"And then he said all this stuff that wasn't true! Anorexia, bulimia! It's all bullshit." Bridget cried her eyes out into Lena's shoulder. "I know, sweetie, I know." "I HATE HIM" "I know. I know." Just then Carmen and Tibby walked in. Tibby whispered to Carmen. "It's been, like, fifteen minutes." "I know" Bridget never cried, and when she did, it NEVER lased long. "Listen, Bee. I'm going to go to Barista's and get you some double fudge latté's. Okay?" Bridget nodded numbly. Lena grabbed her short leather jacket, and left, leaving Carmen and Tibby to comfort the poor girl. ***************Barista's Café*************************** Lena waited in the line at the counter. When it was her turn, she made her order, and so did the person to the left of her, in another line. "Double fudge mocha." They looked at each other and burst out laughing. Lena looked at the man: he was tall, dark hair, brown eyed, and very tan. He looked a bit Mexican. As they waited for their orders, they made shop talk about the store, and life in general. "So, you go to here? University of Virginia, I mean?" "Yeah. I'm majoring in Art expression. You?" "I'm a coach." "Oh. What sport?" "Soccer." Lena was going to mention that she was Bridget's best friend, but thought better to introduce herself first. "Sorry, I'm Lena." "Eric." Lena's eyes got big and she looked at him. Eric seemed to realize the same thing. "You're Soccer camp Baja Eric." "You're Lena who went to Greece." They got their orders, and stood for a second. "Can you join me?" He seemed to be pleading with her. Lena nodded. Bridget could wait.cry her eyes out a bit more before she junked up on caffeine. "About what happened today." They took a seat and Eric started the conversation. "I won't lie to you. Bee is really upset." "It was.unreal. I mean, I've kinda been out of the country: I didn't know she was going to be here. It was like a slap in the face." "I'm sure." "No, you don't understand. I did know she was going to be here, and I know about what has happened since Baja, but.it didn't seem real until I saw her." "A lot has happened." "Yes." "You lost it." "I know." "What are you going to do?" "I don't know." "Do you love her?" Lena asked gently. Eric, with his face in his hands, and his elbows on the table nodded. "I tried to convince myself that it was just silly summer love on the beach, but deep down, I knew it wasn't. The moment I saw her it all came rushing back." "She really died that summer. Messed herself up." "Say what you really mean. I messed her up." "Yes, you did. You couldn't give her what she needed.but it's okay, cause she didn't' know what she needed. Still doesn't." "Tell me what happened." "Her dad and brother died. Brother in a car crash. Dad of.cancer." "Dear god." "She started loosing weight. Stopped eating, but trained harder. Less sleep.in a combination all together." "Yah." "She never really dated after that. I mean, after that summer, and what with her dad and all." "And today I just." "Yes, you screwed up. But.I have to thank you." "What?" "Nobody has ever said that to Bee. She needed it. And coming from you, she might listen." "But it also comes at the price that she hates me." "She was surprised. That's it." "I anticipated seeing her again. For months. I've known about her since last year." "Why don't you tell me the whole story." "Not a big one. I've known Anderson a long time. She told me about her star new player. I knew it was Bee, and I even saw her play once. It was last year. I had just stopped by to see Anderson, before leaving. A friend and I had a deal with a Brazil exchange soccer team program. The entire time I was there, almost a year, I couldn't get her out of my head. She was always in there. I came back, and took the position as Assistant coach. I don't know. It was like she was real for the first time in what? Four? Five years?" "I've wanted to meet you so many times over the years." "I wondered about you. All of you: Tibby, and Carmen also. She spoke of you so fondly, that I knew you guys would be friends for life." "She didn't speak about you at all, but I knew you were always in her thoughts." Eric let out a bitter chuckle. "Isn't that sad? Pathetic even? That we still think about each other?" "I think it's sweet. True love." "Child love." "You certainly did NOT have child love." "So you know about that?" "Me taking her virginity? Eric sounded miserable. "I think it was more like her gladly surrendering it. Even though she regretted it later." "I did the one thing I never wanted to do. I hurt her." "You can make things right." "How the hell?" "Show her that you love her."