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Amelia

“A confession? No. Just no. What did you do?”

My best friend and partner in crime, Mia, wrinkles her nose. “Nothing.” She feigns innocence, but I can read her. When she gets that little sparkle in her green eyes, that’s when I have to worry.

“You know the last time you had a confession to make, it turned out you crashed a wedding.” I shake my head. “And took me along as your accomplice.”

Mia points her finger at me. “Hey, admit it. You had fun.”

She does have a point. “Fair enough.” I plant my bare feet on the coffee table in the living room of the apartment we share.

Mia’s naturally curly red hair and green eyes are as zany as she is, but I love her. We met in grade school and have been friends ever since. She makes me laugh with her crazy, hair-brained ideas.

With barely a cent in my bank account, I returned from college to our hometown, Cedar Springs. Not only did college drain me financially, but it drained me emotionally and I’ve got the scars on my heart to prove it. Thankfully, Mia took me in as any good friend would.

When I look back, I see cracks in my past relationship, but Collin and I had a whirlwind romance, and six months in, we were engaged. Turns out, Collin liked blackjack and roulette just a little more than he liked paying our rent. He drained our joint bank account, dropped out of college, and left me with an angry landlord and unpaid bills while he skipped town. I was evicted from our apartment and discovered he’d taken out credit cards in both our names.

I dropped out of college for a full year, rented a small room, worked a full-time and part-time job, and hired an attorney. The following year, I managed to finish my education and earn my degree, but I’m still working to clean up the financial mess with the help of my attorney.

Although my parents live here, I didn’t go to them for help. They’ve had problems with finances. Dad had to retire early because of some health issues and my mom is the breadwinner. Besides, I didn’t want to admit what had happened. I didn’t want to disappoint them.

With my college degree in hand, I went to real estate school and became a licensed agent. I’ve been selling real estate here in Cedar Springs for the past six months.

Thankfully, when I came crawling back into my hometown and finished real estate school, I was able to find a job at Benson Real Estate.

I’m almost afraid to ask. “So, what’s your confession?”

“The Valentine Masquerade Ball.” Mia leans back in her chair.

“I already agreed to go.”

“It’s actually a Valentine Masquerade Blind Date Ball kinda thing.”

I squint my eyes at my bestie. “What blind date ball kinda thing?” My heart pounds in my chest.

Mia lets out a breath and squeezes a pillow to her chest. “It’s a Valentine Masquerade Ball, but when I registered us, I filled out a questionnaire.” She wrinkles her nose and bites her thumbnail. “When we get there, we’ll be matched with a suitor.”

My eyeballs pop out of my face. “A what? A suitor? Are you kidding?”

She nods. “Before you get your panties all up in a bunch, hear me out.”

I throw my head back and study the ceiling. “Oh, I’m listening.”

This should be good.

“Ever since you broke up with Cringy Collin—”

“Do you have to keep calling him that?”

“Fine.” Mia tosses the pillow aside. “Ever since you broke it off with Collin—”

“Broke it off with Collin? He left town, remember?”

“Whatever.” Mia tosses her curls behind her shoulder. “Anyway, you’re kinda boring.”

“Boring?” I roll my eyes. “Collin burned me and I’m not rushing into something else.” I glare at her. “Besides, I don’t care how boring you think I am.”

“Fine, you’re not boring.” Mia lets out an exasperated breath. “I’m not talking about rushing into something else.”

My annoyance with where this is going ratchets.

Mia sits on the edge of her chair. “You’ll go to the ball though, won’t you?” She doesn’t move as she waits for my response.

I sigh dramatically. “Yes, I’ll go, but I’m not making any promises that I’ll have a good time.”

“Yay! It’ll be fun!” Mia pops up out of her chair and claps. She flings herself onto the couch and wraps her arms around me. “You’ll have a good time.”

Leave it to Mia.

I slipthe nightgown over my head. The manilla envelope is set aside, but the paperwork practically glows like a beacon in the night.

My stomach drops as I see the words written across the top of the form. In bold lettering: Petition to File Bankruptcy.

Why am I torturing myself?

At this point, I’m safe. I won’t need to do anything as drastic as declare bankruptcy, but I keep the paperwork in my daily sight as a reminder. It’s a reminder of how close I was. I must account for every penny if I want to live a life free from my past. Free from the debt that’s brought me down.

I’ve been working like crazy at my job and paying down my debt. I’ve made tremendous progress. This is the first month since I’ve been here that I’ve been able to help with the rent and food. I’m almost finished paying off one credit card and I’ll start putting bigger payments on the second one until I get it completely knocked out. Mia has been great. Super. Letting me stay here while I get my finances sorted out has been not only a blessing but my saving grace.

I pull the blankets up close to my chin and the sound of the wind outside calms me.

Wonder what the masquerade ball will be like. Maybe my date will be my Prince Charming.

My dress is a long, red, satin gown with a low-cut sweetheart neckline. The top is fitted and shows off my curves. The bottom of the dress is flowing and makes me feel like a princess. I fell in love with it the minute I tried it on. Since I’ve been on this tight income, being able to buy this dress as a treat to myself felt wonderful. Thankfully, it was on a clearance rack with a huge markdown.

My eyes drift shut, and I dream of my beautiful red gown and my Prince Charming.