Tomorrow Never Knows

Chapter Seven

I'm not sure how long I stayed there, pathetically curled up like that, but I'm sure it was well into the day. Where else could I go, anyway? No other cars passed by the road all day after Kevin left, and it would be impossible to try to walk anywhere in my bare feet.

'You goddamn stupid, stupid girl,' I cursed. I was infinitely angry with myself for being so reckless.

It was way beyond me how I could have possibly believed that this would work out in my favor. Kevin would surely spread this around to everyone he knew- and that was a lot of people. Even if I had called him out on his cheating, it wouldn't have made a difference. He was the man. It was okay for him. But me? No, this would forever get me labeled as a slag, and as trash. No one would respect me. And who knows, Kevin might even go farther than that by insulting my family, telling everyone what I never wanted a single soul to know.

I could just hear the snide remarks now, 'Must run in the family' would be a popular one for sure. 'She may as well charge for it, sure as hell would pay better than waitressing' would soon follow. I should have just run into that room and yelled at him when I had the chance; now Kevin had the upper hand, and there was no telling just what he'd do with it.

Collapsing into fresh sobs, I could hear faint laughing and talking in the distance. Looking up, I saw that it was the same four boys who made up the band the night before. Not wanting to deal with them, I tried to make myself seem more hidden, curling up into a smaller ball and attempting to stifle my crying, but to no avail. One of them spotted me.

The boy stopped in his tracks and punched his friend in the arm.

"Hey, it's a bird!" he remarked, somewhat in awe.

"Yes, I've heard you'll often find those in nature," another quipped in reply.

"Oh, sod off! Not the flying sort, the curvy sort." the first boy explained in frustration, pointing at me. They all turned and squinted, trying to get a better look.

"Well that's something you don't see every day, isn't it?" remarked a third. Knowing that there was no avoiding an encounter now, I reluctantly sat up as they talked amongst themselves, casting concerned glances at me every so often.

"Look, she's up!" the fourth announced, vying for the attention of the group?, "She's sat up!"

"Ah, she's alive then!" the one who'd first spotted me remarked. I chose this as my moment to speak up, as they were treating me as if I was an animal they were observing in a zoo, or not there at all.

"Of course I'm alive!" I tried to retort with confidence, though being such a mess it came out somewhere between a hoarse grumble and a whine.

"And she can speak! Aren't we a lucky bunch?" he said with a chuckle. I pulled myself up from the ground with some difficulty as I scowled.

In the presence of moderately attractive boys my own age, I realized for the first time what a fright I must look. I was covered in dirt, my dress was wrinkled and torn, my hair was snarled, my makeup was surely a mess (not to mention the ugly bruise that was certainly present on the growing lump on my right cheekbone), and I was wearing no shoes. Once I got closer, the same boy cried,

"You look right grody!"

"Thanks a billion," I replied sarcastically before sighing, "I'll clue you in: I've had a rough night."

"Apparently," he snickered, holding out his hand, "John."

"Cora." We shook hands and I folded my arms, attempting to cover my chest. My low necked dress now seemed silly and more exposing in the light of day. Just then, a blonde girl I hadn't noticed before put her arm around me.

"Come with us back up to the club, then, Cora, and we'll see if we can't get you all fixed up." she smiled warmly. I nodded, grateful for a friendly face, particularly a girl who wouldn't snicker at my appearance like the boys had.

"That'd be lovely, thank you."

"Right, a friend of ours owns it, and we're just finishing up a bit of painting we didn't get done yesterday. Oh, poor thing." she hugged me, and we all began to walk down the road back to the Casbah.

"Hey, I've seen you before," the younger boy studied me, his dark brows furrowing, "She was at the club last night, remember?" he turned to his friend, "She was the one that dope was yelling at, remember he made a big scene?"

"Oh yeah, she was the one who kept drinking!" he replied.

"I can hear you," I called to them in exasperation.

"Sorry!" the young one yelled back. I let out a heavy sigh, embarrassed and frustrated with myself.

"Don't listen to a word they say," the girl assured me, "They're losers, all of them." I giggled.

"Hey!" John protested.

Once we made it inside, the boys lumbered down into the club, while the girl showed me to a bathroom.

"Here, clean yourself up. There's some towels over there- I'll go ask Mrs. Best if she has a day dress or something of the like that you can borrow for now, and maybe a pair of shoes." Mrs. Best, I assumed, was the owner of the house. After thanking her profusely, I remembered my car.

"Not to be a bother, but it seems my car's been towed. Is there any way you could show me to the nearest bus stop later on so I can go and get it?" I asked.

"Of course! You're no bother. I'm sure one of the boys will be wanting to come with you, considering that awful bruise. They won't want you alone, in case that bastard comes looking for you again." Seeing my confusion, she added,

"They may get a bit cheeky, but they're really very nice," she laughed, "Well, I'll leave you to it, then." she smiled again before shutting the door.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I saw that I was correct about my appearance, and that my bruise was worse than I'd originally thought. I drew a long breath before stepping into the shower, hoping not only to rid myself of the dirt, but also all the images of the past day that still haunted my mind.