Page 42 of My Rules for Revenge (Twisted YA Mysteries #1)

“Mom, I know. I’m done with that. I’m serious,” I reassured her.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“That’s very unexpected,” she said with a shocked look on her face.

“I know.”

“Listen, I have to tell you something,” she whispered.

“What happened?”

“No, nothing. It’s just… I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything I told you the last time we were here,” she said in a bit louder voice.

“It’s okay, Mom.”

“He’d be very proud of the young woman you’ve become. I mean it.”

“I sure hope so.”

“The truth is, I’m worried about you. I don’t like the way you handle things in the real world.

It can be a very cruel place, but I now understand that sometimes you’re forced to fight back and stand up for yourself.

What Jacob did to you was cruel, to say the least, but I know you did what you needed to do to make it right. ”

“I thought I was doing what I needed to do at first. But what I’ve realized is that having all that hate and anger in your heart can eat at you. I’m learning to forgive. That’s something you have that I’ve always admired in you. Even if I’ve never admitted it before,” I confessed.

We hugged each other.

“Dad knew it too,” I expressed.

“I love you, honey.” She hugged me even harder.

“I love you too, Mom, and I forgive you.”

When we looked at each other, streams of tears were rolling down my mom’s cheeks.

“Don’t cry, Mom. That’s depressing. This is a happy moment,” I pointed out.

She began laughing.

“You’re right. This is a happy moment.”

“I know we’ve had our ups and downs, but I want to stay close to you. We’re the only family we’ve got. It’s just us,” I pointed out.

“Oh, we will stay close, trust me. I’m not letting you go anywhere,” she reassured me.

She began sifting her hands through my hair.

“What are you doing?”

“You have beautiful hair,” she observed.

“Oh, thanks.”

“Maybe you should cut it a bit. What do you think?”

“Mom!” I whispered.

“Okay, okay. We’ll talk about it later.”

As strange as it sounded, I had a warm and fuzzy feeling after I spoke with my mom.

It felt good to hash things out. I never wanted to stay angry at her anyway, and once I let that go, a weight was lifted off my shoulders.

This sense of ease didn’t last long, unfortunately.

I still had a couple of good old-fashioned bombshell secrets to discover.

Despite my suspension, Jacob managed to pull a favor with Newman. No surprise there. He allowed us to sit in the school library for exactly one hour after school. After that, I was never allowed back until my suspension was over and done with.

“Hi,” I said in a relatively cautious voice.

“Hi,” Jacob replied hesitantly.

“I see you got a new backpack.”

“Yeah. I can’t say the same about my computer, though.”

Jacob chuckled, and I wanted to crawl out of my skin.

“Alright, I’ll admit it, I may have gone a bit overboard. Somehow, I’ll pay for it,” I assured him.

“Don’t worry about it; I was kidding. You don’t have to pay for anything.

I know I deserved it. Listen, I did some bad things to you, and you rightfully returned the favor.

I started all this when I wrongfully leaked your pictures.

Heather, I’m really and truly sorry,” Jacob said very apologetically.

I remained in stunned silence. I never expected to hear those words coming out of his mouth. I thought I had a better chance of getting eaten by a shark and struck by lightning at the same time. Receiving an apology from Jacob Boruta was the last thing I expected.

“Okay?!” I said with a shocked look on my face.

“I swear it wasn’t me who did that in the auditorium—it was Carlos and Manny,” Jacob confessed.

“That makes a lot of sense,” I affirmed.

“I didn’t give them orders or anything. I barely remember Indira, and I didn’t frame Eddy. I’m trying to be different. I know it’s hard to believe, but what else can I say? It’s the truth.”

“I believe you, Jacob,” I assured him.

“Thank you.”

“Look, Eddy was right. We’ve been doing destructive things to each other, and look at what’s happened. I’m partly to blame for that, and I wanna end this.”

“I do, too,” I nodded.

“Good.”

“So…does this mean you forgive me?”Jacob asked.

“Honestly, I don’t think I’ll be able to forgive you today or tomorrow, but one day I will. I promise. I don’t hate you anymore. So, there’s that at least,” I pointed out.

“That’s fair enough. Also, I’ll properly admit that I was the one who leaked your nudes and that Eddy was framed. I don’t want his reputation to be tarnished. He’s a good guy,” Jacob added.

“That’s mature of you,” I exclaimed.

“It’s the very least I can do.”

“I have a burning question,”I mentioned.

“What is it? You can ask me anything,” Jacob assured.

“What did Indira have to do with it? Why did Carlos and Manny include her of all people?”

Jacob seemed hesitant and softly exhaled.

“This is, uh… This is an awkward situation. I figured you’d ask me that.”

“Why?”

“You’re not gonna want to hear this, and I don’t exactly want to repeat it, but I know I have to. I owe you that much,” Jacob explained.

“Whatever it is, I want to know.”

“I can try to explain everything as best as I can, but it would be better if you heard it straight from her,” Jacob reassured me.