"Oh my God," I wailed, covering my face with my hands as the sobs poured uncontrollably out of me. "Oh my God. That was Kaden! That was him!"
To their credit, my friends stayed with me. They didn't try to coax me back into the limo or listen to the driver when he started getting impatient with us. They just stayed next to me, putting their hands on my shoulders, stroking my hair, telling me they were right there. It took a long time for me to calm down, too. A long time for my ugly sobs to ebb into deep, shuddering breaths. When I stood up my knees were studded with gravel and my mouth tasted of vomit. Someone handed me a bottle of water without my having to ask and someone else brushed off my knees. Then they helped me back into the limo and I lay down across Lena's lap, despairing.
"Where do you want to go?" Sadie asked as the driver pulled back onto the road. "Because we're with you tonight, Tasha. And if you don't give us some directions I think we're all going to end up charged with murder before the night is out."
I looked up, assuming she was joking but her face was deadly serious. "No," she said. "I'm not joking. I hate him. I fucking hate Kaden Barlow."
There was general affirmative murmuring and nodding and I burst into tears again - tears of appreciation.
"Thank you guys," I blubbed, wiping the tears and snot off my face with my wrist. "Thank you so much for just...for just..."
"Tasha," Lena said, holding my face up so she could look me in the eyes. "Where do you think we would be? Where would you be if someone had done this to me? Or to any of us? Here, right? Well, that's where we are. Here, with you. And we're not going anywhere. So tell me what you want to do tonight and we're with you."
What did I want to do? I wanted to turn back the clock an hour, maybe two. I wanted to have that image, the one I could not get out of my mind, of Kaden's hand on Kelsey's ass, out of my mind. But I couldn't have those things. I didn't want to be around anybody except my friends. So no parties. No driving up to the hills, either, because that would just remind me of the afternoon I'd just spent there, in Kaden's arms.
"You know what?" I asked, looking around at my friends, at all of their faces shrouded with concern. I'd told them all about what happened with Kaden in the hills. "I'm still sore. From this afternoon. I'm still sore."
Many arms were around me. Lena punched the limo door hard enough to earn a rebuke from the driver.
"FUCK HIM!" She yelled, rolling down the window and leaning out to scream it louder: "FUCK KADEN BARLOW!"
I smiled at that. "Come on then, Sadie whispered comfortingly. "Tell us what we're doing tonight, Tasha. And don't say dropping you off at home because that's not happening."
That kind of was what I wanted. To be left alone so I didn't have to suffer the embarrassment of my humiliation in front of anyone else. But I knew that that option was out and deep down I knew it was the wrong one anyway. The last thing I needed was to be left alone.
"Your parents aren't home tonight, right?" I asked Sadie, sniffling and wiping my nose again.
"Nope. Won't be back until tomorrow night, actually. You want to hire some male strippers and invite them over, Tash?"
She was joking. "Actually," I said, taking a deep, wobbly breath. "I kind of just want to hang out like we used to do in middle school."
"A sleepover?" Lena asked, her eyes lighting up. "Yeah! A sleepover. That is an excellent idea, Tasha. And let's make cookies, too. Is the grocery store still open?"
The grocery store was still open. And that is how a group of teenage girls in fancy prom dresses and too much makeup ended up wandering the aisles of Hawley's Grovery at 11:45 p.m. on our prom night, filling the cart with anything and everything we desired.
"Hop on!" Andrea instructed, nodding at the front of the shopping cart. I hopped on and she raced down the aisle, narrowly missing a display of vitamins at the other end.
My friends saved me that night. By the time we were checking out, breathless with laughter and the exhilaration of doing whatever we damn well pleased, I actually felt slightly better. Maybe a little happy, even. I hadn't forgotten about Kaden or what I'd seen but with all of my girlfriends surrounding me with their love, it felt like it was something I could deal with.
"Blueberry Pie Oreos?" I laughed, picking up a package before spotting another one. "Birthday Cake Oreos? And oh my God, how much ice-cream did we buy?"
"More than we need," Sadie deadpanned. "And we'll send the bill to that asshole."
The limo took us back to her house and dropped us off. As soon as we were inside Sadie opened a bottle of her parent's white wine and handed me a glass. "Drink this, girl," she ordered. "Lord knows you deserve it. And then dig out the rainbow chips I bought, because we're making cookies."