Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
I'm Just Gonna Say It...I See Right Through That S
Ten weeks of summer was all we had.
Two weeks was all we had left.
I hadn't seen Jenny since that night. Sure, I got the occasional call or text, but she never bothered to make plans with me or anything. None of her relationships had ever been like this; I wondered if Jenny loved Andrew like I loved her.
It was one of those muggy days where you want to spend another day outside, but you know you'll need a huge cooler and a lot of cold drinks inside it. The new Sarah Dessen book was propped up with one hand while the other tilted sips of water into my mouth. That was when I saw that flash of red creep toward my house. Jenny's car. I stood and made my way to the driveway.
"Hey stranger," I greeted her.
Her eyes were covered by sunglasses, her arms covered in a scarf.
"What happened?"
She sniffled. "I broke up with Andrew."
"But...why?"
She pulled back the scarf to show me bruises. "That."
Anger flashed through my body. "He did this?!"
"Calm down. It's over. Never again..."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The day we decided to go to the beach was a Friday. It was cloudy but not in a stormy way. Jenny and I linked arms and headed to the carnival by the beach. It was like old times--spending our money on worthless chances and appetites filled with pounds of sugar.
When the sun began to set, we walked out on the boardwalk to watch it.
That's when it happened.
It. Her epiphany.
That night was spent just holding her close to me and touching her face. How could he hurt her? Such a beautiful face. Just a beautiful girl.
Just one week, and it was over. She was back with Andrew.
"He promised me never again...he made me so happy, Taylor."
I couldn't believe her. Jenny was hiding from me. Where was MY Jenny? The girl that fought for herself? It was up to me to fight for her now.
Two weeks was all we had left.
I hadn't seen Jenny since that night. Sure, I got the occasional call or text, but she never bothered to make plans with me or anything. None of her relationships had ever been like this; I wondered if Jenny loved Andrew like I loved her.
It was one of those muggy days where you want to spend another day outside, but you know you'll need a huge cooler and a lot of cold drinks inside it. The new Sarah Dessen book was propped up with one hand while the other tilted sips of water into my mouth. That was when I saw that flash of red creep toward my house. Jenny's car. I stood and made my way to the driveway.
"Hey stranger," I greeted her.
Her eyes were covered by sunglasses, her arms covered in a scarf.
"What happened?"
She sniffled. "I broke up with Andrew."
"But...why?"
She pulled back the scarf to show me bruises. "That."
Anger flashed through my body. "He did this?!"
"Calm down. It's over. Never again..."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The day we decided to go to the beach was a Friday. It was cloudy but not in a stormy way. Jenny and I linked arms and headed to the carnival by the beach. It was like old times--spending our money on worthless chances and appetites filled with pounds of sugar.
When the sun began to set, we walked out on the boardwalk to watch it.
That's when it happened.
It. Her epiphany.
That night was spent just holding her close to me and touching her face. How could he hurt her? Such a beautiful face. Just a beautiful girl.
Just one week, and it was over. She was back with Andrew.
"He promised me never again...he made me so happy, Taylor."
I couldn't believe her. Jenny was hiding from me. Where was MY Jenny? The girl that fought for herself? It was up to me to fight for her now.