Page 79 of I'm Gonna Get You Back
I slump a little, my fingers curling through Tater’s fur. “I’m really proud of you for getting help.”
Her eyes go softer. “Thanks.”
“I just… wish you had told me all this instead of ignoring me for a month,” I say.
Delaney bites on her bottom lip, swiping at her eyes again as she considers her words. “You’re right. I should have. I really wanted to. But after everything you went through last year, I was the last person who ever wanted to hurt you. I can’tstandthat I have.”
The part of me that is afraid to need both of them wants to back away and act like I’m only angry. But the strange thing is, I’m not. Because I actually get it. I made the worst decisions when I was at my lowest last year and Delaney was so good to me through it, never judging me for any of it.
“I’ve already lost so much,” I start.
Her face crumples, and she looks down. “I know, I’m so sorry—”
“I can’t lose you, too.”
Her head whips up, and she stares at me in disbelief before throwing her arms around me. I hug her back, feeling bruised and shaken but also lighter. I’ve missed her. This is awful, and I’m still hurt, but it’s not bad enough to erase our friendship.
Or, I realize, how I feel about Reid.
The guilt from blocking him gnaws at me even more.
We talk awhile longer—catching up on everything from the past month. She redoes her makeup while we talk about her school, my doc, my mom. The shows she’s in. The therapy she’s doing. I apologize for sinking into my own self-loathing this summer and avoiding her calls.She confides how disconnected she’s felt from home and me and herself by moving away.
“But it hasn’t been all bad,” she assures me. “I love the freedom. Iloveliving in the city. But ballet isn’t an easy environment for me right now. If Legacy didn’t prohibit it, I might even change majors. I just wish… I didn’t feel like I was one mistake away from letting everyone down.”
It reminds me of what Reid’s been saying. The pressure they’re both feeling to constantly perform well. That their entire hometown is invested in a trajectory they’re not even sure about. Based on some of my interviews, it seems to be a similar struggle for all Legacies, even the older alumni.
Which leads me to ask, “Do you think that’s why there’s always drama when people come home? Everyone is so terrified to make a mistake they hunt out everyone else’s?”
Delaney raises an arched eyebrow. “That’s giving whoever did this”—she waves her phone—“way too much credit. It’s such a dick move.”
“I’m just trying to figure out why Josh would do this.”
Her eyes bug. “You think this is Josh? No, this is way too sophisticated for him.”
“Well, I thought it was you for a minute there,” I admit.
Her expression is full of playful offense. “I could never be anonymous. You know I like to see people’s reactions when I talk shit.”
That pulls a laugh out of me. “You sound like a serial killer. Anyway, Josh seems most likely again. Who else would care so much to post all this stuff?”
“Who cared so much to sabotage you last year, too?” she asks.
Good question.
And one I still haven’t answered considering how preoccupied I’ve been with Reid.
But we have to figure this out. No matter that I’m still upset with him and am not close with the other Legacies—I know what it’s like to have your reputation ruined. For the entire town to look at you sideways. No one should have to go through that.
I have to do whatever I can to help.
Delaney already has her phone open, scrolling to the post about her. “Reid’s team was there at the party that night I stayed over—so any of them could’ve spread this around. Look! The one who left this comment—‘Yeah I heard they hooked up in Reid’s dorm’—thanks a lot, asshole,” she mutters under her breath. “That’s Connor, one of Reid’s teammates. Damn, his account is private.”
“Why would a Stanford runner be following a gossip account about Woodhurst?” I ask.
Delaney narrows her eyes, thinking. “I don’t know, but I’m going to ask him how he found it.”
She grows quiet as she starts tapping on the comments and profiles, then sending DMs to Reid’s teammates.
