DEZ

You would think that I would’ve tried harder to fight for my innocence and hold on to my lies when things went down that day. But when Riley looked into my eyes and demanded the truth, I guess I just couldn’t fight against it anymore.

Looking back, I can see how messed up I was, but I wasn’t so far gone that I didn’t at least try to fix it. That was my first priority, I remember that much. My second? Coming clean to my parents. I’d screwed things up to such massive proportions that I couldn’t undo it all on my own.

That night, the night, I sat them down and told them the whole story. Mom and Bernie sat and listened without moving, without saying a word. They just … listened.

They listened to my stories about ruining things with Riley’s girlfriends and boyfriends and how I used Bernie to do it. They listened to my plan to get Riley to mess up during her Guthrie audition.

When I finished, Bernie stood up to talk. But, in a surprise move, Mom raised her hand as if to say I got this. That’s when she finally grew a pair and went all military on my ass. She laid out her own plan—and punishment—and there was no room for argument.

Those demands included: family therapy, a string of apologies, meetings with my guidance counselor, and a two-month grounding.

When she was done giving my sentence, she put her arms around me and said in my ear, “You need to make this right, Desmond.”