on then, Sadie whispered comfortingly. "Tell us what we're doing tonight, Tasha. And don't say dropping you off at home because that's not happening."
That kind of was what I wanted. To be left alone so I didn't have to suffer the embarrassment of my humiliation in front of anyone else. But I knew that that option was out and deep down I knew it was the wrong one anyway. The last thing I needed was to be left alone.
"Your parents aren't home tonight, right?" I asked Sadie, sniffling and wiping my nose again.
"Nope. Won't be back until tomorrow night, actually. You want to hire some male strippers and invite them over, Tash?"
She was joking. "Actually," I said, taking a deep, wobbly breath. "I kind of just want to hang out like we used to do in middle school."
"A sleepover?" Lena asked, her eyes lighting up. "Yeah! A sleepover. That is an excellent idea, Tasha. And let's make cookies, too. Is the grocery store still open?"
The grocery store was still open. And that is how a group of teenage girls in fancy prom dresses and too much makeup ended up wandering the aisles of Hawley's Grovery at 11:45 p.m. on our prom night, filling the cart with anything and everything we desired.
"Hop on!" Andrea instructed, nodding at the front of the shopping cart. I hopped on and she raced down the aisle, narrowly missing a display of vitamins at the other end.
My friends saved me that night. By the time we were checking out, breathless with laughter and the exhilaration of doing whatever we damn well pleased, I actually felt slightly better. Maybe a little happy, even. I hadn't forgotten about Kaden or what I'd seen but with all of my girlfriends surrounding me with their love, it felt like it was something I could deal with.
"Blueberry Pie Oreos?" I laughed, picking up a package before spotting another one. "Birthday Cake Oreos? And oh my God, how much ice-cream did we buy?"
"More than we need," Sadie deadpanned. "And we'll send the bill to that asshole."
The limo took us back to her house and dropped us off. As soon as we were inside Sadie opened a bottle of her parent's white wine and handed me a glass. "Drink this, girl," she ordered. "Lord knows you deserve it. And then dig out the rainbow chips I bought, because we're making cookies."
So we made cookies while the other girls sat around the kitchen table, chatting and doing their very best to keep my spirits up and make sure I knew that no matter what, Kaden Barlow wasn't worth my time. We stayed up until dawn, until we were all groaning and holding our bellies and everyone's hair and makeup had gone to hell. Selfies were taken and another bottle of wine was opened. By the time I collapsed into my own bed, after being driven home by Lena at around eight a.m., the hangover was already starting to develop. When I was in my bedroom, alone for the first time in almost twelve hours, I looked at my phone. It had been turned off earlier at Sadie's instruction. For a half-second, I thought about turning it on and then just threw it down onto my crumpled dress and crawled into bed.
Chapter 13: Natasha
I woke up bleary-eyed and feeling like the human equivalent of warmed-up leftovers at about three in the afternoon. Alisha was sitting on the foot of my bed looking at me and I could immediately see from the look on her face that she knew what had happened.
"Your friend Lena called me," she said, before I could say anything. "I'm so sorry, Tash. I know this won't mean much to you right now but I know two things. The first thing I know is how you're feeling. Heartbreak is awful but your first heartbreak? That's the worst. The second thing I know is that you'll get over this. It doesn't feel like it now, but you will. There's nothing I can say to fix how you're feeling but just know that it passes. It does. You just need to get through it, to let time pass and believe it'll get better. Because it will."
For a few seconds I didn't know what Alisha was talking about but soon - too soon -
That kind of was what I wanted. To be left alone so I didn't have to suffer the embarrassment of my humiliation in front of anyone else. But I knew that that option was out and deep down I knew it was the wrong one anyway. The last thing I needed was to be left alone.
"Your parents aren't home tonight, right?" I asked Sadie, sniffling and wiping my nose again.
"Nope. Won't be back until tomorrow night, actually. You want to hire some male strippers and invite them over, Tash?"
She was joking. "Actually," I said, taking a deep, wobbly breath. "I kind of just want to hang out like we used to do in middle school."
"A sleepover?" Lena asked, her eyes lighting up. "Yeah! A sleepover. That is an excellent idea, Tasha. And let's make cookies, too. Is the grocery store still open?"
The grocery store was still open. And that is how a group of teenage girls in fancy prom dresses and too much makeup ended up wandering the aisles of Hawley's Grovery at 11:45 p.m. on our prom night, filling the cart with anything and everything we desired.
"Hop on!" Andrea instructed, nodding at the front of the shopping cart. I hopped on and she raced down the aisle, narrowly missing a display of vitamins at the other end.
My friends saved me that night. By the time we were checking out, breathless with laughter and the exhilaration of doing whatever we damn well pleased, I actually felt slightly better. Maybe a little happy, even. I hadn't forgotten about Kaden or what I'd seen but with all of my girlfriends surrounding me with their love, it felt like it was something I could deal with.
"Blueberry Pie Oreos?" I laughed, picking up a package before spotting another one. "Birthday Cake Oreos? And oh my God, how much ice-cream did we buy?"
"More than we need," Sadie deadpanned. "And we'll send the bill to that asshole."
The limo took us back to her house and dropped us off. As soon as we were inside Sadie opened a bottle of her parent's white wine and handed me a glass. "Drink this, girl," she ordered. "Lord knows you deserve it. And then dig out the rainbow chips I bought, because we're making cookies."
So we made cookies while the other girls sat around the kitchen table, chatting and doing their very best to keep my spirits up and make sure I knew that no matter what, Kaden Barlow wasn't worth my time. We stayed up until dawn, until we were all groaning and holding our bellies and everyone's hair and makeup had gone to hell. Selfies were taken and another bottle of wine was opened. By the time I collapsed into my own bed, after being driven home by Lena at around eight a.m., the hangover was already starting to develop. When I was in my bedroom, alone for the first time in almost twelve hours, I looked at my phone. It had been turned off earlier at Sadie's instruction. For a half-second, I thought about turning it on and then just threw it down onto my crumpled dress and crawled into bed.
Chapter 13: Natasha
I woke up bleary-eyed and feeling like the human equivalent of warmed-up leftovers at about three in the afternoon. Alisha was sitting on the foot of my bed looking at me and I could immediately see from the look on her face that she knew what had happened.
"Your friend Lena called me," she said, before I could say anything. "I'm so sorry, Tash. I know this won't mean much to you right now but I know two things. The first thing I know is how you're feeling. Heartbreak is awful but your first heartbreak? That's the worst. The second thing I know is that you'll get over this. It doesn't feel like it now, but you will. There's nothing I can say to fix how you're feeling but just know that it passes. It does. You just need to get through it, to let time pass and believe it'll get better. Because it will."
For a few seconds I didn't know what Alisha was talking about but soon - too soon -
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