Since Kayla and her mother will be leaving this weekend, she has been spending the past few days saying goodbye to her friends. Today she had invited Mary over to her house for that very purpose. Mary did not know, however, that Kayla had another purpose in mind, as well.
When Mary arrived, she didn’t think much of the fact that several cars were in front of Kayla’s house. She went up the steps, hesitated, and then knocked on the door.
Kayla’s mother, Lisa, opened it, and Mary blinked, shocked by the livid bruises tinting Lisa’s face green and yellow. I was shocked, too, and angered by the traces of violence.
“Uh, hi,” Mary said. “You must be Mrs.…” She stopped, unsure of whether Lisa is still using her soon-to-be-ex-husband’s name.
Lisa smiled wryly. “Call me Lisa, honey.” She looked tired, but also strong. Then her face lit up. “Are you Mary?”
“Yeah,” Mary said. “Kayla invited me—”
That was as far as she got before Lisa threw her arms around her, squeezing so tightly that Mary gasped.
“Thank you,” Lisa said, her voice thick. “Thank you for what you did for my girl.”
Mary’s eyes began to sting, but she shook her head, twisting free from Lisa’s grip. “I didn’t do very much. Just gave her a ride.”
“No, Kayla told me about your website, how you listened to her when she couldn’t talk to me.” Lisa grasped Mary’s shoulders and leaned down to look into her eyes. “You may have saved her life, and I will never, never forget it. If you ever need anything—” She couldn’t speak further, so she only shook her head and let Mary go.
Mary didn’t know what to say, but I told her that she didn’t really need to say anything. Instead she only gestured to Lisa and said, “You look good.”
Lisa smiled tightly. “Honey, I feel good. And I’ll feel even better once I’ve shaken that bastard off my back. But I shouldn’t be making you stand out here—come on in. The girls are in the den.”
“Girls?” Mary repeated, but she followed Lisa into the house. Almost immediately she heard multiple voices, but she didn’t realize who they were until she made it to the bottom of the steps and into the cool room where Kayla was gathered with her best friends—April, Monique, and Veronica.
Mary stopped short on the bottom step, flashing back to the days when the mere sight of these girls could make her feel cold from head to toe. The girls, too, noticed her and fell silent—it seemed that only Kayla had known that Mary was coming. Lisa, not realizing the tension that Mary’s arrival had caused, grabbed a few empty plates and returned upstairs, leaving the girls alone.
I put my wings around Mary, shielding her from the stares. “You don’t need to be afraid,” I told her. “You have friends of your own now, and Kayla is among them. They cannot hurt you as they once did.”
It was a small comfort to Mary, and she took a breath and looked at Kayla. “Hey,” she said with an excellent imitation of calmness. “What’s up?”
Kayla got up and crossed the room to rest her forearm on Mary’s shoulder. Standing by Mary’s side, she looked back at her friends. “I told my friends what you did for me,” she explained to Mary without taking her eyes from the others. “We all feel like we owe you a huge apology. So.” She raised her brows, waiting. “Girls?”
Veronica and Monique looked at one another. It was clear to me that, while they may have agreed with Kayla that an apology was owed, they did not expect to actually have to say it.
April, however, sat up in her chair and took a breath. “She’s right,” she said. “We were major bitches to you, and you didn’t deserve it. I’m sorry.”
Mary relaxed a little at her obvious sincerity. “It’s okay.”
Monique sighed, her antagonism fading away. “Look, I’m sorry too,” she said, not looking at Mary. “But I did think for a while that you were going after Ronnie’s boyfriend, and I was not about to let that happen.”
This astonished Mary. “Tyler?” She had to think a moment to remember his face. “Oh, no. We were biology partners, but I never—I mean, I knew he had a girlfriend.” She went red and hastily added, “And he would never have looked twice at me anyway.”
“Mary has a boyfriend of her own now,” Kayla pointed out, her voice suggestive enough that Mary turned redder. “Seems to be going pretty well, huh?” She gave Mary a little shove.
Mary laughed, comforted by mention of Jordan. “Yeah, it is.”
Satisfied, Kayla nodded, then looked at Veronica.
Veronica studied Mary coolly for a long moment. She glanced at Kayla, who folded her arms and said, “Don’t be a bitch, Ronnie.”
That made a little spike of anger sprout in Veronica’s aura, but finally she looked away. “I’m sorry,” she said. There was no warmth in her voice, but she meant it, and that would have to be enough, for she would say no more.
Into the silence that followed, Mary looked back at Kayla. “I appreciate it,” she said. “Really. But I’m not mad at you guys anymore.” Somewhat surprised to realize the truth, she added, “I haven’t been for a while.”
“I wouldn’t blame you if you were,” April said honestly. She cleared her throat, then asked, “Are you going to graduation next week?”
Mary smiled. “Yeah, my friend Natalie’s walking. I’m super excited for her.”
“Maybe I’ll see you there.”
“I’m bummed I’ll miss it,” Kayla said. She nudged Mary. “Do you want something to drink? A soda, maybe?”
Mary accepted, more for the opportunity to leave the others’ company than anything else. She said goodbye to them, and April said a cheerful goodbye while Monique waved. Veronica was already flipping through her phone, ignoring them all.
It will take more than just a few visits from an angel to get through to that one. I hope that someone does, someday; I only wish I had the time or the opportunity to do it myself.
But we cannot save everyone.
“Sorry to put you through that,” Kayla said as she led Mary into the kitchen. “But I knew they wouldn’t say it unless I made them, and I won’t be around to do it anymore.”
“When do you leave?” Mary asked, accepting the bottle that Kayla handed her.
“Tomorrow.” Kayla leaned on the counter, drumming her fingers on the cool surface. “I’m excited to go, but I’m also nervous.”
“It’s gonna be great,” Mary assured her. “And your friends will still be there for you.”
Kayla smiled at her. “You know, you’re pretty amazing. Anybody else would hate them for everything they did to you.”
Mary shrugged, uncomfortable with the praise. “I’ve actually learned some things about bullies from the website. Most of them are just dealing with their own shit. It makes it hard to hate them. Or anyone, really.”
“You’re going to keep up with the website?”
“Of course,” Mary said, surprised. “We’re getting more and more traffic these days. We’re even thinking of pulling in some more volunteers. You interested?” she added, smiling.
“Sign me up,” Kayla said. “But maybe wait until I’m settled in the new place.”
“Definitely.”
Kayla glanced towards the stairs. “I’d invite you to stay, but I’m guessing that would be awkward.”
“No, it’s fine.” Mary went pink again. “I’m meeting Jordan anyway.”
“Getting serious, huh?” Kayla said with glee.
Mary sighed happily. “He’s pretty great.”
“Well, so are you.” Kayla threw her arms around Mary, much in the same way her mother had done. But this hug Mary returned, with just as much enthusiasm. “Stay in touch, okay?”
“You bet, CinderellaFail.”
That made them both laugh, and they parted well. Mary left Kayla’s house with her head held high, and in her spirit it showed that something had changed, that a weight had lifted. Perhaps she had not thought that she wanted apologies, or even Kayla’s friendship, but having them made such a difference. She felt mature, accomplished, happy, and loved, and, oh, my friends! how she shone. Father-King grant that I may bring all my charges to such a place.