My Friend, the Fake Rich Kid

---- Chapter 8 Wings of Closure My father gently pulled me into his arms. "Rena, don't look anymore." As the jet lifted off, watched the Kingston University campus shrink beneath us, my mind growing hazy. The next morning, I woke to find my mother sitting at the edge of the bed, her eyes red. The moment she saw me stir, she grasped my hand. "Rena, I'm here." It was only then that I noticed that overnight, a few strands of silver had appeared in her hair. "Does it hurt?" Her voice trembled as she reached toward the bruise on my forehead. "The doctor said to apply this cream three times a day.

Let me do it for you, okay?" Inodded. Her hand shook as she held the small silver-gray bottle, the cap slipping through her fingers more than once. Finally, I pressed my hand over hers. "Mom, it's okay. Ican do it myself." She didn't speak, only ran her other hand gently through my hair. "Tt's all my fault." My mother suddenly covered her face, her shoulders trembling violently. "If Thad known Daniel would turn out this way, I would have never let you two be friends. ---- Your father always said you needed to experience a normal life, but that should never make you suffer like this.

Luckily, it's all over now." Then, she said softly, "I've had the engraving on the tail redone. Once you're feeling better, we'll go pick up your jet together." She handed me the folder my father had meticulously prepared. Going through the papers, I realized revenge brought me no pleasure-only a deep, settling exhaustion. Every Carter family's project had collapsed. James and his wife declared bankruptcy overnight. Clara's parents' company was investigated for tax evasion, and the family had fled Kingston immediately.

Henry's teaching license was revoked, and he was handed over to the authorities. Clara and Daniel were expelled from Kingston University for bullying and false accusations. Both were also taken in by the police for causing bodily harm and now faced ten-year prison sentences. Aweek later, I returned to school. The university had arranged for me to move into a new dorm. ---- While organizing my things, I came across the keepsake bottle Daniel had given me ten years ago, filled with tiny slips of paper that read he would always protect me.

Without even looking, I tossed it straight into the trash. That weekend, my parents went with me to pick up the refurbished private jet that carried my name. Tput on my flight helmet and sat in the familiar pilot's seat. "Want to take it for a spin?" my father asked over the radio from the ground. Theld the controls tight, eyes on the vast expanse ahead, and smiled. "Yeah. Let's go see the world from up there."