Stacy tells Meredith about the side trip

The girls drive in verbal silence for a long time. Stacy switches radio stations wishing the RV had more than a cassette player. She wondered where someone would even buy a cassette? Did the truck stops carry them? After a couple of hours they reach a zone where it's all talk radio, Christian rock, country, and Mexican banda. Stacy turns the radio off leaving the girls with the sounds of the road and their own thoughts.

Meredith spends the time thinking about how to even bring up the last four years: how sorry she was for that awkward night, how angry she's been at Stacy for the way she treated her, how she was still a virgin and all of the tales about her and boys were made up. Her mind rushes through the scenarios, but she can't get the words out. They have six days together and if she can't get it out the tension will kill her.

Suddenly, Stacy breaks the silence. "Meredith, there's something I need to tell you and I guess it's better we talk about it now."

Meredith sighs with relief. Stacy was going to take the initiative and start the talk. She feels all of the anxiety in her chest starting to relax.

"I...I wasn't planning on going straight to school. You know, we have two weeks until classes start so I told my parents I was going early to get acclimated but, that wasn't true. Um..."

Meredith releases a quiet sigh. This wasn't about them at all. Stacy was obviously going early to spend time with Tyler.

There's a long pause before Stacy continues. "...I, uh, I was planning to go meet a friend in Tennessee." Stacy decides to go with 'friend' instead of 'online lover.' "And I was going to spend two nights there and...well...I'd really like to go see my... friend."

There's something wrong with the way Stacy keeps saying "friend." She ignores it for the moment. "Stacy, I don't think that's a good idea. Tennessee isn't exactly on the way. And my uncle's expecting us." He wasn't really expecting them at any specific time. Meredith's parents had told her to take a leisurely trip and to be sure to stop at national parks and roadside attractions along the way, but she was feeling irritated that Stacy wanted to change the route so drastically and was clearly hiding something.

"Look, I know this is a lot to ask but I've been waiting to meet this friend in person all summer. Dith, it would really mean a lot to me. I promise two nights and we'll be back on the road."

Hearing 'Dith' makes Meredith's breath catch in her throat. Stacy was the only person who ever called her 'Dith' and she hadn't done so since that night they stopped being friends. It makes Meredith long for her old friend but also a little angry. "I don't know Stacy. Isn't Tennessee, like, just above Texas? That's really far. Why is meeting this friend in person so important?" Stacy opens her mouth to answer but Meredith cuts her off as another question pops into her head. "And, wait, why wouldn't you tell your parents about meeting this friend?"

Stacy's silent as she thinks about her response. She was always a bad liar, especially around Meredith. They used to be so close they could never get one past the other and, clearly, that hasn't changed. She's going to have to be completely honest about her lover.