Page 84 of Something that Could Last

“Oh, alright,” I acquiesce. “We can go.”

“Yay!” She hops up and down, clapping her hands, and I roll my eyes.

I’M DETERMINED NOTto drink much tonight. I’ll just have one when we get there because if I don’t, Tiff will pester the hell out of me. We’re all done up, of course, wearing short shorts and lots of makeup. We’re both sporting ponytails with loose curls, hers high with all her hair pulled back from her face, mine low and to one side, a French braid along my hairline.

Tiff and I grab a drink, a Long Island for her, a Jack and Coke for me, and find an empty table. I’ve just finished mine off and Tiff is starting on her third when I come face to face withhim.

“You ladies all alone tonight?” His voice is menacing, despite his smile.

“Fuck off, Grant,” Tiff replies calmly before taking another sip of her drink.

“Go eat a dick. I wasn’t talking to you,” he snarls.

“Kinda seemed like you were. You did say ‘ladies,’ as in plural,” Tiff points out. “But then again, youdidfail freshman English, so maybe you didn’t know that.” His face flames with rage and embarrassment at her snarky response.

“You’re a dumb cunt and nobody likes you.”

Tiff gasps and presses her hand to her chest in mock anguish. “I’m wounded,” she says dramatically. “I care so much about what everybody in this shit hole town thinks about me.” She rolls her eyes and takes another sip through her straw.

Grant angles his body towards me, effectively cutting Tiff out of the conversation. “So, where’s your boy toy? Haven’t seen him around lately.”

I do my best to keep my face impassive, even though his words sting. “What do you want?”

“You wanna dance, Abs?” I know he’s drunk, but he must be high, too, if he thinks I’d ever let him put his hands on my body again.

“No thanks.”

“What’s wrong? You too good to dance with me now that you’ve been some rich asshole’s side piece?” He sneers at me as if I disgust him. “I don’t see him here now, so I guess you’re back down to our level then, huh?”

I’m furious. My heart pounds and I see black creeping in on the sides of my vision. I ball my hands into fists and before I know it, I’m standing toe-to-toe with six feet and two hundred twenty pounds of drunk redneck. I hear wooden chair legs scrape against the floor as Tiff scrambles out of her seat.

“You know what, Grant? I willneverbe down to your level, and you’ll never be up to my standards.” He narrows his eyes, opening his mouth to say something, but I cut him off. “You wanna know why I never slept with you?” That shuts him up real quick. I sense a crowd gathering around us, anxious to hear the dirt. “I was afraid of what you’d give me. How many rounds of penicillin have you had, anyway? If you’d keep your dick out of trailer trash, that shit would probably clear up.” I hear hooting and clapping, but the stunned look on Tiff’s face says it all. Nobody expected me to stand up to him like that. Nobody expected those words to come out of my mouth. I feel good, elated even. For a moment.

Grant mutters under his breath, “Fucking bitch,” and storms off, knocking people out of his way as he pushes through the sea of bodies surrounding us.

My elation is short-lived, and I’m instantly remorseful over the venomous words I spat at him. Tears well in my eyes and Tiff grabs my shoulders. “Donotfeel bad about that. That lying, cheating bastard deserved it. Maybe now he’ll leave you alone.” This does little to make me feel better. “Here, drink this.” She shoves her half-full glass under my nose and heads towards the bar. I do as she says, and she returns with two more drinks.

Two hours later, I’m dragging a seriously inebriated Tiff to my truck. Despite her best efforts, I managed to stay sober. She begs me to let her stay at my house because her parents have been giving her a hard time about coming home drunk. I let her, of course. She would do the same for me.

When my eyes pop open the next morning, a wave of nausea propels me to my feet. Once again, I’m running to the bathroom and emptying my stomach into the toilet. My violent heaving is loud enough to wake Tiff. She stands bleary-eyed in the doorway with a look of concern and confusion.

“Damn, if I’d known you were that wasted last night, I wouldn’t have let you drive us home.” She must think I’m hungover, that I drank way more than I did.

“I wasn’t.” I stand up and move to the sink where I splash cold water on my face and brush my teeth. “I think I have the stomach flu. I’ve been vomiting for days, and I’ve been really tired.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you’d been sick. Have you had a fever?” She presses the back of her hand to my forehead, checking for a temperature.

“I don’t know. I can’t find the thermometer, but I was shivering when I got out of the shower yesterday. And after I throw up once, I’m fine. I don’t get sick the rest of the day.”

“Wait a minute. You only vomit in the morning?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re really tired?”

“Yeah, that’s what I said.”

She ponders for a moment, biting the nail on her pinky. “Abby, when was your last period?”

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