Laurie sat Alice on the bed. “So why don’t you tell us why we got a call from Michelle telling us she was worried about you, and why she thinks you’re keeping something from us.”
Alice opened her mouth, but Heather cut her off. “And don’t tell us ‘nothing.’ You went to bed with all your clothes on yesterday. You’ve cleaned the room so much they could perform surgery on the floor, and you’re haven’t changed or apparently bathed since yesterday. I’m familiar with the signs of depression sweetheart. I’ve been there more often than you know.”
Alice felt tears welling up. She wasn’t sure why. She hadn’t really felt the need to cry before. What was there to cry about? She just had to figure out what she had wrong and go make it right with Jamie. Because things hadn’t gone like they were supposed to. You have sex with someone and they’re your friend. That was how it was supposed to work. “I . . . there’s nothing wrong. I just . . . I just . . .” She just sat their, wringing her hands. She had forgotten what she wanted to say.
Laurie wrapped her arm around Alice’s shoulders. The girl was trembling. “Michelle told us that you told her that you went to O’Malley’s last night. Did something happen while you were there?”
Heather sat on the bed opposite them. “If there’s nothing bothering you, then you won’t mind telling us.”
“I went to O’Malley’s, just like you said.” She was obviously struggling to keep her voice even, though she couldn’t keep it from cracking. “I wasn’t having much fun without you guys. The singing was especially bad though. This one guy managed to ruin a song I didn’t even like. Do you know how hard that is to do?” She glanced around nervously, but neither girl was taking the bait. They weren’t going to be distracted. “But right before I left, this girl sat down and started talking to me. She was really pretty and sexy and sweet. She kept telling me how nice I looked. She asked if I wanted to go back to her place to chat.” Alice was beginning to feel like her throat had swollen shut. She wondered if she was getting sick. She told her friends everything that had happened at Jamie’s place. Every word seemed etched clearly in her memory. Laurie’s arm started trembling, and Heather looked angry again. But it wasn’t her usual cynical-angry. It was her bleeding-forehead angry. “So that’s it. I guess I just offended her somehow or did something wrong.” Her gaze darted almost frantically between the two girls. “So I’m trying to figure out what it was so I can go apologize to her and maybe she’ll like me again.” She fell silent after that. Maybe they would be able to tell her what she did wrong.
“Alice,” said Heather between clenched teeth, “what was this girl’s name?”
“I . . . I don’t think I should tell you. You look really angry and you shouldn’t be. Whatever it was must have been my fault, so I don’t want you . . .”
Heather had suddenly gotten up, told Laurie she’d be back in a bit, and left the room.
” . . . to go storming off,” Alice finished.
Laurie found herself needing to be the voice of reason, which wasn’t traditionally her strong suit. But this was important, so she chose her words carefully. “Honey, you need to let me say this. Don’t interrupt. You didn’t do anything wrong. This girl did. I’ve been around people like that before. She was a user. She saw someone she thought she could manipulate. Someone shy and naive and alone.”
“No,” interrupted Alice, ignoring Laurie’s earlier request. “She was so pretty and . . .”
“That’s got nothing to do with it! I think deep down that you know it. Did you think that men had cornered the market on being pigs? Women are just as underhanded and devious. This girl sounds like a major shark, and you were her meal. You had to realize what she was doing, didn’t you?”
Alice wasn’t sure what to say. “Well, it didn’t feel like it did with Michelle or Jane or Freddie, if that’s what you mean. But didn’t Jane say that everyone was different? I thought that maybe she just approached sex a little differently. I kept expecting for her to be nice like Michelle had been. I felt comfortable with Michelle, and I had only known her for a day. Why not this girl? Why couldn’t I get her to like me the way you like Heather and she likes you?”
Laurie was flabbergasted. “Is that what you wanted? To fall in love just like that? Did you forget that I was after Heather for an entire year before she even noticed me like a girl instead of pest? Love isn’t that simple to find sometimes.”
“But you found each other. Like Jane found Michelle and Freddie. Why can’t I find that? Why can’t she see me like that? Why did she use me like that?” Alice gasped. It was like someone had flipped a light-switch on in the middle of the night, and her eyes suddenly were forced to adjust.
