Amy turns away from the woman she dismantled who tried to erase her existence out of petty jealousy. Then she beams up at me. “Do you think it will be hard to get the footage of this little conversation from the news crew?”
My heart is overflowing with awe. “For a willful defamation suit? Shouldn’t be too hard.”
Brielle’s eyes flick to the media crews who are in position to get premier coverage. We’re totally surrounded by cameras and boom mics extending out from the back wall. It’s coincidental the same news crews that are here for the charity media exposure are in the perfect place to bear witness to this viper’s destruction. Her bravado cracks. She begs, “Please…don’t.”
Amy leans against me. “Don’t, what?”
Brielle whispers, “You have no idea what I could lose…”
Amy scoffs. “I know exactly the consequences you’ll face. People talking about you? Treating you like a pariah? Real consequences for your actions?”
Brielle manages a horrified whisper, “No.”
Amy tilts her head, calm as a chess player with the board already solved. “Just so we’re clear,” she says pleasantly, “I’ve got all the evidence.”
Brielle’s frantically searching Amy’s face for any weakness. She won’t find any. What she finds is someone much more dangerous than she is—a woman who’s already lived through being torn apart and regained her power.
Amy looks at her condescendingly. “Anything else?”
Brielle backs away slowly. She pockets her phone before racing for the exit.
Amy looks up at me, something deep and steady in her gaze. “Thank you.”
“For what?” I ask.
“For letting me take care of her.”
In that moment—standing beside her, the past finally quiet, the future visible—I know this is what redemption looks like.
Not erasing my past mistakes, but standing where I should’ve stood all along—at Amy’s side.
39
OVERLOAD POWER PLAY: HEAVY PUCK MOVEMENT ON ONE SIDE OF THE ZONE
Four Months Later
I’m humming Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out,” as I finish gathering the last of my personal items from my classroom for summer break. I should feel lighter because I’ll have the next twelve weeks off. But I’m not certain there’s any way I could be happier.
It’s because my heart brightens every time I make a new memory with Brennan.
I look around the room one last time before I turn off the lights. With a whispered, “See you soon,” I lock the door and head to the office to drop off my room key.
Stepping outside, the sun almost blinds me. But not so much that I don’t spot Brennan waiting by his truck, leaning against the door with a familiar ease that still makes my heart tremble. He’s here for me.
Present.
Every single day.
I cross the lot toward him, my skirt flowing around my knees. I send an enormous smile in his direction before I sing, “No more teachers, no more books…”
“Hi, my queen.” He’s chuckling when I reach him. He dips his head and our lips meet like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Like the years of past judgement and broken trust didn’t happen for us to get here.
I don’t take our love for granted. I never will.
“How does it feel?” he asks. “Freedom?”
I glance back at the school. Then over his shoulder down Main Street. Willow Creek is the place that held me together. “Like all I want to do is cuddle with you,” I say.
