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Maureen grabbed my hand. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
There would be bruises on my arms soon, no doubt. And my scalp was tingling from the grip he had on my hair. But his words hurt me more. His threats. And for the first time in my life, I wanted to kill someone. I wanted to kill Billy.
I sucked in a sharp breath. “I’m fine. He’s just a fucking asshole. Let’s just get out of here, okay? I need a drink.”
Maureen nodded but the worry in her eyes was obvious. Billy just went from being a harmless prick to an actual threat. “Yeah. Fuck him. We are still going to have fun tonight. I promise.”
My hands were still trembling as I lifted my keys. Maureen grabbed them. She opened the trunk and pulled out the bottle of tequila. “I’ll drive, Bales. You just relax and sip on this. It’ll take the edge off.”
I nodded and climbed into the passenger seat. She drove us through the back country roads, away from the main part of town, the music blasting, as I took slow long pulls of tequila.
Bailey
The kitchen counter was covered in snacks, booze, and makeup. I hadn’t been to this house in so long, I had forgotten how much I had loved living here. It was my safe place. My parents had left it to me when I turned eighteen. I’m sure they had no idea that they wouldn’t have been around to see that day.
I try not to think about the fire. I was so young, my memories of it are pretty hazy. I remember the smoke the most. The thick, gray, suffocating smoke that invaded my lungs. And then there was darkness. Endless darkness. When I finally came to, I was in Wickford Orphanage. It happened so fast, even the nuns seemed surprised to find me in one of the beds.
The police reports were jumbled and didn’t make sense. Statements were redacted and signatures blurred. I vowed to move on and never look back. So when I found out that my parents had another property for me to inherit, I was over the moon. It made me feel closer to them without all the tragedy attached to it.
Maureen handed me another shot of tequila and a semi-burnt mozzarella stick. “Where do you keep disappearing to, Bales? You’re here but like you’re not.”
I downed the shot in two seconds. “Just missing my parents. Did you talk to your dad?”
Her face fell. “Yeah… I wish I had more to tell, but he got so annoyed that I even brought it up. He said we should leave the past in the past and move on. I’m sorry, Bales.”
My stomach knotted. Why wouldn’t anyone in this town talk about the fire? “It’s all good, Maur. Thank you for trying.”
She hopped up on the counter next to me. “You know, we never talk about them anymore. We actually never talk about anything deep. I feel like you’re shutting me out sometimes.”
There were so many things she didn’t know. Ugh. “I know. I’m sorry for that. There are just things that I haven’t been able to say out loud. Like if I do, they become all too real.”
Maureen smoothed her hands over her miniskirt. The dark red tips of her nails were perfectly polished. She was always so put together. A stark contrast from the hot mess that I had become lately.
“You know you can tell me anything, right? We’ve been best friends for as long as I can remember. Come to think of it, I don’t even remember the first time we actually met. But it’s been our whole lives. Nothing you say will ever make me stop being friends with you.”
I squeezed her hand. I believed her but I was still so afraid. “I know. It’s just harder for me. I’m the town freak, but you’ve always stood by me. I love you for that.”
“And I always will. I love you too, Bales.” She hopped down off the counter and went for the blender, pouring in a shit ton of tequila and margarita mix. “So, what are we going to do about Billy and Chad?”
I took one of the limes and began slicing it, imagining I was slicing into Billy’s flesh with every swipe of the knife. “I don’t know. We can’t go to your dad. They’ll just deny it and then it will only piss them off more. I’m going to avoid him for the rest of my life.”
Maureen snorted. “Fuck that. You have every right to walk as freely as he does around this town without being harassed every ten steps. That piece of shit needs a taste of his own medicine.”
I rimmed our glasses with the limes before dipping the edges into a plate of salt. “There’s not much we can do. Billy’s dad is head of the city council. If we start shit with him, he could make our lives miserable. Well, mine at least.”
Maureen poured the margaritas into our glasses and handed me one. “He’s the one who’s started shit. We just need to finish it.”
I chuckled as she pursed her lips. Sometimes I wished I had even half of her tenacity. She was so confident and sure of herself. “All right enough about that asshole. Let’s get drunk and watch something scary.”
We clanked glasses and each took a big gulp, nearly choking after the first sip. Maureen coughed. “Fuck, I think I went overboard with the tequila.”
I laughed. “You think?” My eyes were watering from the sting of it.
After watching two horror movies and downing the entire bottle of tequila, Maureen and I slumped on opposite sides of the couch, our feet tangled together.
Whether it was newfound bravery, liquid courage, or just a deep ache to be able to talk to my best friend about my love life… I finally cracked.
I sat up a little, my head buzzing. I blinked a few times to make sure Maureen didn’t actually have two heads. “Okay,” I sighed.
