I needed a self-esteem boost in the worst way. Since I was working with absolutely no budget, I treated myself to a spa day at home. I plucked and waxed, exfoliated and moisturized, deep-conditioned and styled, trimmed and polished. After applying my makeup, I went in search of some sexy underthings to wear. Nothing could boost your confidence like naughty underwear.
By the time I was finished, I felt much better about myself until I realized I was all dressed up with nowhere to go. Sighing, I flopped onto my sofa and contemplated drinking another bottle of wine, or five.
Before my pity party could get off the ground, someone knocked on my door. Ember and Annabelle were the only two who knew where I lived. Since Ember should’ve been away on her honeymoon, I assumed it was Annabelle and opened the door without checking to see who it was.
Aaron stood in front of me; his muscled arms braced on my door frame. He pinned me with his intense amber eyes and said, “We need to talk.”
With lace-infused courage, I stood my ground. “I don’t have anything to say to you, and I heard enough of what you had to say yesterday.” I stepped back and closed the door in his face. Or, I thought I did.
The bastard stuck his foot out to stop the door from closing. He pushed it back open and stepped into my space. “Get out!” I yelled.
“Not until you talk to me.”
“Why, Aaron? What else do you need to say to me? My life is a fucked-up mess right now. I don’t need you adding to it!” I screamed, willing myself not to cry in front of him.
“Why did you break up with me?” he asked.
His question caught me off guard, and I stammered, “What? I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did. You broke up with me in an instant message,” he stated.
“Are you serious? You broke up with me. I still have the fucking letter if you want to see it.” Shit! I hadn’t meant to tell him that.
“Yes, I’m serious. And, yes, I want to see the letter,” he answered calmly.
“Fine. Have a seat, and I’ll see if I can find it,” I huffed and gestured to the sofa.
It took me longer than I would’ve liked, but I was still in the process of unpacking, and I hadn’t done a great job of labeling my boxes. Finally, I located the one with my mementos from high school and pulled out the few pieces of paper that broke my young heart years ago.
I handed the papers to him, crossed my arms, and took several steps back so I could study his face while he read. He carefully unfolded the papers and began reading. After he finished, he dropped his head and sighed. “Macy, I didn’t write this letter. I don’t know who did, but it wasn’t me.”
“Oh, bullshit, Aaron,” I spat.
“You got some paper and a pen?”
Rolling my eyes, I retrieved a notepad and a pencil from the kitchen and tossed them to him. “There you go. Anything else?”
He ignored me and scribbled something on the pad before holding it out for me. I took it and asked, “What’s this?”
“That’s my handwriting. Look at the letter. They’re different,” he said.
I studied the two, and he was right. At a glance, they appeared to be the same, but upon closer inspection, certain letters were formed differently. “I-I don’t understand.”
“You never answered my question. Did you break up with me over instant messenger?”
I shook my head, still not understanding. “No. I didn’t. Why would you even ask me that?”
He rose to his feet and came a few steps closer to me. “Macy, is it possible your parents were behind this? They could’ve easily written this letter and instant messaged me from your computer.”
I gasped, my hand flying to my chest as realization dawned. “My dad told me he needed to take my computer to be fixed because it had a virus. That same day, he gave me the letter from you.” Aaron stood in front of me, silently watching me put it all together. “Why would they do that?”
“They never thought I was good enough for you, and they didn’t try to make it a secret,” he said quietly.
“How did you figure this out?” I asked.
He cleared his throat. “Uh, Annabelle helped me put it together last night. She was looking for you at the reception, and when she found out I made you leave, she let me have it and then some. Anyway, I told her why I made you leave, and she told me your version of the past and, well, here I am. And, I’m sorry about the way I treated you last night. At the time, I figured you still thought you were better than the three of us, and I didn’t want anything or anyone upsetting Ember on her special day.”
“I never thought I was better than any of you. I loved the three of you,” I said softly.