The New Me

TAYLOR’S POV:

I couldn’t wait to celebrate Liam’s birthday today. My second sister, Nora, and I had gone out last week to get Liam’s birthday present.

Once, when Liam and I had passed a Fila store, he said he wanted to buy the bag that was displayed in the window. He almost bought it then but realized it was too expensive.

Luckily, I had saved up enough money over the past few months to buy that bag for him since he loved it so much.

I began getting ready for his birthday party as it would start in an hour. After I was done changing, Nora put my hair into a braid and then did my make-up as well because my make-up skills weren’t as good.

“You look so pretty, Taylor,” Nora said, smiling at me.

“Thank you for doing my hair and make-up.” I blushed slightly at her compliment.

She pulled me in for a hug and said, “You’re welcome. Now leave. Dad’s waiting to take you to Liam’s house.”

I kissed her cheek and waved at her. “See you later!”

I made sure to grab the birthday card I had made for Liam and left the room.

I had written the card yesterday, wanting to confess my feelings for him by writing them down in the card. The letter said:

Dear Liam, Happy birthday!!!! You have always been there for me, ever since we were young, even when Melissa and the others bully me. You are the best friend I've ever had, and I am so grateful for that. I am so thankful that I've been able to be friends with you all this time. The reason I am writing this letter to you is I wanted to tell you that I love you as more than a friend. I hope that you feel the same way about me as I feel about you. Now that I've told you this, I hope that we can be together. I love the way you smile at me, especially your dimples. Anyway, Happy Birthday, my Liam.

Love, Taylor After scanning the letter one last time, I put the card carefully into his bag and left the room. I grabbed my heels and headed towards dad’s car, where I found him waiting for me.

Dad saw me and said, “Let’s go, sweetheart, or you’ll be late for Liam’s birthday party.”

I got into the car quickly and nodded.

It took us only ten minutes to drive to his house, and I was amazed at how the house looked. It was decorated incredibly nicely, with a large sign outside that read, ‘Happy Birthday Liam.’

My dad looked shocked and said, “Wow! His parents really know how to have a blast. We should do something like this for your birthday.”

“Dad, I don’t want a party. I just want to spend my birthday with my friends and family,” I said, shaking my head.

Dad nodded his head in response and opened the door for me. He hugged me, saying, “Have fun, honey. Be back by 10 pm.”

“See you later, Dad.” I hugged him back and got out of the car.

I walked to the door and knocked on it. Liam opened the door with a smile on his face and greeted me, “Hey Taylor!”

“Happy birthday, Liam! Here is your birthday present,” I replied and stepped inside.

I passed him his birthday present, waiting for his reaction once he saw what I’d gotten him. The moment he saw the Fila bag, he grinned with happiness and said, “You bought my favorite Fila backpack? Thank you so much, Taylor! You're the best!”

Before I could respond, there was a voice behind me, a voice I instantly recognized. I looked behind me, and Melissa said, “Well, who do we have here? Taylor, the loser.”

I turned around to see Melissa wearing a red dress that barely reached her thighs. I was pretty sure if she bent down, everyone would see her panties.

Liam gave her a stern look. “Melissa, can you please not start? It's my birthday today. Let me be happy.”

Melissa gave me a fake smile that I could easily see through. She said, “Alright. I will give you your birthday surprise later. I know you're going to enjoy it.”

As she walked past me, she flashed me an evil look, which made me feel uneasy.

Liam looked at me and said, “Let’s go in.”

Liam led me to where the crowd was, and I couldn’t help but be shocked at how many people there were. There was a DJ, playing pop songs, and a dancing area where people were already dancing.

“Where are your parents?” I looked around.

“Well, they needed to go on a business trip at the last minute. Apparently something went wrong at one of their factories.”

“You still have me, so don’t worry. Plus, this party will surely boost your spirits,” I said, trying to cheer him up.

He flashed me a smile and nodded in response. “Do you want me to get you a drink?”

“Erm...yeah, sure. I'll take a fruit punch.”

