“Okay, thanks for the info, Reggie,” I interrupted her. She was twitchy and rambling and if I let her, she’d go on forever.

“Sure, no problem. So you’re not going to come the party?” she asked, scratching at a spot on the side of her nose.

“Nope, Reg. I’m not. Hope you guys have fun though,” I said, not at all sincerely.

“Oh we will. You know we will. You should have been to the party two nights ago! It was crazy! Dania and Shane almost got arrested! I did so much coke I thought my head would explode. But it was so cool”

“Wait, Dania almost got arrested? What happened?” I cut her off with a sinking feeling in my stomach.

Reggie laughed loudly. A few people looked over in our direction and I saw on their faces exactly what they were thinking.

What a bunch of losers.

I couldn’t believe I was ever okay with being lumped in with them like that. I honestly had always thought that I was just as bad if not worse than the people I associated with. How could I have never wanted more for myself than that?

“She was wasted. I mean waaasted,” she drawled out.

“And?” I prompted, trying to keep an easily distracted Reggie on track.

“And she and Shane wanted more beer. So they broke into JAC’s and got us a few cases. Of course the alarm went off. They almost got caught but they didn’t. It was epic, Ells!”

I hadn’t heard about a break in at JAC’s. But I had started cutting back some on my hours trying to focus more on school. I hadn’t had a shift since the beginning of the week. Still, I had thought I would have heard about something like that.

And what was Dania even thinking? She had been wasted. What else was new? But it wasn’t like her to be that reckless. That had always been my thing, not hers.

“How wasted was she, Reg?” I asked.

Reggie giggled. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her that bad. Some guy from Dale County was there and he had some kick ass shit he was selling. It was grade A stuff, Ells. He seemed to like Dania. They were hooking up for a while.”

“What kind of shit was he selling?” I asked.

“You know meth, weed, pills. The usual. Dania and I split a bump of crank which was killer!”

So now, aside from drinking herself stupid, she could tick hardcore drug usage while six months pregnant off the list. She smoked pot, still smoked half a pack of cigarettes a day and drank like a fish, but I hadn’t seen Dania touch drugs in over a year.

“I can’t believe her!” I growled, throwing the rest of the items I needed into the basket and storming down the aisle towards the cash register.

Reggie hurried after me. “It was fun, Ellie! What’s the big deal?”

I turned on my former friend and unleashed the temper I was known for. I couldn’t help it. I f**king lost it.

“Because she’s pregnant you f**king moron! She has a baby inside in her stomach!” I pointed at Reggie’s stomach for emphasis.

Reggie wasn’t smiling and laughing now. She knew the look on my face all too well and was already backing away in retreat.

“She says the baby’s fine,” Reggie excused and I thought a moment about throwing the bottle of shampoo I was putting on the counter at her dim head.

“Did you not pay attention at all in health class? Drugs will mess you up. They will cause that baby in her belly to have a goddamned arm in the middle of its forehead! Wake up, Reggie! Stop being the stupid slut everyone says you are! Grow a brain!” I seethed.

Reggie frowned and for a minute I felt almost bad. I shouldn’t be yelling at Reggie. She wasn’t the one forcing Dania to make such stupid decisions. She wasn’t the one I was really angry with.

“Dania was right. You have become a bitch,” Reggie spat out and rushed out of the store.

I let out a huge sigh and turned back to the cashier who was now regarding me with wide eyes. She didn’t look a day over sixteen and clearly my outburst had freaked her out.

She quickly rang up my items and practically shoved the bag into my hands. I paid her and tried giving her a reassuring smile. She didn’t return it.

“Thanks,” I said when she handed me the receipt.

She still didn’t say anything and looked like she would pass out with relief when I moved away from the register.

I pulled out my phone and looked down at the time. I had told Flynn I’d be a few hours. Three at the most. He informed me that was one hundred and eighty minutes.

I needed to head over to my apartment and pack a few things but there was something else that I felt I needed to do as well. There was someone that currently needed me whether she realized it or not.

And I couldn’t abandon her. No matter how self-destructive and nasty she could be.

I dialed the familiar number and held my ringing phone to my ear. I wondered whether Dania would bother to answer it when she saw my number.

I was surprised when she picked up after the fourth ring.

“What do you want?” she snarled into the phone. She sounded rough and I recognized the sound of her hangover voice. She was obviously coming down from a bender.

“I want to talk to you. I don’t like leaving things like this.” I said.

“Why? You’ve got better things to do now that you’re f**king the freak. Why don’t you go off and have your little freak babies and leave the rest of us to our loser lives,” she bit out.

I wanted to reach through the phone and strangle her.

“You know what, fine. I just thought that our friendship was worth more than that. But clearly, I’m the only one that feels that way,” I snapped.