She Never Said Goodbye

Chapter Twenty-Eight

"Hey, babe!" shouted Eric from downstairs.

"Yeah, babe," Jane answered loudly as she reapplied her deep, burgundy lipstick.

Pearl was in the bathroom with her, sitting on top of the counter, passing another, freshly-rolled joint over to Monica.

"Don't tell me we don't have anymore whiskey, babe!"

"We do," she grabbed the doorframe and poked her head out. "Look behind the other bottles!"

"I just did that, and it's not there!"

Muffled laughter from Owen and Toby could be heard, as well as Stone Temple Pilots seeping through the speakers in the living room. 

Jane rolled her eyes and smacked her lipstick onto the counter. "It's there. I put it there. Keep looking!" She rolled her eyes and took the joint from Monica.

"So, how are you feeling?" Pearl's eyelids were lazy, emitting warmth and cheer.

Feeling uninspired
think I'll start a fire
Everybody run
Bobby's got a gun

Monica nodded and sat down on the edge of the bathtub. "A whole lot better now," she exhaled, closing her eyes and tilting her head back. 

Think you're kinda neat 
then she tells me I'm a creep
Friends don't mean a thing 
guess I'll leave it up to me

Jane frowned. "I think that's enough pot for you, Monny."

"Yeah," Pearl chimed. "You're lookin' epicly toasty, girl. Damn. Are we gonna have to peel you off the floor of this bathroom?"

"No," Monica bellowed as she stood up, raising her arms over her head. "There will be no peeling of me. There will be no stopping me tonight."

"Huh?" Jane looked at Monica dazed and then shared a look with Pearl.

Monica smoothed her skirt and pulled the hem down. "Thank y'all so much for this. I needed this. I have not been doing well. At all. At all."

Pearl slid off the counter and rested her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Monny, we're here for you, you know that, right? Jane?"

"Yeah," Jane finished off the joint. "We are totally here for you, no matter what."

"So, okay," Monica took a deep breath in while she closed the bathroom door behind her and lowered her voice into a whisper. "I have something to tell you."

Take time with a wounded hand
'cause it likes to heal
Take time with a wounded hand
'guess I like to steal

Jane and Pearl stood shoulder-to-shoulder waiting to hear Monica open up. It was a rare occurrence for her to do so. They blinked their hazy eyes and swallowed in anticipation.

"I can't believe I'm telling y'all this." Monica squirmed in place and looked at herself in the mirror. "No. I shouldn't say anything. Nevermind."

"Monny," Pearl begged, "you've loosened the string, girl, go on ahead and let the cat outta the bag already."

Pearl pulled her strapless top up and a light wash of seriousness took over her face. Jane sighed and lit a cigarette.

Monica took a beat to stare into each of her friend's eyes before saying, "I think I'm in love," she closed her eyes, "with someone else." She held up her hands and covered her face with her arms.

Jane took a long drag from her cigarette. Pearl took a long, wavy strand of her hair and began twirling it around her forefinger.

"Wow," Pearl breathed, putting her hand over her heart.

"I'll say," Jane stood with her arm crooked to the side with her cigarette between her lips. "Wow."

Monica's eyes traced the floral pattern of the wallpaper. Curling petals, long stems and tiny butterflies with delicate and lacy, white wings. She felt her heart flutter before she continued.

"And that someone," she took her hands off of her face and looked down at the floor below her feet, "is dead."

Pearl clapped her hands together and let out a squeal of laughter. "You twisted bitch! Halloween isn't for another few weeks and already you're being a freakin' prankster."

Well, I'm half the man I used to be
Half the man I used to be
Half the man I used to be

"No," Monica shook her head and tried her best to look serious, but the weed loosened her features, and she had lost her propensity to look severe. "It's true. I'm not pulling y'alls legs. I swear."

Jane exhaled the smoke of her cigarette in a steady stream to her side. "Even if this were true, Monica, we are way too high to like... process this shit. Cuz, this is some shit, right?"

"Hell, yeah," Pearl was still laughing. One hand rested on her abdomen as the other waved back and forth in the air in front of her.

Monica looked at herself in the mirror. Her color had drained as well as her resolution. She rinsed her face off with some cool water and then opened the bathroom door, shouting, "Hey, Eric, did ya find that bottle of whiskey yet?"

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Leanne