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May 17th, 1988 — Cambridge, MA 10:12 AM, EST
Shelby woke up the following morning in a nauseating fog. As she laid motionless on her bed, her eyes blinked open and she squinted against the harsh morning light. Why did the sun have to be so bright on a spring morning? She rolled over, bumping into someone. She opened her sensitive eyes to get a better peek at the intruder. It was Tony.
He was sprawled backwards on the bed, his feet near Shelby's face and vice versa. That's when she realized she wasn't in her room, and she hadn't fallen asleep in her bed. She was in Tony's room.
That explained why she didn't remember getting home the previous night. As she sat up, her stomach became even rockier, so she quickly ran for the bathroom. Her high-waisted Levis, usually trusty and comfortable, were stiff as a board, and her t-shirt was somewhat sticky and smelled like someone's Coke mixer. As she knelt down in front of the toilet, a flash of a memory from the previous night came into her brain.
She was in the kitchen, her back pressed against the counter as her lips danced with someone else's. But no, it wasn't Robbo; it was Tony.
The realization made her blood turn cold, and she fell back from the toilet, slouching against the adjacent wall.
It couldn't ... no. She couldn't have.
She did.
Her eyes began to fill with tears and she hugged her knees to her chest. Burying her head in her hands, she began to sob quietly as she prayed that Tony had been too drunk to remember anything that had happened, because she was evidently not.
There was a knock on the bathroom door, and Shelby squeaked out, "It's locked!"
"Shelby?" To her relief, it was Lisa on the other side. She didn't know what she would have done if it had been Tony or, for God's sakes, Robbo on the other side.
The redhead slowly stood up and grabbed some mouthwash out of the cabinet, knowing it was Tony's and he wouldn't mind if she used it. She poured some into a disposable cup and dumped it in her mouth, hoping to eliminate the vomit breath she was currently enduring. She then switched the lock on the door to let Lisa in.
Lisa smelled like soap, her blonde curls were damp, and she was wearing a new outfit than the one she had warn the previous night. She must have gone back to their house already.
"Hey, are you okay?" The blonde asked as she shut the door behind her.
Shelby spit out the mouthwash and then swished some water around in her mouth before turning back towards her friend. Her face was stained with mascara tears and her red hair was tangled in wild knots. She certainly did not look okay.
"I kissed Tony." She whispered as she sat back on the floor.
Lisa sighed, and to Shelby's surprise, said, "I know."