He nodded and began to walk away. “One fruit punch coming right up.”

Suddenly all the lights switched off, leaving just one spotlight trained on Melissa. I saw her holding a microphone, and she once again flashed an evil smile at me, making me realize that something bad was about to happen.

She said, “Hey everyone, I am Melissa, as all of you know. I want to give Liam his birthday present, and I am going to give it to him right here, right now.”

I saw Liam looking at her, paying attention to what she was saying.

She continued, “My present to Liam is a secret that everyone has to know.”

My eyes flew wide in shock, and I felt like running away from the party. I heard her saying, “Our little friend, Taylor, told me her biggest secret. She told me that she has loved Liam ever since she was young. What a loser, right?!”

Everyone around me started laughing and calling me names.

“You're so ugly!”

“No one loves you.”

“What a nerd!”

“She's such a loser!”

I looked at Liam, who had always defended me, but he just stood there, dumbfounded by what had just happened. He didn’t even move an inch when those people started hurling insults at me. I saw Melissa approach him and kiss him on his lips.

All I saw was red. I fled, away from everyone, away from the party. I had never felt so betrayed before, and it hurt. It was as if hundreds of knives were stabbing my heart.

By the time I arrived outside my house, tears were rolling down my cheeks nonstop. I wiped away my tears and walked into my house, not wanting anyone to know that I had been crying.

I walked in and saw my parents sitting down with my sisters in the dining room.

My mom saw me walking in and called me over to join them, "Sweetheart, can you come here for a moment? Your dad has something important to tell you."

I sat on the chair next to my sister and looked at them, waiting for them to speak. "So, what do you want to tell me, Dad?"

“I've been promoted. They're transferring to the company headquarters in New York,” Dad said, smiling at me.

I smiled, but it didn’t last long as I realized we would be separated. "That's great! But New York is so far away. How will we see you anymore if you're in New York?"

Dad frowned and said, “We’re all going to move there. Are you okay with that?"

In my heart, I felt like I could not leave this place; it was too full of memories. However, remembering what had just happened at Liam's party, I changed my mind. “Yes, I want to move to New York." I nodded confidently.

At this moment, I promised myself that I would never return to this place ever again. I would never look back at those people who stooped so low and hurt me.

TAYLOR’S POV:

It’d been exactly four days since Liam’s birthday and my dad informing us that we would be moving to New York. Ever since then, Liam had been calling and texting me, but I just ignored him.

I did not want to think about him even though I often had the urge to pick up his call or just send him a text, but I held back, realizing that things would never be the same as they used to be.

Luckily, it was our spring break, so I didn't have to see him or get teased by the whole school about what had happened during the birthday party. But I was pretty sure Melissa, that bitch, has already spread rumors about it to the whole school via social media.

Honestly speaking, I missed him, and it was hard avoiding the pain in my heart. I told my family what had happened, and they comforted me by distracting me, which really helped.

My sisters wanted to beat the shit out of Melissa, but I stopped them, afraid that they would get busted since her father was super protective of her.

Yesterday, mom told me that Liam had come to our house, wondering if he could speak to me about something. But luckily, I was out with my sisters as they wanted to cheer me up before we left for New York.

I cried when mom told me he had come by, but I was glad Mom did not tell him that we would be moving to New York. Instead, she decided she would tell his mom at the last minute. I was grateful for what Mom did because I knew mom really adored Liam a lot. We had been best friends, after all.

She had been shipping us together since we were young and had been devastated when I told her the truth about what had happened that night.

Today was finally the day that I would leave this place for good. Our flight was in the afternoon, and I was loading the car with my luggage. I was holding onto the box of memories that Liam and I shared.

In the box, there were a bunch of things that Liam gave me on my birthdays. The things in the box were definitely the best memories I had of our friendship.

I pushed thoughts of him to the back of my mind, but it was too late. Images of his birthday flashed before my eyes, and the humiliation I faced came rushing back.

I wanted to return the box to him as I did not want to hold onto the memories of him. It was too painful to even think about.

