Chapter 60
“It’d be so much easier if you had email,” Bethany complained at one point. “Then I could email you from work.”
Dana scoffed, “Hello? A computer’s expensive and not allof us have a steady income. I’m not still in college, remember. There isn’t a computer lab around the corner I can go to and check my email.”
“I know,” Bethany sighed. “I’m just saying.”
Well, just don’t.
Eventually Dana stopped calling altogether.
It saddened her to think of losing Bethany as a friend, but letting things drag on the way they were hurt worse. Better to end it quickly than let it linger. At least, that was what she told herself. Bethany was moving on. She had to do the same.
One evening, later than usual, Dana had just turned off the television after watching The X-Fileswhen the phone rang. She hurried to answer the line in her bedroom so as to not disturb her parents; she really needed to start looking for a place of her own. Of course, she couldn’t move out without a steady source of income, and God knew she’d sent out her resume to every job in the classifieds. She’d even bit the bullet and put in some applications at the mall, thinking a retail position was beneath her but at least it’d put money in her pocket. What a waste of four years of college,she thought, snagging the phone’s receiver on the second ring. “Hello?”
“Dana?” Bethany sniffled.
Though they hadn’t spoken in well over two weeks, Dana instantly recognized something was wrong from the sound of her friend’s voice. Sinking onto the edge of her bed, she asked, “Bethy? Are you okay? What’s the matter?”
Another sniffle, then Bethany blew her nose noisily. Taking a hitching breath, she said, “Oh, just…wanted to say hey. See how you’re doing. I miss you.”
“Something’s wrong, honey,” Dana told her. “I can tell. What happened?”
“Can you…” Bethany sighed, dejected. “Remember we said you’d come up and visit sometime?”
How could Dana forget? “Yeah, sure. But you’ve been so busy, what with work and all.”
“Can you maybe still come up, though?”
“Sure,” Dana murmured. “Whenever you want me to, I can—”
“How about tonight?” Bethany asked.
Dana glanced at the clock on her bedside table—it was after ten and she was already dressed for bed. “Like right now?” she asked. “You know it’s a two-hour drive, and that’s without traffic. I won’t be there until after midnight.”
Sniffling, Bethany admitted, “I know. I just…I need to see you right now, that’s all.”
Dana sat quietly for a moment, trying to think. When she graduated, her mother had given her an old car to drive; it wasn’t a sexy vehicle by any means, but it was old and reliable, and she’d filled up the gas tank earlier in the week, so she knew she could make the trip, no problem. Her parents wouldn’t be happy—her father was already in bed, but she could hear her mother downstairs puttering around the kitchen still, and if she said Bethany neededher, then how could her mother say she couldn’t go?
She can’t say no anyway,Dana reasoned. I’m an adult now. I can come and go as I please. If I want to leave in the middle of the night to run off and see my friends, that’s my prerogative.
And God, she sowanted to see Bethany again. Talking to her again after so long was like dancing in the rain after a drought. What would it feel like to actually be with her in the same room once more? To feel the press of Bethany’s leg alongside her own as they sat on the bed, or the touch of Bethany’s hand on her arm? To hold her again?
Who was Dana kidding? Her mind was already made up—if she said no and promised to leave first thing in the morning instead, she wouldn’t get a lick of sleep all night, thinking of Bethany. Better to leave now and see her sooner rather than later.
Gently, she asked, “Can you tell me what made you so upset? So I know what we’re going to be up all night talking about?”
Bethany took another hitching breath, then broke down into a soft sob. “It’s Terrance,” she cried. “Damn it, Dana. You were right about him. What a fucking jerk! I’m through with him. I just—I don’t want to be alone and I really need to talk to someone, and you know what? There’s no one else I’d rather talk to than you. Can you come on up? Please say yes.”
Happiness flushed through Dana from the tips of her toes all the way to the top of her head. Part of it was hearing Bethany finally admit she’d been right about Terrance all along—she’d known he was bad news from the moment Bethany first mentioned him, and it felt good to know her hunch had played out. Bethany deserved so much better. Dana was just sorry to hear that Bethany had to find out the hard way, but given how much “in love” she’d been with the guy, it was probably for the best. She wouldn’t have kicked him to the curb unless he did something reallyhorrible that forced her to let him go.