She was full on crying now and starting to make a spectacle of herself.
“I’m sorry Jonathan, I really am! I promise nothing like this will ever happen again! Your friendship means so much to me, please don’t cut me off like this, I don’t have anyone to turn to! I’m all alone!” Her sobs racked her body as she buried her head in her hands.
Now I felt sorry for her as I realized that she was a desperately lonely person who was only looking for attention. It all kind of made sense as I thought back to the sad look on her face when I asked her where her parents were for Parent’s Weekend. Jonathan told me that her mom kind of dumped her whenever she met a new husband and it turns out that Ethan was husband number five.
I don’t know what came over me but I felt bad for the girl, and I knew that I would have to try to convince Jonathan to reconsider cutting her off cold turkey. Maybe he could just keep her at arm’s length and not let her get too close again, but completely cut her off? That wasn’t the answer. I looked at Jonathan and I’m sure that he could see the concern written all over my face. I never wanted anyone to feel that they were all alone in the world, not even Barbi who was just a lonely girl deep down inside, it was too heartbreaking for me.
Clearly I was going to be the bigger person here and extend the olive branch. I seriously doubted that she would have done that for me if the roles were reversed but I didn’t care, she was seriously hurting and it ran much deeper than a crush on my boyfriend. My boyfriend. I think that was the first time I actually thought of him that way.
I thought back to the scene with Bethany and Seth and wondered why I didn’t feel sorry for those two, and I realized that they both knew better. They came from loving families and had tons of friends; they just wanted to screw each other behind my back. I quickly tossed them out of my mind, annoyed that I even took the time to think about them.
I looked over at Barbi who had now pulled her knees up, her arms wrapped around them and her head buried between them as she gently rocked back and forth. I glanced over at Jonathan and motioned for him to step away with me. He got up quietly and we stood a few feet away and lowered our voices to a whisper.
“Jonathan she is really hurting, I don’t think you should just cut her off like that. Maybe just don’t let her get too close but let her know that she’s not completely alone. She probably needs to talk to someone professionally so maybe you can suggest that to her at some point.”
He looked at me with amazement as a smile slowly spread across his face. “You are incredible. After what she tried to do to us, you are concerned about her. That is so selfless of you Sky; I knew I loved you for a reason.” He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Okay, I’ll let her know that she’s not alone, but I’ll also be clear about boundaries so we don’t have another misunderstanding like this.”
We went back over to Barbi and Jonathan’s voice was gentle this time. “Barbs.”
She raised her bloodshot eyes to him and cautiously looked at both of us.
“I may have been too hard on you, I don’t want you to think that you’re all alone because you’re not. But things have to change. No more lies, no more trying to make people think that something is going on between us, and most importantly, no more snide cattiness toward Skylar. She is my girlfriend and she is not going anywhere. If you need something I want you to always call first, no more dropping by unannounced. I’m serious Barbs. Are we clear on all of this?”
Her eyes were filled with gratitude and she frantically nodded her head. “Thank you Jonathan.” She looked over at me. “Sky, I’m really sorry about everything. He didn’t know that I was in his bed. I stopped by his room to vent about my mom because she told me she might not be around for Thanksgiving after all if Ethan could get out of having to work over the holiday. We chatted for a while but I still needed to talk, so when Jonathan left his room he thought I was leaving and I climbed in his bed for the attention. I wasn’t really naked, I had on a tube top and jeans. I guess the reason I’ve been nasty toward you is that I could see how much Jonathan cares about you and I knew that meant there wouldn’t be room for me anymore. It’s not that I like him like that, it’s just that he’s been so nice to me since my mom married into the family and I’ve never had any kind of family, so I didn’t want to lose that relationship. I thought if I made you think something was going on with us, you would dump him and I wouldn’t lose the only family I’ve ever had. I’m really sorry for everything.”
You could have knocked me over with a feather. Never in a million years would I have expected an apology like that. I looked at her and smiled.
“Apology accepted.”
Don’t get me wrong, I still didn’t trust the girl but I was willing to give her a second chance. Jonathan stood looking at her and I could tell that he was trying to figure out if she was being sincere. I could also tell that he was over the drama.
“I’m really glad we got this cleared up Barbi, will you be okay going back by yourself?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Jonathan, again, I’m sorry about everything and thanks for giving me another chance, it means a lot.”
“No problem. I’m going to take a walk with Sky so we’ll see you around, ok?”
“Okay, see you guys later.”
She slowly walked back to campus and Jonathan casually grabbed my hand and we strolled through the park.
“I’m relieved that is over and I’m happy the truth came out.” His voice was calm and he seemed more relaxed.
“About that. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.”
“No, you don’t have to apologize to me. I had no idea that when you walked into my room she appeared to be na**d in my bed. No wonder you were so upset! I’m sorry you even had to deal with that Sky and I’m happy that we’re okay again. We are okay, right?” His eyes were cautiously optimistic.
A huge smile spread across my face as my eyes searched his. “Yes, we’re perfect.”
He stopped in the middle of the walking path and turned to face me, smoothing my windblown hair out of my eyes, his eyes very serious.