There was a loud thud and the stall shook.
“What’s going on in there?” I started to push open the door again but my nose wouldn’t let me.
“None of your fucking business,” Ebony snarled.
She was getting on my last nerve. I wanted to bust through the door and choke her, that’s how mad she made me.
Reshunda stumbled out of the stall, dragging Ebony behind her. She had a ugly yellowish stain on her once white dress. She grunted as she propped Ebony up against the sink.
“Eww, what’s that on your shoulder.”
Reshunda gasped as she spun around to see what I was pointing at. Meanwhile, Ebony slithered to the floor, her face slapping the ceramic tile. The sad part about the whole thing was the bitch was so drunk she didn’t even blink from the impact.
A barrage of expressions played across Reshunda’s face and for a nanosecond, my heart went out to her. Our eyes locked in the mirror and I wanted to cry because Reshunda was wearing the dress her mother brought for her graduation.
“Goddammit,” she yelled as her eyes filled with tears.
I started to step over Ebony and give Reshunda a hug but she stopped me mid-step.
“If you would’ve helped me, this wouldn’t have happened.” Once again, Reshunda blamed me.
“Come again? How the fuck is it my fault that this bitch got drunk and threw up, again? Did I say again? ’Cause if I neglected to mention it the first time, let me say it again. I’m not her fucking babysitter and neither are you.” I was so fucking mad I just wanted to hit something or someone. I was about to walk the fuck out of the bathroom until I realized I would be cutting my nose off to spite my face.
“I heard you the first time,” she spat back at me. She grabbed several paper towels from the dispenser hanging on the wall and began picking off the particles of food clinging to her shoulder.
I couldn’t bear to watch so I averted my eyes, looking at the floor, my eyes bucking in horror.
“You got some shit on your shoes too,” I whispered. She wore her mother’s four-inch white satin Jimmy Choos I’d secretly coveted.
Reshunda doubled over. “Oh my God.” The tears fell this time. Her shoes, ruined, just like her dress. Now the only thing Reshunda had left of her own mother was another bad memory. “Ebony must be on some different shit ’cause her ass is out cold.” I poked her leg with the tip of my stiletto. I didn’t poke her hard enough to leave a bruise but it was enough to rouse her if alcohol were the only thing she’d been into that night.
Reshunda didn’t even look at her. She was in her own little world, dealing with her own demons.
I stepped to her, trying to break her out of her trance. I was still mad at her, but I felt sorry for her at the same time. “Reshunda, we’ve got to get out of this bathroom. What if someone comes in?” Thus far, we’d been lucky that no one else had come into the room. I shook her to gain her attention.
“Huh?” She was still staring down at her shoes.
My heart went out to her. “Come on girl, get your shit together and let’s move this bitch out of here.”
She finally came back to the land of the living. “Oh God.” She bent down on the floor, near her cousin’s mouth.
“I wouldn’t stick my face too close to her mouth. She might still be volatile.”
Reshunda gave me a sharp look as if I were trying to be funny.
“What? Am I lying?”
She looked back at Ebony and shook her head. “I don’t think she’s breathing.” She stood up and started looking around the room.
“Get the fuck outta here. She has to be breathing, stop trippin’.”
“I’m not trippin’. Look at her back, do you see it moving?” She had a point. Ebony hadn’t moved since her face hit the floor.
I started to panic, even though I hadn’t done anything wrong.
“We’ve got to call for help.” She pulled her iPhone from her purse but I grabbed it from her hand before she could start dialing.
“Bitch, are you crazy? We ain’t even supposed to be in this club. They might even arrest us for having fake IDs.” I knew I was going over the top but I was so close to leaving Atlanta that I wasn’t about to let anything get in my way.
“What? We can’t just leave her lying on the floor, that’s my cousin,” she screamed at me, as if I didn’t know their relationship.
“I wouldn’t give a fuck if it were Jesus Christ himself, I ain’t goin’ to jail on some bullshit.”
