After I got Robby off to school, I called my mom at work and told her I thought I was coming down with the flu. She promised to call the school for me and told me to stay in bed. She even offered to bring home my favorite soup, only adding to my guilt. I didn’t want her to have to drive across town to get me a pint of soup, which I didn’t really need.
More proof that I had no business messing with things like hearts and love. All it did was make me feel worse.
I hadn’t even spent two full weeks with Wyatt and I was lying to my mom, my best friend and skipping school. All things I never would’ve considered doing before he was in my life.
But he’s not part of it anymore, I reminded myself.
So, I guess now was as good a time as any to start rectifying all the mistakes I’d made.
I grabbed my laptop, climbed back into bed and opened up a video chat with Lola.
Her bright face took up the screen a moment later. “Layne! How’s my favorite diva?”
“Not good,” I whispered, trying to hold my emotions in, but failing miserably.
“Oh, Layne. What happened?”
I had no idea how my tear ducts had replenished over night, but I was crying so hard now I could barely get the words out. “You were right, Lo.” I sniffled. “You were right about everything.”
An hour later we were still talking. I was physically and emotionally drained from recounting the entirety of my Wyatt-drama, but I actually felt better.
I was so happy that I’d finally told Lola everything. I really don’t know why I’d been so scared. She was seriously the world’s best friend. She didn’t even get mad when I told her how I’d blurted out her secret. And she still hadn’t said, ‘I told you so’, even though she had every right to.
Honestly, she’d been surprisingly reserved during our entire conversation.
Normally, Lola had strong opinions about everything, and she always spoke her mind. It was one of the things I respected about her. I must’ve really made a mess of things if my gabby best friend was at a loss for words. It was starting to make me anxious.
“So how bad is it?” I asked. “Should I transfer to Lakeview for the rest of the year or do you know some secret way to help me face that jerk without turning into a sobbing mess?”
“You’re not transferring. You two just need to talk and clear the air.”
“Clear the air? Lola, have you been listening to me? You were totally right. Wyatt is a jerk. He made me think he liked me and then he threw me away like I meant nothing last night.” I sucked in a painful breath, the wounds to my heart still raw. “I’m just sorry I told him about prom. I didn’t mean to drag you into this with me.”
“Yeah . . .” Lola drawled. “About that. I think I was actually the one who was wrong.”
“What?”
“Wyatt actually texted me last night apologizing for the whole thing. We ended up talking it out and it was just a misunderstanding.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “You talked to Wyatt last night?”
“I was going to tell you when you called but you were so upset, and I wasn’t sure if I should bring it up.” She sighed. “Honestly, Layne, I know you’re mad and you have every right to be, but he sounded really broken up last night. Maybe you should give him another chance.”
I laughed. The sound came out a bit maniacal, but that was fitting since I felt like I might be going crazy. “So, now you’re Team Wyatt?”
“I’m Team Layne, always,” Lola said. “I’m just saying everyone makes mistakes. I made a mistake thinking Wyatt purposely ruined my prom last year. Maybe you’re making a mistake giving up on him too quickly.”
“Lola, there was no mistaking the things Wyatt said to me last night.”
“Okay, maybe not. I’m just saying don’t discount what he’s saying now.”
“I don’t know what he’s saying now!” I practically shouted.
She frowned. “You haven’t talked to him?”
“No.”
“He told me he was going to call you last night.”
“He did, like a million times, but I turned my phone off.”
Lola gave me a sympathetic look. “I know you don’t want to right now but listen to his messages after you cool off a bit.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’ll think about it,” I muttered. It wasn’t really a lie. I probably would listen to them—when I was twenty-five! Because that’s how long it was going to take me to cool off about this.
"Can we just watch a movie and forget about this for a little while?” I asked.
Lola grinned. “Sure! Wanna make popcorn and watch Say Anything? That movie always cheers you up.”
I grimaced.
“What?”
“Lo, never watch your favorite movie with your crush.”
“No! You didn’t!”
“I did, and now it’s ruined for all time.”
“Aw, Layne. That’s like dating 101! Everyone knows not to watch your favorite movie with a guy until you’ve been together at least a year.”
“I didn’t know that!”
“This is why you need me in your life.”
“Please never get mono again,” I begged.
She giggled. “I can try, but it is the kissing virus. And I do like to kiss.”
I rolled my eyes but laughed for the first time since yesterday. “I miss you,” I whispered.
“Me too.”
We spent the rest of the lazy afternoon chatting on and off while watching all the Pitch Perfect movies. It was definitely lifting my spirits, but I still felt hollow inside. And as much as I didn’t want to think about him, my mind kept drifting back to Wyatt.
The irony of my situation wasn’t lost on me. Now that I wanted nothing to do with the bad boy who’d broken my bestie’s heart, she’d stopped hating him. The trouble was, now I did.
My heart lurched, protesting the word.
I didn’t hate him. And that was the problem. I should, but I just couldn’t and maybe that’s the thing that hurt most of all.
I couldn’t help wondering how long this feeling was going to last, and how I was supposed to keep living my life. I could barely handle a day in bed binging movies with my best friend. How was I supposed to go to school or worse, go to the competition?
“Lo,” I asked during a lull in our binging. “What am I going to do about the competition?”
She looked at me fiercely. “You’re going to get up on that stage and show the world exactly who Layne Hall is and that she doesn’t need anyone else. Especially not a boy.”
I laughed, thinking maybe we’d watched one too many cheesy movies. But Lola’s confidence in me was appreciated anyway. “Thanks, Lo.”
“You’ve got this, Layne. You always have.”
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Wyatt
When I found out Layne skipped school, my heart finally hit rock bottom. I knew for a fact that she’d never missed a day before. She was proud of her perfect attendance in that nerdy way of hers that I now found irresistibly adorable. But a lot of good that would do me if I couldn’t find a way to win her back.