I got off the phone, upset. No, more like, distraught. I couldn't believe she had said that to me, done that to me. I felt myself sinking into the couch, and I was hoping I would fall through. She had been one of my best friends for four years. She had been.
Yes, I hurt Olivia. A little bit. But I had said that I was sorry. All I had done was accidentally say something I shouldn't have said in casual conversation. But it was over, and Olivia was getting over it.

Then Taylor ruined it all with that one phone call. That one message left on my dinosaur cell phone. Her telling me I should come over to her house with Olivia to apologize to Olivia and herself. Yelling at me, that I had done a horrible thing that shouldn't be forgiven.

Before I go on, I guess I should tell you what I said. Otherwise, my conversation with Taylor won't make any sense.

Olivia, on New Year's Eve, had been texting a guy, Will, that I've known since Pre-K, and have "liked" ever since fourth. She and Will were becoming friends, but for a long time, Olivia had liked Will, too. When I came back home from California, she told me that Will had invited her to one of his football games. The way she told me, it sounded really serious. Like, really, really serious. She told me not to talk to him about it, which was weird anyway. But in band I casually asked,
"What's going on with Olivia? With football? With you?" If he didn't want to talk about it, I wouldn't have. He answered me in an instant.
"It was nothing. It was just a joke between me and her. You're making it sound like a big thing. You're blowing it out of proportion."
So that had been embarrassing. Then, I made the bigger mistake, and told Olivia that I talked to Will. She blew up at me as we were going to dance.
"What?! Why would you do that? I specifically asked you not to!"
"It wasn't that big a deal. He talked to me. After I asked just one question. It wasn't my fault."
Then she called me some things my mother says I'm not allowed to say to people. But Olivia's mom didn't care. She stood there the whole time, listening to us.

After Olivia cooled down, we decided not to talk about it. That's when the message came in. So, when I got home and was by myself I called Taylor to blow up at her. Her argument was less than impressive. She said how she was caught in the middle, how it was so hard for her. I told her that she didn't have to get caught in the middle, that had been her choice. Then she crossed the line.
"Well, I just think Olivia likes Will more than you do, so I was trying to help her." That's when I hung up.
She had no right to make that decision. She was so wrong. Wrong beyond belief. I couldn't believe this, but I started to cry. I hadn't cried since E.T. phoned home. My dad found me on the couch when he got home, drowning in my salty tears. He made me tell him everything. Then he set me straight. To set everyone else straight. He told me how I was right, that I shouldn't have even had to apologize to Olivia. That how if Will wanted to talk about it, he could, and Olivia couldn't be telling me what not to talk about.
And how I was right about Taylor not having to get caught in the middle, that she was just trying to make drama, and that she had crossed the line with her last sentence. Finally, he told me not to call her back, let her call me. And when she called, let her leave a message.

Later that night, Taylor cracked. I saw the caller ID on the phone, and it was her. On the message, she started crying about how she just wanted to be friends again, about how the whole thing was a misunderstanding.

Maybe me and my big mouth will learn a lesson after this.