Finishing my coffee, I stood and carried both our cups into the kitchen to refill them. Returning to the couch, I handed Bunny his cup, and he nodded in thanks.
“Bunny, there’s something else I wanted to talk to you about,” I said before taking a huge sip of coffee.
“Hmmm,” he asked over his coffee cup.
“Why are you messing around with Nicki and her shit again?”
Bunny rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. “Can you just leave me alone about it, please? I’m fine. I promise. I just fucked up last night, okay?” He stood, grabbing his coffee. “I’m sure the guys are almost here. I’m gonna go set up.”
I heard him pour the rest of his second cup of coffee down the drain before opening the door to the garage.
The silence that followed said everything I was afraid of.
nine
girls rule
Marlowe
There was a knock on the door. I shot up out of bed and ran to let Naomi in. She carried a bag of Chinese takeout and a box of wine.
“An angel from above!” I screamed.
“You’re so dramatic,” she said, laughing as she walked into the living room. Naomi wore baggy cargo pants and an old Metallica t-shirt. My purple Hello Kitty pajamas were a stark contrast to my best friend. My sister was at her dickhead of a boyfriend’s tonight, and Captain’s was closed. Naomi and I were taking advantage of the night off by eating like shit and watching trash TV.
“It’s just been so long since we had a girls' night like this. My sister is always here and this new asshole she’s dating. Naomi, it’s bad. I need to get the fuck out of here. She won’t listen to me. And it’s not a little sister thing, it’s just her being stubborn.”
“Don’t you pay for half the rent here? Don’t let her push you around, Mar.”
Pulling pillows from the couch and setting them on the floor, we settled down comfortably at the coffee table. “It’s not even that. This guy she’s dating is mean, and he’s made her mean. You know we’ve never gotten along because of our mom, but it’s gotten out of hand now. He beats her, Naomi. I’ve threatened to call the cops, but she won’t have it. The moment he does it in front of me, or he lays his hands on me or my dog, I’m fucking done.”
Naomi stopped pulling the food out of the bag and just stared at me. “You’re joking, right? Mar, that’s not okay. Come stay with me for a while at least.”
“Naomi, you’re an angel, but you live in a one-bedroom basement apartment that’s barely big enough for you. You think me and Dojo can fit in there too?”
“Dojo’s a Boston Terrier. He doesn’t take up that much room. And you’re small too. It’s fine. You can’t live like this.”
“I appreciate you more than you realize, but I’ll be okay. Soon enough I’ll be able to move out. Now let’s eat and watch TV. I’m starving.”
Naomi poured the boxed wine into the dolphin tumblers I grabbed from the kitchen. We ate beef and broccoli, sesame chicken, and fried rice while we watched true crime shows on the cable we stole from my neighbor.
Dojo began to whine to go outside a little while after I fed him dinner.
“I’m gonna go have a cigarette and walk Dojo. Want to go with me?” My feet carried me to the front door where I slipped on my sandals and grabbed Dojo’s leash.
Naomi stood and slipped her shoes back on. “Yeah sure.”
We stepped into the night air. The porch light flickered when I flipped the switch. It was cooler than I expected but not too cold. The sky was clear, and you could see stars shining. Several lights in the trailer park were out, so it made seeing the starseven easier- not as much light pollution. I lit a cigarette and started walking down the street.
“Where the hell is the moon?” Naomi asked, spinning around looking at the sky.
“It’s a new moon tonight. But it’s like right there.” I pointed in the general direction of the moon.
Naomi nodded in understanding. “Oh! I was going to ask you earlier, but I forgot. You never told me about what happened between you, Dexter, and Bunny that night. I’ve honestly been dying to know. We just haven’t had a chance to talk about it. There was no way in hell I was going to talk to you about this over the phone. I need excruciating details, Marlowe.”
Immediately, my head fell into my hand, and I broke out into a cold sweat. “Well, you know what happened. I told you. We hooked up.” I shrugged, dropped my cigarette, and quickly turned around to walk back to the house. “Come on, Dojo.” My loyal pup followed my command and began prancing back toward our door.
I wanted to tell Naomi all about it. Every single detail. But saying it out loud made it real. Sure, I’d thought about that night many times over the past few months. Gotten off to it more times than I wanted to admit. But would telling my best friend mean I had to actually face the feelings that were churning around in my head? I was terrified to acknowledge what that would actually mean.
