized I was still in the room. “These are my dads, John and Chris.” She pointed to each of them, and I took turns shaking their hands.

“Take care of our girl, Ellie. She’s a good girl,” Chris said in a mock stern voice, and Julie rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. I suppressed a giggle, as his words reminded me of my favorite book.

“I’ll keep her out of trouble,” I promised as I drug my fingers over my chest in a cross motion.

John made a face like he knew I was trouble. Then he shook his head and laughed. “You girls have fun. Just keep each other safe.”

I watched as Julie hugged both of her fathers before they left in tears.

“Sorry about that. They are a little overly emotional,” she frowned as she pulled open her first box and began to unpack. She glanced over at my bed before looking at me.

“So what was your wish?” she asked as her eyes landed on my paper cranes.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Cara

I
sat down on my single-size bed, and I thought of Ellie doing the same at whatever college she ended up at. Knowing we were both adults now and free to do what we wanted tempted me to go to her, but I also knew that she needed a fresh start. I’d put her through hell, and I wasn’t naïve. I knew she wasn’t going to welcome me with open arms.

My roommate was lying on her stomach, writing in her notebook, wearing only a T-shirt and panties. She rarely spoke, but when she did it was usually to try to diagnose me with some incurable disease she’d found on the Internet. For fun, I started feeding her fake symptoms, but she soon caught on to what I was doing.

I was finally getting the hang of college. I’d done enough partying in high school that it no longer interested me. I studied and worked, with little time for a social life. When I wasn’t busy with any of those things, I wrote. At first I kept a journal to help me through losing Ellie, but it took on a life of its own.

Ellie and I had morphed into new characters on the pages, and I finished my first novel a few weeks ago. One day I hoped El would read it so she knew what I had been going through when I’d met her.

I owed her an explanation. I owed her so much more than that. If it weren’t for her love, I wouldn’t be where I was today. I wasn’t ashamed as I was before. I know knew I was worth loving and didn’t deserve to be abused.

I struggled every day to save money and get good enough grades to get scholarships. My guidance counselor, Ms. Grable, worked tirelessly to help me become independent so I’d no longer have to hide who I was. She also had my English teacher, Mr. Clark, edit my book, and with their support, I self-published.

It felt freeing to send my story out into the world, in hopes that my words might help someone else who is struggling with who they are. If my suffering could save one person, make them not give up hope, it was all worth it.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Ellie

I
t had been six weeks since I’d discovered my box of wishing cranes. I was finally beginning to get into my routine of classes and living on my own, but as I rounded every corner, I searched the crowd for Cara’s face. Part of me felt relieved that she was still thinking of me, and part of me hated her for giving me hope and then breaking my heart all over again.

She’d made no effort to contact me again.

It was coming up on the weekend, and I’d promised my father I’d come home for Dawn’s birthday. The idea of running into Cara had my nerves shot, but I knew the chances of seeing her were slim.

At least I was able to avoid the inevitable by going to a college four hours away. Once again I was starting over and struggling to discover who I was and wanted to be. Thanks to Julie, that journey had been much easier than I’d expected.

“You ready to meet my dad?” I asked as she pulled on her gray hoodie.

“You did put up with my dads last weekend. I guess it’s my turn.”

I looked over my room one last time before lacing my fingers in Julie’s and pulling her through the door.

The trip was tiring, but I loved having Julie to talk to and distract me from everything I’d left behind.

After Dawn’s birthday party, I was exhausted. I spent the next two hours with Julie, cleaning up the mess and washing the dishes. I refused to let the little mama-to-be lift a finger. By the time the house was sparkling, I’d almost burned enough energy to sleep. But as Julie slipped into the bathroom to brush her teeth my eyes fell on Cara’s bedroom door.

I stepped inside her deserted room. Her possessions were gone but the furniture remained. I closed the door behind me and sank down on the edge of her bed. I didn’t know if my imagination was playing tricks on me, but I swore I could still faintly smell lilacs. I closed my eyes, inhaling the fragrance that haunted my dreams.

I slid off my shoes and curled up on my side, my hand sliding under the pillow and hitting something hard. I pushed myself up and pulled out Cara’s e-reader, which she’d left when she moved out. I couldn’t keep it, so I put it in her room for her in case she ever returned. I walked over to the dresser and pulled open the top drawer to retrieve the charger cord. I plugged it in, and after a few seconds it powered on. My chest seized as my eyes danced over a new book with a paper crane on the cover called
On a Tuesday
. I clicked the cover, and my eyes blurred when I read the dedication.

For Elise—

Never pretend to be someone you aren’t. You are perfect just the way you are.

I held the e-reader to my lips and let another piece of my fractured heart begin to mend.

There was a knock at the door, and I jumped as it slowly opened. Julie looked at me and at the device in my hand.

“What’s wrong?” She closed the door, and I suddenly felt like I was suffocating in the small space. I set the e-reader on the dresser before turning to her.

“Can we go for a walk?”

She held out her hand for me, and I let her pull me to my feet. We headed downstairs.

I let Dawn know I would be back before it got too late and gave her a kiss on the cheek before rubbing her growing belly. We slipped outside, and we walked slowly down the driveway.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Julie asked.

I smiled over at her. “It’s just hard to be back here. There was so much left unfinished.”

She nodded but didn’t say anything. Julie knew all about my time with Cara. She never judged me or her. Her fathers had a lot of friends who had a hard time dealing with their sexuality, and she always had a story that would help me understand what I was feeling.

“Love is love,” she would say with a shrug as if it were all that simple. “A broken heart doesn’t know what caused it to break. They all hurt the same.”

“How did you get so wise?” I asked as I raise my eyebrow at her.

Her pale-blue eyes narrowed. She laughed. “I got my heart broken
a lot
.”

We walked down Main Street, and as I saw Larson’s Deli, I froze. Nostalgia washed over me, and I could almost taste the fries and milkshake.

“You want to go in there?” Julie asked as I looked over at her bright smile.

“You know what? No. Let’s go back home.” I grabbed Julie’s hand, lacing our fingers as we headed back toward my father’s house.