Chapter Twenty-Six
“How You Get the Girl (Taylor’s Version)”
by Taylor Swift
Lucy
Mom’s taking a lasagna out of the oven when I slam the front door behind me and storm into the kitchen.
My stomach is growling, which makes Mom laugh.
“Someone’s hungry,” she muses. She serves herself some lasagna, but when she goes to grab a plate for me, I stop her.
Meera’s pleading words ring in my ears over and over, making my head spin and my mouth dry.
“I don’t feel so good,” I tell Mom, avoiding her gaze. “Save some for me for later?”
Mom studies me, an eyebrow raised, and points to my stomach. “Honey, you’re obviously starving. Is everything okay?”
I force myself to nod. “Yeah. I’m just not in the mood for lasagna.”
“You’re not skipping meals for prom, right?” She tsk-tsks, grabbing a fork. “Maybe your friend Natalie likes her outrageous diets, but there won’t be any of that under my roof.”
“I’ll eat later. Promise.”
“Speaking of prom, is Sushant coordinating his outfit with yours? My senior prom date matched his bow tie to my silver dress.” Mom fluffs up her red hair. “I was prom queen. Should have married him instead of your father,” she then adds, sighing.
“A silver dress sounds nice.” I stand across from her and knead my knuckles with my thumb. “But, um, I’ll be going to prom solo. Sushant and I broke up.”
Her fork falls onto the plate with a clatter, her wide eyes trained on me, and then she races forward to hug me. “Lucy, I’m so sorry. How did this happen? When? Why?”
“Mom—”
She cups my face with her hands. “Did he break your heart? Should I reprimand him or call his mother?”
A laugh nearly escapes my lips. “Mom, we just weren’t sure about the long-distance thing,” I lie. “There are no hard feelings between us, I promise.”
Mom shakes her head, stepping away to put her hands on her hips. The lasagna’s getting cold, but she doesn’t seem to care. “Do you want to skip prom and do a girls’ night instead? I could try to finish my client calls early, or reschedule them, or—”
I hold up a finger to shush her. “I’m up for prom queen, so I can’t skip it. It’ll be fine. I’ll just go with Julien and Natalie as friends.”
“But it’s your senior prom! You shouldn’t have to go alone.” She frowns. “What about that boy, Billy, from church? I’ve seen him look at you a few times during service.”
“Mom. Hey.” I sling an arm around her shoulder. “Focus on your meal and your clients. I’ll…I’ll be fine.”
Mom returns the hug and air-kisses my forehead, probably to safeguard her red “girlboss” lipstick since she has another call in a few minutes. “You’re a strong girl, Lucy, and you’ll find a more suitable young man for yourself soon enough. Who knows, maybe he’ll even be Christian.”
“Yeah,” I say. “I’ll find someone else soon enough. I’ll be prom queen after all.”
“That’s my girl.” Mom smiles at me, then puts her plate in the sink and returns to her office, her hot-pink heels loud against the tiled floor.
I dump my purse on the kitchen counter and head upstairs to my room, shoulders hunched.
My eyes fall on my bookcase. Jade bought me a new Austen-inspired fantasy novel from a romance-only bookstore near their house.
Apparently, they found out about my obsession through my hundred #bookstagram posts.
But reading to distract myself isn’t the right move. I need to process everything or I’ll explode. I put on my headphones and open Spotify. Sushant hasn’t removed me from our shared account yet or changed the password. He’s so wonderful.
And I’m despicable.
I play the “MRG” playlist on loop, thinking back to my long-gone friendship with Meera and my everlasting, unrequited feelings. Tears drench my pillow as I let myself grieve the end of something I never quite got over.
I hope someday I will.
Meera
Mrs. Perez doesn’t think twice about inviting me in, her eyes bright. “I haven’t seen you in so long!” she gushes, pinching my cheek. “You look…pretty, mija.”
She’s obviously being nice—I cried the whole way here, and my nose is probably still red and snotty. But I smile weakly at her and walk inside, looking around for Ron and Valeria. Thank goodness for the Find My Friends feature, which told me they were both at Valeria’s.
In the distance, the TV plays a song from a Bollywood movie I’ve watched with them at least five times. They’re still watching my favorite movies without me. Maybe they do miss me. The thought almost makes me smile. I duck my head into the living room and clear my throat. “Hey.”
Ron jumps, spilling popcorn all over the couch. Valeria lets out a choked gasp and turns to me. “Meera, what are you—”
“I’m so sorry for being a shitty friend,” I say, holding back a sob. I don’t have more tears left in me. “Can—can you both forgive me?”
Val’s eyes widen while Ron frowns and hits pause on the remote. “You completely forgot about us, Meera,” Valeria says, folding her arms as she stands. “Even though we were there for you this entire time.”
“Do you really think ‘sorry’ will cut it?” Ron shakes his head as he also gets up from the couch.
“It won’t, and I know it.” I bite the inside of my cheek. “I was so focused on the Plan and my obsession with Lucy that I ended up doing exactly what Appa warned me about. I lost both of you. And now”—my voice breaks—“I’ve lost the love of my life too.”
Ron shuffles in place, giving Valeria a look. She nods, and slowly, they come over to me and put their arms around me. I hug them back, resting my head on Valeria’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry,” I whisper. “I’ll never do that again.”
Ron pulls away first. “That was all we wanted to hear, Meera. That you accepted your mistakes and were genuinely sorry.” He smiles. “Want to join us for movie night? Val insisted on watching that corny movie I hate. And, hey, it might help take your mind off whatever happened with Sushant.”
“Yeah,” Val chimes in. “I’m sorry that he doesn’t feel the same way.”
