Waiting For August

Part 15~Friends don't let friends text drunk

When I come to, I realize that I am being half-walked, half-dragged, between Jonah and Ben. "How'd I do?"

Jonah laughed. He had a bottle of moonshine and was still drinking.

"Jonah won." Ben said. "You, fell on your face."

"Ah. So, I was felled, by the felling axe?" I giggled.

"You were indeed."

We made it as far as the barn where we collapsed in a stall full of clean hay. "Mnn. I love the smell of hay." I muttered. I took a deep breath. It smells like August.

"How's that going anyways?" Jonah asked taking another swig from the bottle before passing it to Ben.

"What?"

Jonah raised himself up on his elbow to stare down at me. "August."

I frowned. My chest felt tight. "Why are you bringing him up?"

"I'm not. You did. You said the hay smells like August."

I blinked. "I did?" I looked to Ben, who was on my right, for reassurance.

He nodded. "You did."

Huh. "Things are..." how did I answer that question when I wasn't sure myself, especially after this morning. I covered my face with my arm. "I don't wanna talk about it."

"That's okay. I didn't mean to pry." His voice was gentle.

I lowered my arm to catch them looking at each other in concern. "Don't do that."

"Do what?" It was Ben who was jumping in.

"Worry about me. That's my job. Things are fine. Things are going to be fine." I tried to sit up, but the world shifted. I lay back down between them.

"Of course, everything's going to be okay." Jonah took the bottle back from Ben.

"Hey." Ben was grinning. "Do you guys remember the last time we did this?"

Jonah nodded his head. "Of course. High school. When Caleb got dumped by Jodi Carter. We stole a bottle of Sal's hooch and hid out here drinking. He was so pissed."

I laughed. "Angry too."

They both laughed then.

"He did put the fear in us. Remember how we actually thought he'd up and chase us. Like some drunken bloodhound. Damn we were dumb." As kids, an unshaven, gruff, and rough-around-the-edges wolf like Old Sal had been scary as hell. Nowadays he was just a bit of a character. It was funny how perception was everything.

"Ten years ago."

"Wow. Ten years. We were so young."

I thought things through. "You know, I didn't actually get dumped... she just found her mate."

Ben chortled. I gave him a dirty look.

Jonah became the voice of reason. "Nah, he's right. He didn't get dumped. By today's standards, he got ghosted."

Ben stole back the bottle. "What did they call getting ghosted back in the day?" He took a swig.

Jonah gave me a wry smile. "I think... I think they called it getting dumped." They both sniggered, losing control. They had tears running down their cheeks, the fuckers.

"Alright, I get it." I said over the laughter. "I got dumped." I know they were only joking, but hell, after this morning, it was starting to feel like history was repeating itself. I wasn't near drunk enough to handle the way I was starting to feel; the uncontrollable dread that was rising from the pit of my stomach.