“Give me my damn phone, heifer.”
She lunged at me but I held the phone over her head. Things were happening too fast and I needed some time to think about the possible consequences. I looked down at Ebony to see if she was showing any signs of life, but she looked like a corpse to me. I didn’t really hate her; she just got on my motherfucking nerves.
Reshunda took off one of her shoes, and held it high over her head. Thankfully it was the shoe without the vomit on it. “Bitch, if you don’t give me that fuckin’ phone, I’ma beat your ass like I caught you fucking my man.”
“What the fuck are you going to say to the police? Think, Reshunda, they arrested my mother for being in the same room with two dead bodies and she stayed in jail for a year just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Do you want to sit in jail for a fucking year?”
She lowered her hand but her eyes were still wild and crazy. “I don’t know. We can’t leave her here!” She looked around the bathroom as if she were seeing it for the first time.
As bathrooms go, this one was a piece of shit, so it wasn’t surprising that folks weren’t busting down the doors to get in here. Shit, I would rather piss myself before I’d put my ass anywhere near the toilet.”That’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout. We got to get our stories straight just in case she’s dead.”
“Dead? Who said anything about her being dead?” Reshunda started walking around in circles, waving her hands in the air.
“Bitch, she ain’t breathing. What that mean?” I was getting irritated, especially since time really wasn’t on our side.
She stared at me like she wasn’t understanding a word I said. “So what do you think we should do?” She appeared to snap. With her hands on her hips she started patting her foot like she was growing impatient with me instead of the other way around.
At no point did either of us consider giving Ebony CPR. I, for one, was not about to press my lips anywhere near her mouth and it was obvious Reshunda felt the same way or she would’ve been on the floor pounding the hell out of her chest and forcing air into her airways.
“I say we get the fuck out of here and call for an ambulance from a pay phone. This way we can get her some help without getting all jammed up with the fucking cops.” I honestly didn’t know if the cops would do anything to us at all but I wasn’t about to take any chances.
“A pay phone? When was the last time you saw a fucking pay phone?”
Damn, she had a point. Since everybody and their momma had a cell phone, pay phones were few and far between.
“Then we tell them guys at the door, as we leave, that someone in the bathroom needs a little help getting home.” I was already heading out the door when Reshunda stopped me.
“Bitch, give me my motherfucking phone. I don’t know what type of bitch shit you’ve been smoking but I’m not about to leave my cousin lying in the middle of the fucking floor.” She had a crazed look in her eyes and it was about to be on like popcorn.
“Oh, is that how we about to roll? I started taking off my earrings just in case she wanted to jump up in my shit. “Why you taking this shit out on me? I ain’t the one that allowed my cousin to hit the fucking floor in the first place.” I was beyond irritated now. I was mad as hell and I was ready to whip her ass. This was not how this night should have ended. We were supposed to be celebrating, not fighting in some stinky-ass bathroom over some bullshit.
“Do you think she’s dead?” Reshunda whispered in defeat.
“I don’t kno
w, but the only way we’re going to find out is to get somebody in here to check on her.”
Reshunda nodded and this time she followed me out the door.
“Follow me.” Relieved, I grabbed her hand to make sure we didn’t get separated. I pushed my way through the crowded dance floor toward the exit. I stopped when I got to the door, Reshunda pulled my hand in the other direction. I snatched right back, pulling her up beside me. My fingernails dug deep into her wrist and I dared her to say anything about it.
“There is a lady in the bathroom throwing up,” I yelled into the bouncer’s ear.
“And? Happens all the time.” He looked over my head, dismissing me. I wasn’t going away that easy.
“She’s been in there a long time,” I yelled a little louder.
“So what, you counting and shit.” He started laughing as if he made a joke.
“Naw, motherfucker, I ain’t counting, but the bitch is laid out on the fucking floor. I just thought I should tell somebody ’bout the shit.”
The beefy bastard finally looked at me. He spoke into his earpiece and nodded.