Laurie saw the gears finally clicking in her friend’s head. “Alice, you’re nineteen. You don’t need to find ‘the one’ right off the bat. I got lucky, that’s all. I had a parade of wannabe-lovers wander by, but that’s all they were; wannabe’s. I haven’t had eyes for anyone but Heather in a long time. You’re still discovering who you are. How can you find your soul-mate if you don’t even know who you are yourself yet?”
Her friend was barely listening. She realized that she was sitting on a bed in cum encrusted underwear pining away for someone that had used her like a sex toy and disposed of her like a tissue. She had never dated in high school, so she had been completely oblivious to the obvious signs of insincerity. She had been used. And suddenly she started to cry. Once she started, she couldn’t stop. She pressed down on her dress, tucking it between her legs. She was ashamed that she had wanted to spread them for that woman. She was ashamed because of what she’d done and how weak she had been. And she was ashamed that she couldn’t stop crying.
————— ——————
Meanwhile . . .
————— ——————
Heather stormed into O’Malley’s with the firm intention of killing someone. It was mid-afternoon, which was too late for lunch and too early for dinner, so the place was mostly deserted. Luckily she knew the hostess from school. They had never been friends, and the girl was one of those people who had waited for Heather to blow a fuse every day, but at least she didn’t have to introduce herself. She tried to calm down. There was no need to antagonize the girl, particularly since she was about to ask a favor.
“Hey.”
The girl looked around, as if surprised that Heather was speaking to her. “Hi. Heather, right?”
“Yeah. You’re . . . Jennifer?”
“Well, Jenny for short, but yeah. I’m surprised you remember me.”
“I remember everyone I’ve ever yelled at,” Heather said with a smile.
Jenny chuckled. “You have quite a memory then.” She was apparently pleasantly surprised by Heather’s change in attitude from the previous semester. Heather actually smiled at her. It was a pretty smile, though somewhat unnerving.
“Yeah. Well, I have a question or two. Were you working last night?”
“Yeah. I worked until close.”
“Did you see my friend Alice in here?”
“You guys are friends now?” She looked perplexed. “I thought you couldn’t stand her. Or anyone. It’s been weird seeing you all come in together.”
Heather felt a little embarrassed. “Things changed a bit over the summer. It’s a long story. But I was curious if you remember seeing her.”
“Yeah. She was sitting over there in the corner. Kept expected you and your other friend to show up.” Jenny almost had to force the word “friend” out. It wasn’t one that anyone was sure how to use when referring to Heather and Laurie those days.
“Was she with anyone?”
“Now that you mention it, I saw her talking to a redhead that comes in here from time to time. Bit of a looker and a lot of a player, if you catch my drift.”
Heather gritted her teeth. “Oh, I get it.” Jenny looked suddenly worried. “No, don’t worry. I’m not mad at you. But you wouldn’t know the girl’s name, would you?”
“Sorry,” Jenny said, apparently sincerely. “But I know I’ve seen her in her before. I could ask Mike when he comes in. He was tending bar yesterday.”
Heather wrote down her number on a piece of paper. “If he knows her name or how to get a hold of her, I would really appreciate it if you or he would call this number and ask for me. Don’t leave a message if I’m not there though. I want to hear it live and in living color.”
Jenny was looking suspicious now. “Mind if I ask what this is about?”
The dark-haired girl realized she would probably have to be honest if she were to get any help from this girl. She remembered Jenny as being a generally decent person. “Yeah. She was very disrespectful to my friend and I don’t appreciate it, so I’d like to have a few words with her. I won’t let anyone know you helped me. I just really don’t like that sort of person.”
“Is there a sort of person you do like?” joked Jenny.
“Apparently, blondes with big boobs.”
Jenny’s eyes widened. “So it’s true? You and that Laurie chick . . .”
“Yep. Surprised me too.”
“Isn’t that a little weird, considering how you used to yell at her all the time?”
Heather flushed crimson. “I’m not proud of that. But being with her isn’t weird. It’s actually . . . well, kind of perfect.” Heather couldn’t believe that she was talking so openly about this with someone she barely knew. But she felt a need to confess her affection all of a sudden.
Jenny had a pleased smile. “I’ll make sure to call you if I hear anything.”
“Thanks. And by the way, I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For whatever I yelled at you about.” With that, she headed back for home.