Blinding Rain, Season 2, Episode 7 (Rising Storm) by Elisabeth Naughton

voice echoed around her. “And that doesn’t scare you?”
    “It scares the hell out of me. But there’s nothing I can do about it right now.” She smoothed a hand down her round belly. “All I can do is continue to pray that this baby is Jacob’s.”
    “So will I.”
    Ginny held Brittany’s gaze for several seconds, and emotions swirled in her eyes—regret, heartache, but mostly sadness. A sadness Brittany felt all the way in her own heart.
    When Ginny looked down at her belly, that pressure in Brittany’s chest intensified all over again. “Look, Ginny,” she said, “I don’t think I’ll ever understand why things happened the way they did but I do know that you’re not the only one who made mistakes. I made mistakes, too.”
    “What kind of mistakes?” Ginny’s head came up. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
    “Yes, I did.” Brittany sighed. “I knew you were in a funk last spring. I knew you were upset about your relationship with Jacob, and I told myself that it wasn’t my business and that I shouldn’t get involved. But maybe if I’d been there for you things wouldn’t have gotten so crazy. Maybe if I’d been the friend you needed then, you wouldn’t have turned to someone else.”
    Ginny faced Brittany. “My mistakes are not yours, Brit. And I won’t have you feeling responsible for them. None of what happened was your fault.”
    Brittany frowned. “What’s happened between us since then is, though. Instead of looking at things from your perspective, I’ve been wallowing in my own anger.”
    “You have every right to be mad at me.”
    “Yeah, but I heaped the blame solely on you, and I shouldn’t have. My dad’s just as much to blame. More so because he should know better. Plus, it was easy to stay mad at you because I made it about me. But I know what happened between the two of you had nothing to do with me. And I just want you to know...”
    She drew a breath. Did she want to say the words?
    Yes. Yes, she did. Because they were the truth.
    Brittany exhaled. “I’m here for you. No matter what happens. I’m here for you because if the roles were reversed, I know you’d be here for me.”
    Tears filled Ginny’s eyes. “You don’t have to say that to me.”
    “Yes, I do. Because regardless of everything, you’re my best friend. And the truth is...” Her heart contracted, and tears filled her own eyes. “I was jealous of Jacob. I was jealous of your friendship with him because it was different from ours. And when you were upset because the two of you weren’t a couple, I didn’t get involved because I didn’t want you with him like that. I thought you wouldn’t need me anymore. When you started acting strange last spring, I knew you were seeing someone. I knew whoever it was wasn’t good for you, but I didn’t try to stop you because I figured anyone was better than Jacob. Not for you, but for me.”
    Ginny tried to blink back the tears but they slipped past her lashes. “Even if something had developed between me and Jacob, you and I would have still been close.”
    “I know that now. But then...” Brittany shook her head. “I was stupid. Can you ever forgive me?”
    “I’m the one who needs forgiving, not you.”
    Tears filled Brittany’s own eyes. “How about we both just admit we made mistakes and move on?”
    The corners of Ginny’s lips tipped up as she stared at Brittany. “I think I can do that.”
    “Me, too.” They stared at each other for several seconds, then Brittany said, “Would it be too awkward if I gave you a hug?”
    Ginny’s smile widened, and her eyes sparkled through the tears. “Not at all. And I would love that.”
    Brittany moved onto her knees and wrapped her arms around Ginny. The two friends held each other in the fading light for several moments, and even though things between them would never truly be the same, Brittany knew this was the start of something new. And that the road to reconciliation was paved now with