I had no idea what he said but it was enough for me to get the fuck out of there.
“Thanks, we’ll check it out.”
“Sorry-ass fucker,” I said, dragging Reshunda out the door. Her feet were moving but she wasn’t moving fast enough for me. Luckily, we didn’t have far to go. We got to the car and Reshunda just stood there.
“Are we going to get in this bitch?” I knew that Reshunda was upset—she should be. Hell, I was upset too. Even though I didn’t like Ebony, I didn’t want her ass dead. Reshunda continued to stand next to the driver-side door. Frustrated, I marched around to the other side of the car and snatched her clutch from her. She didn’t object to my snatching her purse. She just kept staring at the door of the club. There was now a long line of people waiting to go in.
I found the keys and unlocked both doors. Reshunda was in no shape to drive so I led her around to the passenger side and eased her into the car. She was crying softly. I wanted to cry too but probably not for the same reasons. We didn’t talk as we sat in the car. I wanted to say something that would break the ice but for the first time in my life, I couldn’t think of anything.
We were there when the ambulance arrived and we sat until it left. Neither of us bothered to get out of the car to identify Ebony’s body.
“Reshunda, you can’t tell anybody about this shit.”
She didn’t say anything. She kept staring straight ahead.
“Did you hear me?” I was running out of patience. Even though we didn’t do anything wrong, I wasn’t willing to rely on the police to come to the same conclusion. Our innocence died the same night Ebony did.
I adjusted the seat in her car. I didn’t know where to go but I knew we had to go somewhere so we could think. Reshunda was obviously in shock. She was scaring me and I didn’t know what to do about it.
“I sure am glad I ain’t got to clean that bathroom,” Reshunda giggled.
Her comment was so callous I almost lost control of the car. I swung the wheel wide to the left, damn near hitting the car in the oncoming lane of traffic. “Bitch, you scared the shit out of me.”
“Don’t you fuck up my daddy’s car.” She continued to laugh.
“Are you okay?” The last thing I expected from Reshunda was jokes and it made me question her sanity.
“I’m straight but I could use a drink.”
I looked at her again just to make sure she wasn’t about to flip out and do some stupid shit while I was driving. “Fat chance. I don’t know anybody that is going to give our young asses any liquor.” I didn’t really want anything to drink but I was glad that Reshunda was back to her old self.
“Why don’t we go to your house? You know your stepfather has so much booze at the house he won’t even miss it.” She giggled again. Reshunda wasn’t lying about the booze so I couldn’t get mad. Our closets were packed. My stepfather claimed it to be a perk for working for one of the largest liquor distributors in the state. My stepfather was the classic functioning alcoholic. He went to work every day and did his job, but the moment work was over, he was a straight-up lush who drank until he passed out. He had so many DUIs, he wasn’t even allowed to own a car.
I wasn’t ready to go to my house but it was actually the best place for us because we needed to have a serious talk and my stepfather wouldn’t pose a problem for us. Nine times out of ten he would be in his room, passed out. The only potential problem to going to my house was my mother. If she were up, she’d know right away something was wrong.
“Fine. Do you need to call your father?”
“For what?”
This was the Reshunda that I knew, but she was bouncing back entirely too quickly for me. Not that I wanted to see her crying and shit but I expected something more from her. I stole one more look before I turned the car around and headed to my house. I had a feeling that it was going to be a very long night.
We arrived at my house with no further mishap and for that I was grateful. I undid my seat belt and slid out of the car. I expected Reshunda to be close on my heels but I had to go around to her side and practically pull her out. She was sending me mixed messages. One minute she was pumped up as if nothing had happened and the next she was shell-shocked and catatonic.
“You all right to walk?” I was mindful of the four-inch heels she had on. While my heels were high, they weren’t quite that high.
“I’m good,” she mumbled.
If I had to pick from the two personalities that she was showing me, I wanted the one that was able to communicate because we had a lot to talk about. I handed her the keys and groped around in my purse until I found my house keys.