I hold back a grimace. Right. They don’t know that he’s not the love of my life anymore.
So much has happened in my life since the Holi party that they missed out on, and I’m sure they’ve been up to a lot of things during this time too, all without me.
I can’t wait to catch up on their lives with them.
But first…
“You both need to know something,” I say. “This may come as a shock to you.”
Valeria squeezes my hand. “What is it?”
“Um.” I swallow hard. “It’s about Lucy.” Ron is about to roll his eyes, so I quickly add, “I think I’m in love with her?”
They look at each other, then at me. “Oh,” Ron says after a moment. He scratches his jaw. “That…actually makes complete sense.”
Valeria gasps. “Wait, everyone at school is talking about Lucy and Sushant’s breakup. Does that mean she left him for you?”
I sit down on the couch and draw my knees up to my chest. “Not exactly.” When I’m done narrating the story to them, Ron lets out a groan and Valeria puts her head in her hands.
“Meera,” Val says, voice muffled, “what the hell did you get yourself into?”
“I don’t know what to do,” I whisper, looking from Ron to her. “I love her, and I know she loves me too. I just…I think I’ve blown it.”
“Of course you have,” Ron scoffs, and joins me on the couch. “You need a new Plan.”
“No.” Valeria glares at Ron, then leans over the couch and puts her hands on my shoulders. “You need to apologize and tell her you love her. No more gimmicks. Please.”
“Can you help me?” I ask in a trembling voice. “I have an idea in mind. It’s sort of a big gesture, but…she won’t even talk to me.”
Ron leans his head back against his arms, thinking. “I’d suggest asking Sushant for help getting through to Lucy, but”—he laughs dryly—“he’s the last person who’d want you and her together.”
“Actually, that’s not a bad idea.” I stand up and dust cheese powder from the scattered popcorn off my clothes. “And I know exactly where he’ll be.”
Valeria raises an eyebrow at me; then she and Ron share another look.
“I promise I’m not bailing on you again. I just need to make this right,” I say, biting my lip as they pause, considering it.
After a moment, Ron smiles and Valeria stands, putting her hand on my shoulder. “Go,” she says. “We’re here if you need us.”
I borrow Valeria’s bicycle and get to Gianni’s Pizza.
Sushant sits outdoors underneath a large red umbrella, stuffing a whole slice of deep-dish pizza into his mouth.
His eyes are vacant, his gaze on the empty chair across from him, and there’s tomato sauce on his scruffy beard.
Has he shaved at all since I last saw him?
“Hey,” I say, parking the bike and walking into his line of sight. “Is this seat taken?”
Sushant exhales, gesturing ahead of him. “Do you see anyone sitting there? Maybe the Ghost of Christmas Past?”
“No.” I sit down, grateful for the creaky metal chair that distracts from the stifling air between us. “So, um, how’s everything going?”
“How do you think, Meera?” He looks at me, one eyebrow quirked. “The woman I love broke my heart, I have no date to prom, and my parents are mad at me for throwing away my Berkeley scholarship and moving to the East Coast all for a girl who doesn’t want a future with me anymore.”
I duck my head. “I know everything is my fault, so—”
“And Lucy’s.” He snorts. “My friends all think I should be angrier at her than I am.”
“Did you tell your friends that she and I…?” My voice trails off. Nobody at school looked at me differently today, and though the thought of being out to the whole world isn’t scary, I’m not sure I’m ready for everyone to know that I’m the reason the It Couple broke up.
“Nah.” He sighs. “Just that Lucy and I ended things. It’s funny. I feel like I should have seen this coming from a mile away, but how could I have?” He tries to chuckle; it comes out more like a sob. “I thought she was the One for me. Now I realize she always thought that about you.”
I lift my eyes to his. “Not anymore. She made it clear she hates me.”
“Why?” he asks, scratching his scraggly beard, smearing cheese and sauce on it. “She kissed you. And she told me she’s never loved anyone like she loves you. How could that change so soon?”
I swallow. I don’t have the energy to tell him the truth. Someday, I will. But not today. Instead, I say, “I can’t get into that now, but…I need your help to win her back.”
Sushant doesn’t speak. He wipes his hands with a tissue and runs his tongue over his teeth. “I really should hate you both more than I do,” he says. “But if you promise you’ll make sure Lucy’s happy, that you won’t break her heart”—he lets out the smallest smile, finally—“then I’ll help.”
“I promise.” I hold my hand out, and we shake on it.
He leans back and studies me. “So, do you have a plan in mind?”
I nod slowly. “What does Lucy love more than anything else in the world?”
“Besides you?” Sushant says, and I roll my eyes.
“Yes, other than me,” I say.
He thinks to himself. “Books.”
“And Taylor Swift.” I ask a passing server for some extra tissues and a pen, then write, The Plan 2.0: Get the Girl.
“Two point oh?” He rubs his chin. “Was there a Plan before this?”
I cough. “Um, no. Anyway, here’s what I’m thinking…” I continue scribbling on the tissues, laying out the Plan while Sushant sits there quietly. “And then I walk out from the tent and—” I look up and pause. “I know you’re surprised, but, geez, close your mouth. I can see pizza.”
He shuts his mouth, chuckling as he looks over the Plan. “You must really love her,” he says. “I already thought of how I’d propose to her after we graduated college, but your Plan takes the cake.”
“Propose? You mean asking her to marry you?” I exclaim, gripping the edges of the table. Fuck. Did I rob Lucy of not just love but also the perfect wedding?
Sushant shrugs. “Like I said, I thought she was it for me. But if I can’t do a grand gesture for her anymore, it might as well be you, right?” He smirks. “So don’t fuck this up.”
I give him a small salute. “Roger that.”