I walked into the living room and asked, “Mom, can we stop by the post office before we head to the airport? I need to send something back to someone.”

Mom smiled and said, “Sure, honey, anything for you.”

Suddenly Dad shouted from the car window, “Everyone, get in the car. You've got twenty minutes. We need to leave soon.”

I quickly rushed back to my room and looked at it one last time before grabbing my bag and heading out of the house.

We were loading the trunk when suddenly someone said, “See you all soon.”

I looked back and saw Mr. Polar. I made my way to him, running into his arms.

“I will miss you, Mr. Polar. Take good care of yourself and remember to take good care of our house, too.”

He nodded his head in response and pushed me away, saying, “Be a good girl and study hard okay, Taylor?”

I kissed his cheek. “I will, Mr. Polar.”

My sisters hugged him too, making all of us laugh. Finally, it was time to go, and we said goodbye to Mr. Polar, promising that we would call him once we reached our destination safely. All of us piled into the car, giving one last glance to our house. Then dad began to drive.

As we were leaving our neighborhood, we happened to pass by Liam’s house. I saw Liam playing basketball with a bunch of his popular friends.

When he saw our car, he instantly recognized it. From the corner of my eye, I saw him stop playing and stand still, holding the ball in his hands as he looked in my direction. I looked straight, avoiding eye contact with him, while my sisters looked at him and smiled back.

My phone vibrated, and I saw that Liam had messaged me, but I did not open it, wanting to put an end everything that we had shared. Instead, I shut my phone off and put my phone inside my bag.

Thirty minutes later, we reached the post office, and my dad turned to me, “Taylor, I'm giving you ten minutes to mail your things. Be quick so we don't miss our flight.”

I nodded in response and quickly headed inside the post office, the box in one hand.

I walked up to the counter and said, “Good afternoon, I would like to send this package.”

The woman at the counter, who looked like she was in her late twenties, said, “Good afternoon, here is the form you'll need to fill out. Make sure that you write the delivery address clearly.”

I smiled and said, “Thank you.”

I took the paper and pen from her and sat down in an empty spot to fill out the form.

After I was done, I went back to the counter, handed her the form and box, and said, “All finished. How much do I need to pay?”

She weighed the box, looked at the computer screen, and said, “That'll be $5.”

I passed her a five-dollar bill. “Thank you.”

She smiled. “You too, sweetheart. Have a nice day.”

I smiled at her and turned around, making my way back to the car. Dad started the engine, and we were finally headed to the airport.

After an hour of driving, we finally reached the airport, and I began to unload some of our belongings, arranging them on the trolley. Uncle Sam was already there, and he walked up to us.

“Have a nice trip, everyone. I will take good care of your car.”

Dad gave him a brotherly hug. “You better take good care of my car or else I am going to make you buy me a new one.”

All of us laughed and waved at Uncle Sam as we made our way into the airport.

After having smoothly navigated the security checks, we sat down in our seats, waiting for our plane to depart, which would probably be in a few more minutes. Mom dialed Liam’s mom’s phone number to inform her that we were moving to New York and that we were already on the plane. I just stared out the window.

Suddenly, there was an announcement. “Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Mark, and I will be your captain today. We are going to depart soon. Please switch off your phones or turn them to airplane mode. Please also fasten your seatbelts for takeoff. Thank you.”

I clipped on my seatbelt and heard my mom saying goodbye to Liam’s mom. Mom turned her head to me and said, “I told her. She wishes you all the best in your future.”

I nodded my head in response and looked straight, feeling the plane lift slowly from the ground.

We were finally leaving this place behind. I took this chance to look out the window, admiring the beauty of my hometown.

“Goodbye,” I said softly, placing my palm on the window. A tear rolled down my cheek.

Mom grasped my hand and said, “Don’t worry. You will make many friends in New York. Don’t think about what happened anymore, okay?”

I gave her a sad smile and looked away.

Never look back on this place again. Move on. This will be your new beginning, I repeated these words in my head a hundred times before drifting off to sleep, wondering what my future would hold...