In Two Years

Chapter 11: His Friend

It's almost 1 a.m. I was having so much fun with Ella's friends. I wanted to savor every moment I had with everyone.

Any time I hang out with a group of strangers, I am so full of anxiety, it's hard for me to luxuriate in the moment. Tucker, Leo, and Alex made it feel like I knew them as long as Ella has. It was glorious. Ella was laughing more than I have seen her since her breakup with Michael, and I didn't want to murder her newfound joy by dragging her away from her friends.

On the drive back to our apartment, Ella spots a couple of guys in the distance. One is on the ground laughing, and two other guys are standing over him trying to get him back up.

"Jo. Do you see those guys over there?"

"Yeah."

Ella pulls off to the side of the road, turns off the ignition, and opens the door.

"Ella what the hell are you doing!?"

"I'm going to make sure they are okay and if they need a ride." She's already walking before I get the chance to convince her that something foreboding could occur.

I wrestle with my seatbelt before I can unbuckle it. My heart is pounding. My head is flying through all of the pages of catastrophic events that it's been trying to prepare for. There's nothing for what to do when your best friend is walking over to random guys in the middle of the night.

"Ella." I try to catch up to her before the guys notice her. I can't help but think of how dangerous this is. Two girls walking up to a couple of guys, one of which is clearly hammered, at 1 a.m.

"Hey boys, look we got a gorgeous girl coming our way." I hear one of them say as Ella quickly approaches them.

I am now shaking.

"Knock it off Ben," Riley says while looking down at the guy on the ground.

I am shaking more. Riley is here. That can't be a good sign. My mind starts racing like a guinea pig on a wheel.

Riley is not a good guy like I thought.

Riley hangs out with asshole drunks at 1 a.m.

"Oh come on. You know you want to take her home." The guy, who I assume is Ben, responds.

Riley hangs out with asshole drunks who are disrespectful towards women at 1 a.m.

"Ben," Riley says in a deep, stern voice. "Hey Ella. What are you doing out here?" I try to hide in the shadows to prevent Riley from seeing me.

"Hello," Ben says flirtatiously.

"Ben!"

"Dude. Come on. Stop being a prude."

"I was driving me and Jo home." Busted. "I got out to see if you guys were okay and if you needed a ride since he looks a little unstable."

"Thanks, but I don't want to burden you with Ben's irresponsible behavior. Where's Jo?" I come out of hiding and into the street light.

"Hey." I awkwardly wave to him. I'm too tired for this shit.

"Hey." His tone when he says hey makes my heart melt.

"There's two of them!" Ben adds obnoxiously. "Hey ladies. Why don't you come home with us." He's still lying on the grass with the absence of any grace.

"If you are sure you don't need a ride..."

"I'll take care of him, but thank you for the offer," Riley says soberly.

"Then I guess we'll get going."

My head is still racing after encountering Riley and his two buddies. We got back to the apartment 30 minutes ago. I am exhausted from my anxiety escalating like that.

After taking a shower, I drag my feet to my bed and plop down. As I look at my phone to check the time, I see a text from Riley. He texted me 30 minutes ago. It's almost 2 a.m.

Riley: Hey. I'm so sorry for Ben's behavior.

The idea that Riley voluntarily hung out with that asshole doesn't balance well in my stomach.

Me: Don't worry about it.

I want him to explain to me why he surrounded himself with a guy like him. But it's none of my business. Riley can hang out with whoever he wants to. It's not like I'm his girlfriend. If he wants to hang out with a misogynistic asshole then that's his decision.

Monday has crept upon us all.

"Hey," I say to Riley as I put my backpack by my feet.

"Hey. I'm sorry about the other night."

"You don't have to apologize."

"It was embarrassing for me. I met Ben in another class of mine, and he convinced me to hang out with him and his friends. I didn't know we would be attending a party. When we got there, he was determined to hook me up with a girl."

"Oh."

"Trust me. I didn't want to go, but I knew they wouldn't shut up if I said no."

"So did you meet any girls?" I say playfully trying to hide any jealousy that has emerged.

"None that interested me." He gives me a smirk.