Even though Reshunda and I were good friends, I didn’t bring her around my house often, especially after my mother got arrested. Even though my mother was back, my stepfather was still drinking it up. Some nights, he would stay up all night drinking his ass off, and other times he sat in the dark and cried. It broke my heart when he cried. I wasn’t used to that and neither was my mother. She refused to sleep with him and they were just going through the motions until she could leave him.
I breathed a sigh of relief when I opened the door to a dark apartment. I turned on the lights and watched the roaches scurry. I gave them a moment to get situated as I tried to hide my embarrassment.
“Bitch, stop trippin’. You ain’t the only one who has unwanted critters living up in your shit. Stop trying to act all brand new and shit.” She pushed past me and went straight to the kitchen and started fixing a drink.
I looked around the room to make sure all the furniture was in order before I went to my room to take off my shoes. “Be quiet. I don’t want to wake up my mother.”
If the furniture was tossed, it would mean that Dad had another of his crying spells, but today everything was intact, so I breathed another sigh of relief. I rushed into my room and threw the clothes that littered my floor into the closet and quickly shut the door. I pulled up my stained sheets and fluffed the pillows. I stuffed my Snoopy dog under the bed. I didn’t need to hear Reshunda’s mouth if she were to find out that I still slept with some of my childhood toys. I normally kept my room clean but since I’d been packing, everything was a mess.
“You finished? You act like this is the first time that I stopped by this bitch.” Reshunda was standing in the doorway, holding a glass.
“Shit, can’t a girl clean up a bit? I had to make room for you to flop your ass down, didn’t I?”
“Whatever.” She flopped down on the bed and kicked off her shoes. She wasn’t sipping her drink, she was gulping it and she had a full bottle of Hennessy sitting next to her. She was about to get fucked up.
“Damn, you didn’t fix me a drink?” I asked with attitude.
“Shit, this your house, you should have fixed me a drink since I’m company all of a sudden.”
“Your ass didn’t give me a chance to fix you a drink.�
�� Stuffing my feet into my pink fuzzy slippers, I marched out of the room. I had to keep reminding myself that Reshunda was in shock because I was about two seconds away from giving her head a sunroof. I inhaled deeply, trying to regain composure. I reached up in the cabinet and pulled down a large bowl, checking to make sure no resident evils lurked inside. I opened the cabinet in search of some chips or something. If she was going to do some heavy drinking we would need something on our stomachs. I grabbed the chips and dumped them in the bowl and put some ice in my glass. I could have gotten another bottle but I wanted to drink out of the one Reshunda had to control how much she drank. I wasn’t trying to mother her, I just didn’t want her puking and shit in my bedroom.
When I went back to the bedroom, Reshunda was sitting on the floor with the bottle between her legs. I put the chips on the floor and changed my clothes so I would be comfortable. “You gonna share that bottle or do I have to get my own?”
She flipped me off and I reached over and grabbed the bottle. She had already drunk one-third of it.
“Girl, you’d better slow your roll, or you’ll be praying to the porcelain God just like your cousin.” I instantly regretted saying anything about her cousin, especially since she hadn’t mentioned her. “I—um—damn—I’m sorry.”
“What?”
“I didn’t mean to bring up your cousin.” I wanted to open my mouth and stick my entire leg in it.
“I can’t believe she fucked up my shoe.” She went back to gulping her drink like she didn’t have a care in the world.
I didn’t know what to say and that was unusual for me. “You might be able to get them cleaned or dyed.” I was lying through my teeth. If she got them dyed, the stain would still be there, just a different color.
“Bitch, why you lyin’? You know I might as well toss these shoes in the trash right now.” She pulled her feet up close to her face. “It’s a shame because they really make my feet look little.”
“What?” My mind had wandered.
“My feet look small in these shoes. Have you noticed that the average foot size has changed from a five or six to nines and tens? It think it’s something they are putting in the food. Like chicken wings.”
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