Nets and Lies(60)

“Yeah?” I asked.

“Wanna go get a bite to eat or something?”

I smiled. “Actually, there’s something I really need to take care of.”

Mom pushed my hair off my shoulder. “Are you sure it can’t wait? Daddy and I will treat you to your favorite meal.”

“No, that’s okay.”

She leaned in and hugged me. “I’m very proud of you, sweetie. It took a lot of courage to do what you just did.”

I felt the sobs rising in my throat. No, no, no. There’d be no tears today. There’d been enough tears in the last few weeks to fill an ocean.

“Thanks, Mom.” I hesitated to let go. It felt so good to be in her arms, to be accepted after all that had happened, that I didn’t want the moment to end. But finally I pulled away. “I won’t be too long, I promise.”

“Okay. Just be careful and call us if you’re going to be late.”

I nodded. Dad paused before leaning in and kissing my cheek. He and Mom walked off together towards their car. I stood enjoying the sunshine for just a little while longer before I left.

After I cranked up, I turned up the radio. I sang along to old 90’s tunes like I’m Too Sexy, feeling young, crazy, and goofy. It felt nice. Small bits of the Old Melanie were starting to creep back in. Dr. Leighton told me this would happen—at times when I least expected it even after really tough days.

The parking lot was fairly empty when I pulled into Fiorenza’s. Jordan’s black BMW convertible sat in the far corner of the lot, so I knew she was working. Detectives McKay and Pendley had thrown me for a loop when they told me that Jordan had come forward and admitted to lying. In a way, I had hoped she would cling to her lie to help me. I didn’t to be the only victim. But then I was also really proud to hear that she had made things right.

As I made my way to the restaurant, my heart pounded in my ears. With a shaky hand, I reaced for the doorknob. Part of me wanted to sprint back to my car, peal out of the parking lot, and never look back. But somehow I summoned my courage and walked through the doors.

The moment I stepped inside, the strong aroma of tomato sauce entered my nostrils. I stood in the foyer, craning my neck to find Jordan. Finally, I spotted her bringing two plates of lasagna to a table.

“How many?” the hostess asked.

“Um, I just need to talk to Jordan.”

“Oh, well, she can’t really talk right now. How about I put you in her station?”

I nodded, fighting what felt like a wad of sawdust in the back of my mouth.

The hostess led me over to an empty booth and handed me a menu. Jordan hadn’t seen me yet. She came over with her pad and set a glass of water down in front of me. “Hi there, what can I—” At the sight of me in the booth, her lips smacked shut. Her head shook wildly, causing her dark ponytail to swish back and forth. A look of panic—one I never thought I would see from her—flashed on her face. “What are you doing here?”

“I need to talk to you.”

“Um, I can’t. I’m working.”

When she started to spin away from the table, I grabbed her arm. “Please, just give me five minutes.”

Jordan bit her lip and glanced over at a guy behind the bar. “Manny, I’m taking my break.”

“That would be fabulous, but it’s not time yet.”

“I don’t care!” she snapped. She gave me an apologetic smile. “Sorry, he’s such a dick.”

Manny mumbled something under his breath as Jordan flopped down, causing the booth seat to make a wheezing noise. She crossed her arms and stared expectantly at me across the table. “So what is it?”

Now that I had her attention, I didn’t know if I could get anything out that I wanted to say. As she tapped her white tipped nails on the table—nails I dreamed of having but had to sacrifice for basketball—I cleared my throat. “I just came from the Sheriff’s Department. I finally confessed to what happened with Coach T.”

Her dark eyebrows shot up. “You did?”

I nodded.

“Wow,” she murmured.

“I should have done it to start with but…”

Jordan gave me a sympathetic smile--one that I’d never really seen from her before. “I know things have been really bad for you.”

“Guess that means you heard about the breakdown?”

She nodded.

Playing with the placement, I murmured, “Yeah, it was pretty rough.”

Jordan’s face continued to soften. “I’m really, really sorry, Melanie.”

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. “What do you have to be sorry about? You may have lied about being raped by Coach T out of anger, but you were spot on when it came to what happened to me.”

“Even though I thought it, I didn’t want to believe it. I still don’t. I didn’t want to believe it for you or for me.” She drummed her nails faster on the table. “But you see, I’ve been struggling with this guilt lately. If I hadn’t been a vindictive bitch and claimed you were raped too, things would be so different for you. Like that I’m some way responsible for your breakdown.”

Pushing the menu aside, I shook my head at her. “No, it couldn’t have. Even though I thought I could, I would have never been able to keep it a secret. It just wasn’t possible. I mean, I had only made it a week when I broke down.”