It's 1998 and Connor Harrington's dream girl falls into the arms of his best friend, Landon, after a high-stakes bet. Connor sits back week after week watching Landon neglect Olivia. If she were his girl, he'd treat her like the princess she was. To...
My head is spinning as Courtney leads me out of the house and into Connor's car.
"Is this real life?" I look to Courtney, "Is my boyfriend engaged to be married to another girl? Like—this can't be possible. This can't be for real."
Connor and Courtney are silent yet I know the looks they are exchanging mean something.
"Connor did you know about her? Did he tell you?"
"Well uh, I—I. I have an idea," Connor slyly tries to change the subject. "How about we watch a movie tonight? We can stop at Blockbuster. How about Titanic?"
Courtney flicks the side of his head, "Really Connor."
"Sorry it's the first one that came to mind," he whispers.
He's right, It would be the perfect movie. Like the ill-fated Titanic, this relationship was full of grandeur and promise, so I thought until we sailed into the icy waters full of obstacles. Despite my attempts to keep us afloat, we've sunk beneath the weight of our issues.
"No, I just want to go home and go to bed," I lay my head against the window.
Not long after leaving we pull into the Harrington's driveway. I've been fighting back tears the whole ten-minute drive but I've given up now. They flow continuously down my face. I lay on my bed, my face buried into my purple Carebear. Courtney makes her way in and lies next to me.
"Courtney, please, tell me what's going on. I know that Connor knows, and I know he told you. Please don't leave me in the dark," I plead.
She gets straight to it. "When his father found out you two were still together, he made an arrangement for Landon to start dating her."
"How could he do this to me."
"He swears up and down he's only doing it to keep his dad off his back. Even if that is true, he should have been honest with you. And he certainly had no right to scream at you and cause a scene. That whole incident could have gone down so differently."
Connor quietly pushes open the door. He steps in closing it back behind himself and leans against it.
"I want to know everything," I demand. "Tell me everything he told you about her."
"All I know is his dad was pissed you two were still together and made some arrangement for Landon to start dating her."
"You mean courting her for marriage?"
Connor slightly drops his head, "Yeah. He said his dad and his dad's friend had been planning this for a while. I don't think he really wanted to go through with it, but he said he was afraid to disappoint his father."
"Why didn't you tell me!" I wail toward him.
"Olivia believe me," he stammers, "I really wanted to but I didn't feel it was my place to say anything."
"How long has he been seeing her?"
"About two weeks or so," he replies.
"You watched me get played for two weeks? Two weeks!"
"Olivia, please. I was in an impossible situation. I was caught in the middle."
"Damnit Connor, I thought we were friends, how could you just sit back and watch!"
"Olivia, I'm sorry. I really wanted to tell you," he pleads.
"Just get out of my room," I holler. I turn and sob into Courtney's arms.
Connor opens the door and begins to step out. He turns toward me, "For what it's worth, I told him he was wrong. I told him he should stand up to his father because you're worth it."
***
"Did you have a good week?" my mom asks as she drives me home to spend the remainder of the weekend.
"Yeah, it was fine."
"How was your date with Landon last night?"
I stop and ponder for a moment, I'm tempted to tell everything that happened but quickly decide against it. "He wasn't able to make it, he had to go out with his parents."
"Aww that's too bad, I know you took off work so you two could go out. I wish you would have called me, I would have come to get you. What did you end up doing?"
"Just laid around and watched movies with Court and Jenny."
"Ahh a girl's night in?"
"Yeah," I say flatly.
"You and Courtney seem like you're becoming very close."
"Yeah, she's really cool. We're getting pretty close. The Harrington's are really good people."
"I'm glad to hear that. I was really worried about sending you to live with them. You know I agonized over the decision for days."
"I know Mama, but you made the right choice."
"Speaking of which, I called your dad a few days ago."
My curiosity peaks. She almost never talks to him let alone call him. "Oh?"
"Yes, I asked him to help me get you a car for school. I miss you and I want you back home with me. You and I won't have much more time together before you're off to college and it feels like we're losing out on valuable time with you there five days out of the week."
I nod in agreement. While I haven't been homesick, I do miss Mama at times.
"So what did he say?" I ask.
She grimaces, "He said he'd see what he could do."
"Soooo I guess I won't be getting a car then."
"I'm hoping he'll step-up. I'm only telling you this because I think it would mean more if he heard it from you. Talk with him and tell him how much you love the school but you need transportation so you can come live back home. Maybe he'll have a heart and do the right thing."
"Ok."
Now that Connor is caught in the middle of Landon's lies, how do you think it will effect their friendship?
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