She bursts into tears

Sarah lets out her held breath in a half choked sob, tears forming in her eyes. She quickly turns away from you, covering her face in her hands as her shoulders shake with her loud sobs. "I'm so sorry." She chokes out, her voice barely comprehensible through her tears. For a moment you stand frozen, completely at a loss for what to do. When you'd came here to confront Sarah this was the last thing you'd expected. But as Sarah keeps crying your heart melts and you snap out of your inaction, stepping forward to comfort her.

"Hey, it's okay." You tell her, gently putting your hands on her shoulders as she refuses to face you. "No it's not okay!" She squeaks out between wracking sobs. "I've been so horrible and selfish all night." While she says this you pull her in a little closer, your chest against her bare back as you caress her shoulders. You don't try to argue with her but you also don't enjoy seeing her cry like this. As you pull her against you, holding her in your arms she whimpers louder. "You're always so good to me and I've just been treating you like shit."

You can feel yourself getting a little choked up as you hold her tightly against her, rocking side to side a little in an attempt to be soothing. As her tears slow she forces herself to speak again, the words coming softly from her lips. "I-I do have a crush on you, John. I have for a while. You're one of the only guys who treats me like a person instead of just using me for sex. Even when I'd throw myself at you all you'd focus on was Miranda and it made me so jealous. That's why I said and did all those terrible things tonight, I'm so sorry..." Her words dissolve into crying again, the guilt clearly eating away at her even as you whisper that it's alright.

Turning around she throws her arms around you, squeezing so tightly that you feel winded. "It's not alright." She whispers, no longer crying but her voice is still small. "You're a truly good guy and Mirandas my best friend and I've been hurting you both." Holding her in your arms, feeling her tremble weakly and hearing the true contrition in her voice, you console her by saying the most difficult words in the English language.

"I forgive you."

When you say that Sarah sobs again, shaking in your embrace as she gently weeps. You hug her tightly through her bawling, hoping that she'll feel some catharsis when her tears dry. Her legs nearly give out as you hold her but eventually she recovers enough to speak again. "Thank you, John. I swear, I won't do anything to you again tonight." She mutters, keeping her head buried in your chest. "You're one of the best people I know." When she says that you scoff a little. "Okay, lets not go nuts here." You mutter, making Sarah laugh faintly despite herself.

After a little while Sarah has composed herself enough that you feel comfortable letting go of her without worrying that she might break down or fall down. "Why didn't you just speak to me about this?" You ask, as delicately as you can. "Because..." Sarah sniffles, "I knew that you'd always only have eyes for Miranda. You'd have just turned me down. I thought that if I could get Miranda to go with someone else then you might want me..." She trails off the end of her sentence, sounding ashamed of herself.

Caressing Sarah's shoulders you struggle to think straight. In the last five minutes so much of what you thought has been turned upside down. Sarah isn't evil, she's just ****, and apparently she's loved you for a long time. In spite of everything she's done tonight, all you can feel for her is pity. Holding her shoulders now, she looks so small and innocent, as if what she was before had been washed away by a tide of tears.

Lifting her head she looks up at you, a tiny glimmer of hope in her red stained eyes. "I know, I've been hurting you John, and I don't deserve you but... Do you feel the same? Please, I need to know?" Her voice quivers as she says those last words as if it was the last outpouring of her heart.