Shot in the Dark

Leah was due to be over right about…now.

The doorbell rang and I skipped over to the door excitedly. She laughed when I jumped on her unexpectedly with a hug and walked inside with her overnight bag. She was spending the night tonight and I was pretty excited for our movie night.

“So, how have you been?” She asked as we walked toward my room.

“Pretty good.” I nodded, playing with the string on my shorts. It was already five and I was in my pajamas since I stayed in them all day today and read like crazy.

She nodded and we climbed up to sit on my bed. “So what are we doing tonight?” She asked curiously.

“Can we drink? Maybe even dance a little.”

“What?” She giggled while I laid back. “Did something happen?” When I pressed my lips in a smile and didn’t answer she laid beside me, propping her head up with her hand. “Tell me.”

“John came over last night for dinner.” I blushed, looking over at her.

“Was there lip action?”

I shook my head, already having heard that question today from Mindy when she called me. Leah was a little disappointed, but she asked about the rest of the night we shared and gave me a hug after hearing that I might possibly like him.

She was only happy because I didn’t date since waking up in April. I kept the guys I knew as friends and I didn’t think about dating that much. Plus, being in that state was hard enough to deal with. I didn’t need someone else’s needs or wants on my shoulders when I had myself to take care of. I’d done pretty well so far for a 23-year-old who was basically the new girl.

We left the house for a walk around the neighborhood and I looped my arms through hers. Both of us didn’t mind that I was in my pajamas still. Leah was a good friend for not making me change.

“So…” she started as our steps mirrored each others. “I was thinking about getting out of here next weekend. Just before the whole Thanksgiving shenanigans.”

“Yeah? Where do you want to go?” I looked over at her through my sunglasses.

She grinned like a child. “Disney World.”

“Really?” I laughed. “That sounds fun.”

“Can you come with me? Connor’s not as fun as you and I already bought the tickets.”

“Of course. We can go on the Harry Potter ride.”

She squealed, jumping up and down before we started our walk back toward my street. “I’m so glad you’re coming!” She squeezed my arm with a grin. “We’ll only stay the weekend and we’re coming back on the 24th.”

“Sounds like a plan,” I smiled, thrilled about getting away for a few days. Now all I have to do is ask Moby– which he’ll be really excited to kick me out of the bar for the weekend. Sometimes I think that that man hates me when he’s totally ready to get rid of my presence.

Leah and I spent the rest of our night eating take out, painting each other’s nails, talking about useless things and watching a bunch of movies. We even drank a little (which I did happily) and danced to the music from my computer. It was a fun girls night and now it was about one in the morning. We were sitting outside under the gazebo with our feet on the table.

“I don’t think we’ve been this drunk since graduation.” Leah mumbled, her head titled back.

I giggled, sipping from the bottle and looking over at her with dazed eyes. “What happened?”

She snickered to herself before lifting her head up. “We were spending the night at your house, sitting on top of the roof outside your window with a fucking bottle of tequila. Neither of us wanted to drink it because that stuff is terrible,” she slurred a little bit between words. “You were such a perfect girl back then, still are,” she corrected herself truthfully. “You never planned on drinking until we finished high school, so you picked up the bottle and threw the top across the street and chugged down a drink. It wasn’t even a small sip, like a shot, it was a big gulp.” I laughed along with her, wishing I remembered what that felt like. “The most disgusted look covered your face, but you said it felt good, so I took a drink of it and we passed out on the roof that morning. Your parents were so pissed.

“They screamed at you, saying you were nothing but a rotten little bitch. My god, Andy, it was such a terrible morning. We were hung over as hung over gets and they just sat you down in your room and screamed at you. They didn’t even ask me to leave, they just shrieked their heads off.” She shook her head with distaste. I wish I remembered that too. I wanted to feel their hate. “They kicked you out later that night and you went and lived with Craig and Connor.”

She noticed my small sniffles and moved toward me to hug me to her chest. “I didn’t mean to make you cry, babe. It’s just what they did was terrible and I hope they regret it more than anything. They pushed you away because you weren’t a shitty person like they were.” She rubbed my back and we decided to call it a night.

Her arm wrapped around my back and she grabbed our bottles to take them into the kitchen. Leah led me toward my room after all the lights were off and we lay under the covers with sleepy eyes.

I woke up before Leah the next morning with a painful migraine. It was too early to be up right now– it was noon. I know. But I wish I slept until one or two or something longer than just noon. I got out of bed and put my glasses on while brushing my hair and going into the bathroom. My stomach felt like it would roll any minute and I’d be hovering over the bowl in a split second, but nothing came out. I splashed some water on my face and saw Leah covering her head with a pillow when I walked out.

“I feel like I’m dying.” She groaned. I laughed and flopped back on my bed. “What time is it?”

“Noon.”

“Oh my God, your voice.” She took the pillow off her face to stare at me and I laughed hoarsely. She groaned again and got up a few minutes later to go to the bathroom. I grabbed the blanket that I slept with last night and walked out into the kitchen to make a late breakfast for the both of us. She came out with her hair up in a ponytail and sat down on the barstool. We ate quietly beside each other and I gave her a painkiller after we finished our meals.

In too much pain to actually move around a lot, we stuck to the couch like glue and watched re-runs of shows. Mostly it was Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (AKA my favorite show ever).

Leah ended up spending the night again and this time we kept away from the alcohol. Mindy came over as well, wanting to see both of us. She nursed us back to health with food and we all sat on the couch to watch whatever was on. Mindy was a little skeptical about her abilities to make us feel better, but by the end of the night I was a lot better than in the morning.

She also did end up giving Jasper those ten dollars when he got home the other day and they went to his parent’s house yesterday. His mom and dad begged the two to tell them if they were having a boy or a girl, but the only people that knew were Leah, them and me. They would probably tell them before the baby shower so they had something to get clothes-wise. Leah was so excited about meeting their son. Mindy also told us the due date which was sometime in April. Her baby shower was going to be in March when her family arranged it and I couldn’t wait to go baby shopping.

“Have you talked about names with Jasper?” Leah asked curiously from the armchair. Her legs were hanging over the arm while she faced the TV screen.

Mindy nodded beside me, munching on the strawberries she picked up from the store on her way here. “Jasper likes August or Jacob.”

“What do you like?” I asked with her feet in my lap.

She smiled down at the fruit in the bowl. “I was thinking Richard after his dad.”

“Aw,” I cooed. “I like it. We can call him Richie Rich.”

“Will Richie Rich be rich?” Leah piped in, making all of us laugh.

We went to sleep later that night, Mindy sleeping in the guest bedroom while Leah was in my bed again. I picked up my phone beside me and opened it to read the conversation between John and I from earlier today.

Disney is awesome. You guys better go to Epcot.

Will do, dork. I’ll make sure to send you pictures

That sounds like you’re sending me n00dz.

You caught me. (I actually was planning on it, but you ruined the surprise)

You’re pretty weird for a 23-year-old.

Says the 26-year-old who still enjoys bubble baths.

Shut up! They make my legs look shinier.

Weirdo. That was my last text before he was busy for the rest of the day and I set my phone down in here to join Mindy and Leah.

Just as I was pressing the home button, he texted me a second ago and I went back to the messages. What I read only made me squeeze my eyes shut and grin like crazy while hugging the device to my chest. I pulled it away to read it again.

Can I take you out on Wednesday? Some delicious Italian restaurant just opened and I think we could try it out.

I smiled before sending one back and going to sleep with that same smile.

I’d love to. Six-ish?