Broken Trust Part 3

Seventeen years of friendship with Taylor—neighbors, best friends, practically family. And for the past two years, we'd been more than that. Dating. Together. So I thought.

But this summer, everything came crashing down.

It started like any other day after school. Rose and I sat on the cracked brick steps near the old playground, the place where we had spent countless afternoons as kids dreaming about the future. Her usually bright smile was replaced by something heavy, something serious.

"Em, I hate to say this, but I saw Taylor with Susan… and it didn't look innocent," she said quietly, her voice trembling just a bit.

Susan—the queen bee who had been obsessed with Taylor forever—had finally made her move. And the words hit me like a punch to the gut.

I blinked, hoping I'd misunderstood. "What do you mean? Like just talking?"

Rose shook her head. "No, Em. It was more than that. I caught it on video. I didn't want to show you, but I couldn't keep it from you."

My heart started pounding. "Show me."

With trembling fingers, Rose pulled out her phone and unlocked it. She handed it to me, and there it was—Taylor and Susan, at the mall. The video was shaky, like someone was trying to be discreet, but it was clear enough. They were holding hands, laughing, whispering secrets. They weren't just friends. They were something else.

My hands shook as I handed the phone back to Rose. The silence between us was deafening.

"How long has this been going on?" I asked, voice barely above a whisper.

"Since summer started," Rose said softly. "I'm so sorry, Em."

I sank back against the wall, the world tilting beneath me. "I trusted him. I thought what we had was real."

Rose reached out and grabbed my hand, squeezing it tightly. "It was real, Em. At least, some of it was. But sometimes people make mistakes—big, awful mistakes."

Tears slipped down my cheeks, and I fought to hold them back. "How could he play me like this? Like I was just a fool?"

Rose pulled me into a hug. "You're not a fool. You're one of the strongest people I know. And you deserve so much better."

I pulled away, wiping my eyes. "I don't know if I'm ready to face him yet."

"You don't have to face him today," Rose said firmly. "We'll take this one step at a time. And when you're ready, you decide what's best for you."

For the first time in what felt like forever, a flicker of strength stirred inside me. My heart was broken, but it wasn't defeated.

As we sat there together, the sun setting behind us, I knew one thing for sure: this wasn't the end of my story. It was just the hardest chapter yet.