Call her

I thought about it for a couple of seconds. She'd left me there almost ****, while she fucked an old man and his retarded son. Was I really going to be there for her after that?

But then again, she was totally alone in the middle of the night, with nobody else to help her. She said she was in trouble. I'd never felt like this about a girl in my life. There was no one I could talk to so easily . No one that appreciated me for who I was. She needed me, I couldn't let her down.

I dialed her number. She picked up right away.

"Hey where are you? Are you okay?" she said.

"Umm.. I've been better. I'm on my way back to mine, by Cobbler St." I said "what's wrong, you said you're in trouble."

"Yeah... I... I need you to come back. Do you have any cash on you?" she asked.

"Yeah some... why?"

"Please I need you to come back and bring like $40."

"What? Why?"

"Just... I don't know how to say it... I need you here. Please". she said. I'd never hear her sound so helpless before. I was in pain. It had been a struggle to walk this far. It would hurt even more to go back. But what if she was in danger? I had a $50 on me, so that was no problem. I sighed.

"Fine, I'll be there in about 5 minutes". I heard a wave of relief come from the other side of the phone.

"Great, I'll be here, were I was before. You're the best".

I limped back through the deserted streets and retraced my steps to where it had all happened.

I saw her sitting on the curb, next to the convenience store. As I approached, I saw that her hair was a crusty mess and her top as covered in thin damp marks. All of her make up had washed off and I could see her naturally freckled face. Her mascara had run down her cheeks, she'd been crying. She was holding a big bottle of Vodka.

"Hey" I managed to say. My ribcage was still sore.

"Hey!" she was delighted to see me. She ran up to me and gave me a hug. I could feel the dampness of her top presing on to mine. She gave me a passionate kiss on the lips. She tried to smile, but she imediately broke down in tears. I hugged her close for a few seconds. Behind her, I could see the silohuette of the old man in the grey jacket inside the store. He looked calm, staring into space.

I looked at her. "What happened? Are you in trouble? Your message..." I said.

"The cash, you brought the cash right? He only takes cash." she looked frightened.

"Yes, I've got a $50." I said.

"Well... umm... I... I need you to go to the store... and buy me a plan B... he wouldn't give me one." she said.

My heart sank. I stood in silence for a second. "I..." she continued "I wouldn't want to... you know... and he wouln't take no for an answer so... he's such a douche. And then," she started ranting "when I asked him for one he told me it would be like $30 something. Can you believe what an asshole...? If I'd known he'd be such a bad person I would have told him to put it in my..."

"Isn't there another store we can go to?" I interrupted.

"What... well, no it's the only one open at this time for a few miles... and I need it as soon as possible. You have to go for me, I can't bear looking at his stupid face again. He's such a bad person." she looked up at me and caressed my cheek. "I like you because you're not like him. You'll help me right?"

I was beyond frustrated, but I couldn't leave her like this. None of her douchebag friends would buy it for her, and the old man wouldn't hand it over.

"Okay" I said. She smiled and gave me another tender kiss on the lips.

The door jingled as I went into the store. I faced the old man. He showed his grey grin as soon as he recognised me. His son was sitting in a chair behind the counter, looking absent mindedly at the floor.

"How can I help you young fella?" he said in an overly polite manner.

"A plan B" I dropped the cash on the counter.

"Right away fella." He handed it over with my change "now, if you'd fuck off before I find my wrench again. Pussy." he grinned. His son gave a quiet chuckle, still looking down. I was furious. But I was in no condition to fight. And even if I was, there were security cameras. If I swung at him it would look like I initiated the fight. I would be the one arrested for it. I was powerless.

I turned around without saying a word, and closed the damned jingling door behind me.

I handed Julia her the box and she quickly took the pill, washing it down with vodka.

She handed me the bottle. "Here have some it'll help with the pain" I didn't really like Vodka, but I thought it might help. Being mildly intoxicated might help make this night more bearable. I had a couple of deep gulps.

"Let's go!" she said.

She held my hand and pulled me towards the party. Part of me felt like it was the last place we should be going, but as I walked, the **** started to hit me. The pain got slightly better, and I didn't care too much about being rational.

Part of me wanted to shout at her for being so damn irresponsible. She'd just torn my heart out and was acting like it was nothing. But part of me just wanted to forget about it and follow her lead back into the party. Maybe after she got cleaned and had a fresh change of clothes, it would be all better.

I was conflicted.