I still felt a bit wary, but maybe my internship advisor had some answers to my questions. I wanted to know what “situation” was reported that got Sara in trouble. Honestly, she deserved it for what she did to me. It was terrible for her to think that blackmailing people was okay.
I packed up my things and left the library, crossing campus to get to Mrs. Sterling’s office so I could ask her a few questions and verify that this was actually happening. If my internship was added back, then I was clear to finish it and graduate.
“Come in,” Mrs. Sterling called from inside of her office after I knocked a few times. She sat up at her desk, drawing her grey cardigan around her old, thin body as she peered over at me. “Oh, Madison. Did you get my email?”
I nodded as I sat down at her desk. “I did. I wanted to talk to you more about it,” I replied, figuring there were some extra details that she could tell me. It seemed too good to be true, especially since Sara was so confident in her ability to wreck things for me.
“You didn’t say anything about the other intern threatening you when you dropped your internship,” Mrs. Sterling said.
I shrugged as I glanced down at the desk. I had been incredibly vague when I was asked why I had to drop my internship so late in the semester. I said personal reasons, leaving it at that and hoping that no one tried to pry. It seemed like someone had pried.
“I didn’t want Sara finding out that I said anything,” I said.
“It’s terrible that she tried to force you out of your internship. I’m just glad that Mr. Ashland spoke with her and resolved everything,” Mrs. Sterling replied as she smiled at me.
My eyes widened as I sat up in the chair.
“He spoke to Sara?” I could only imagine how pissed off he was at her, and I had a feeling that the conversation wasn’t amicable. I wished that I could’ve heard it.
Mrs. Sterling nodded. “She admitted to him what she did to you, and she agreed to no longer threaten you,” she replied.
Tyler put her in her place. I didn’t think that I could love him even more than I already did, but he continued to prove me wrong. He stuck up for me, protecting me when I needed him the most. I didn’t even say anything to him because I couldn’t, and he was still there for me. How did I land such an incredible man? After all of this, I hoped I hadn’t ruined things for us. If Sara admitted everything, then he knew why I hadn’t spoken to him. I hoped that he wasn’t upset. I wanted to talk to him. I had just been too scared to go against Sara.
“That’s great,” I told Mrs. Sterling. “She lost her internship?”
“Mr. Ashland said there’s no place in his company for people who try to manipulate others,” Mrs. Sterling said.
I could’ve danced around in that office. Sara tried to scare me away from my internship, and she lost her own in the end, while I gained mine back. Maybe there was justice in the world. It had been served today, and the pieces of my life were steadily fitting back together
“So, I’m still on track for graduation if I finish my internship next week?” I asked her, making sure that things were still aligned for graduation. I had been waiting for that moment for so long. I thought that I lost it, but Tyler came to the rescue. He was more of a hero to me than he could possibly understand.
“You’re still on track,” Mrs. Sterling confirmed.
I let out a sigh of relief, pushing my fingers through my hair as I sat back in my seat. College-wise, everything was going to be okay. Things were fixed. However, Sara blackmailing me hadn’t been the only problem that popped up that day. I was still nervous about telling Tyler about the pregnancy. Anything could happen when the truth was revealed.
“Thank you,” I said before standing and bidding her goodbye. I left her office in a hurry, wanting to get to my car as fast as I could so that I could go see Tyler. By the time I left, he would be at home, which I was glad for. The conversation we needed to have was one that I wanted to do in private.
Nervousness struck me all over again. My future was still so blurry, but at least I could see myself walking the stage. I hoped that when I looked out into the crowd that I still saw Tyler there. He was my biggest support, my only love.
I didn’t want to raise this baby alone. Things weren’t aligning on the timeline I expected them to, but that was life. Nothing ever went according to plan. Tyler and I being together certainly hadn’t been the plan when I started this internship. I just had to believe that things would work out somehow.