Seventeen years of friendship with Taylor—neighbors, best friends, practically family. And for the past two years, we'd been more than that. Dating. Together. So I thought.
But this summer, everything came crashing down.
It started like any other day after school. Rose and I sat on the cracked brick steps near the old playground, the place where we had spent countless afternoons as kids dreaming about the future. Her usually bright smile was replaced by something heavy, something serious.
"Em, I hate to say this, but I saw Taylor with Susan… and it didn't look innocent," she said quietly, her voice trembling just a bit.
Susan—the queen bee who had been obsessed with Taylor forever—had finally made her move. And the words hit me like a punch to the gut.
I blinked, hoping I'd misunderstood. "What do you mean? Like just talking?"
Rose shook her head. "No, Em. It was more than that. I caught it on video. I didn't want to show you, but I couldn't keep it from you."
My heart started pounding. "Show me."
With trembling fingers, Rose pulled out her phone and unlocked it. She handed it to me, and there it was—Taylor and Susan, at the mall. The video was shaky, like someone was trying to be discreet, but it was clear enough. They were holding hands, laughing, whispering secrets. And they do not look like they were just "FRIENDS"!