When I'd woken up from that nap almost two weeks ago, I'd immediately made my airplane reservations. Not for that coming weekend, but the following one.

I threw myself into concentrating on my classes. I shared with the few friends I still trusted about Camp Keowee's closing and running into my childhood friend. They seemed genuinely happy for me when I showed them my ring. I saw two of them exchange quick glances, and I knew what they were thinking. I instantly resented them, and did my best to avoid them after that.

I was so over people, my parents and Christian's family included, for judging how quickly we'd fallen in love. What none of them realized or understood was that our love for each other had always been there, and was inevitable. Not one person had walked in our shoes. Therefore, not one person had a right to judge our relationship.

I stuck with the three friends who were genuinely happy for me. Sandy, Jeanie, and Marilyn now sat in my dorm room for a late-night study session that included pizza and gabbing. We'd met in Sandy's room last time, and it was my turn to host.

"I still think you should've reported Lucas, Mimi. The campus police aren't going to do anything, but maybe the real police should know." This comment came from Jeanie who was with me when I discovered my tires had been slashed a few days ago.

I shook my head. "I can't prove it was Lucas who cut my tires."

"It had to be him," Sandy chimed in. "Ever since you broke up with him, he's been harassing you."

"What'd I miss?" Marilyn asked with a mouthful of pizza.

"Lucas has been hassling Mimi," Sandy answered. "He's slipped her threatening notes."

"And just yesterday, someone spray-painted ‘Mimi is a whore’ on the back side of the library.” Jeanie reached for another slice and added, "It could only be him or one of his lame friends."

"And to make matters worse," Sandy continued, "he has some kind of protection. One of his criminal justice cronies must know somebody with campus security because"—she used air quotes to finish her sentence—“‘unfortunately, our cameras didn't pick up anything.’"

It was all true and I knew Lucas was behind it. This was the first time the four of us had been together to talk about it. However, I couldn't tell my friends the reason I'd avoided contacting the real authorities was because I didn't know if the police would call my parents. If that happened, certainly Christian would find out. Not good. I'd even lied on the report filed by my vehicle assistance program, telling the man who changed two of my tires, "I don't want my parents to worry because I'm engaged in a battle with mean girls. Would you say that I hit a deep pothole that blew out two tires?" He'd agreed.

"Something needs to be done about this," Marilyn said between bites. "He can't keep doing this for the rest of the school year."

I nodded my agreement. "Or maybe his wrath will just fizzle out." What I hadn't shared was that if it didn't, I would take some countermeasures of my own. I didn't want to get into a battle with Lucas, but I would if he didn't back down. I would sleep on it, and make a decision about the best way to proceed.

Our conversation was interrupted by my cell phone pinging. I reached for it and saw it was from Daisy. I wondered why she was texting me so late? I couldn't stop the smile that lit up my face. My heart melted at the picture that came through with a text that said, “I took this tonight.”

"Let us see," Jeanie piped in, as I reluctantly handed her my phone. I could've stared at the photo all night and immediately knew it would become my screen saver. It was a candid shot of Christian and Abby. She was leaned back against his body, and they were both looking at a book that Christian was obviously reading to her.

"I can't even," Jeanie sighed while placing a hand on her chest. "He looks so hot in glasses."

"I didn't know he wore glasses." Sandy swiped the phone out of Jeanie's hand. "And I still think she is the most beautiful child I've ever seen."

Christian's baby steps with Abby had turned into huge elephant strides thanks to Daisy. He’d made a point of having dinner with his family almost every night since I'd left, and it was paying off. The only time Abby seemed to waver was when given a choice between her father or grandfather, and we'd speculated maybe that had something to do with her fear of Christian in the beginning. Maybe her little mind couldn't wrap itself around seeing the two of them, who bore such striking resemblances to each other, but were obviously two different men. Maybe confusion had added to her prior reluctance to be anywhere near Christian.

I stared dreamily into space while my three friends oohed and aahed over Christian and Abby. Because they'd so warmly and excitedly received the news of my engagement, I'd let my carefully guarded walls down and shared more about Christian and his daughter. They knew I’d be moving to Florida, and that Christian was a mechanic and had a daughter from a previous relationship—if you could call it that. I trusted them to keep these details private. I would miss Sandy, Jeanie, and Marilyn, but promised myself and them that I would stay in touch after graduation.

A couple of days later, I met Sandy for lunch before heading to my one o'clock class. I found my seat and was taking out my books when I realized I didn't have my phone. I sighed when I remembered leaving it on my bed. I had two more classes before I could go back to my dorm and text Christian. I noticed then that there seemed to be a subtle buzz of activity around me. I slowly scanned the room and saw a couple of people talking to each other in whispers while shooting looks my way. At the same time, Tiffany plopped down in the empty seat on my right, and leaned toward me, her eyes blazing with excitement.

"Have you heard, Mimi?" she huffed, her breath coming in quick waves.

After I broke up with Lucas, Tiffany made quick work of trying to take my place. His coldhearted rebuff was all over campus. I felt sorry for the girl, and even though I hadn't invited her into my fold, I didn't have the heart to be mean to her.

"Heard what?" I cast a wary glance around the room.

"Your ex is in some deep shit," came a masculine voice from behind me.

I turned around and made eye contact with Rob, a nice guy who'd borrowed my notes in the past.

"Lucas, three of his criminal justice friends, and a guy who works for the campus police are all in hot water." Tiffany didn't give me a chance to reply when she named the three friends, who I'd known, and the guy from the campus police, who I'd never heard of. "They've been caught cheating. Apparently, their campus police friend helped them get the answers to their midterms for all of their classes. Lucas and his friends cheated on every single exam. It resulted in their immediate expulsion, and the guy who works for the campus police was fired. It's all over school." Her eyes were as wide as saucers. "They think a teacher may have even helped them, and that there might be more students involved too. Isn't it crazy?" I could see the satisfaction in her expression, and I had to agree. I'd been praying for an easy resolution to my situation with Lucas. I'd battled retaliating, and had truly wanted to come up with a solution that would just make him go away. I looked heavenward and whispered, "Thank you."

"And to think I felt sorry for the guy when I heard yesterday that his car had been stolen," Rob chimed in over my shoulder.

I leaned back in my seat and tried to suppress a smile. Something about karma and her unavoidable bitchiness sprang to mind, but I didn't voice it. Instead, I silently thanked God for answered prayers.