Page 22 of Naughtying Up St. Nick

“You shouldn’t have made me take the blame for something like that.”

Jackie pauses the security cam footage and shoots me an incredulous look. “It was high school, Harlow. Grow up.”

“It wasn’t just high school. It’s not even about the papers. Anyone else could’ve done that to me, and I wouldn’t have cared. Cheating in school isn’t the end of the world. But it was you who did it. You were always on my side with Mom and Dad, and you didn’t treat me differently even though they did. And then you just changed. And I deserve to know why.”

Jacklyn’s eyebrows raise. “Oh, you deserve to know? As if you don’t already.” She shakes her head. “You’re the one who became popular over the summer.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You spent your summer making friends and going to parties while I studied. And then you aced our first paper, and I could barely get a C. How was that fair?”

“Fair? Are you fucking kidding me?” I can’t believe that was the issue, that was what made her act that way all through high school.

Jackie shrugs. “It’s not as though Mom and Dad had any plans to help you get through college. It all went to me. You didn’t need the grades.”

My hands shake with anger, so I fold them into fists at my sides. “You ruined our relationship because I was better in school than you?”

“I didn’t ruin it,” she snaps. “You’re the one who made such a big deal out of it. If our relationship meant that much to you, you shouldn’t have let the fact that I wanted you to write papers bother you so much.”

She turns her attention back to the videos and starts watching again.

I stand there and try to breathe around the sudden tightness in my chest. I’d known things with Jackie were bad, but I guess I didn’t really want to think about how bad it had gotten. But now I’m seeing her in a new light. I’m seeing who she really is.

I’d thought we used to be close, but we never were. She tolerated me until she needed something from me, and when I didn’t want to give it to her, the unconditional love I thought she had for me turned out to be dependent on what I could do for her.

And what really kills me is I still love her. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I’ve been waiting for her to grow up and realize what she did. It was never about letting her take credit for my work; it was about how much she hurt me while she did it.

I take a breath and let it out slowly. “Did you miss me at all, Jackie?”

She glances up. “Of course I missed you.”

“If you could go back in time and change what happened in high school so we could have a relationship again, would you?”

She pauses a beat, but I don’t get my hopes up this time. I already know her answer; I just need to hear her say it.

“No,” Jackie says, just like I knew she would. “Because everybody gets over what happens in high school. You’ll forget about this some day.”

“No, I won’t.” I shake my head and turn away from her. “File a complaint about the vandalism if you want to. I’m done.”

She calls after me, but I ignore her. My chest feels heavy, but at the same time, it feels as though a burden has lifted off me. I’d kept holding out hope, certain she’d change. Now I know for certain she never will.

Even though it didn’t change anything, I feel better for having told her the truth, letting her see how angry I am about what she did. I feel like I can finally start moving on.

As soon as the thought enters my mind, Cal’s face pops up along with it, and I slow as I step outside the building and into the winter air.

I shouldn’t have been so short with him. I was upset about Jackie’s texts, and they just reminded me that I wasn’t good enough for someone like Cal.

But maybe…maybe I was wrong about that.

I wave Aubrey down and ask her where Cal went.

“He had someone come pick him up,” she replies with a shrug. “He seemed pretty upset.”

My stomach sinks, and I get angry at myself all over again for letting how I felt about my sister affect everything else. Especially something as important as my relationship with Cal.

Well, I’m done with that. I deserve to be happy just like everyone else, and Cal makes me happier than I ever thought I could be.

I touch Aubrey’s elbow. “I’m going to go talk to him. But…you should go home. This is Jackie’s problem to deal with, and something tells me she won’t be back next year.”

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