One-Dollar Thongs

HELEN

After a torturous half-hour wait, I was beginning to think maybe Sam wasn’t coming back.

Then I heard a noise on the other side of the door. It sounded like Emma was struggling to get her keys to work. She had always had trouble with the lock.

As the door opened slowly, I heard Sam’s voice and was suddenly giddy with excitement.

He poked his head around the door and smiled when he saw my goofy grin.

“Penny for them?”

~I feel like a kid at Christmas!~

~And I’m ready to unwrap my present!~

In he came with a paper bag in one hand and a tray with two coffees in the other.

“Someone should take a look at that lock,” he said, dropping the bag on my lap and placing the coffees down on my desk.

“Sam!” I leaned forward and grabbed his T-shirt, pulling him toward me. “I missed you.”

“I just went to get us some breakfast.” He hugged me and kissed the top of my head. “Are you hungry?”

“Hungry for ~something~, alright,” I smirked and pulled his face to mine. The minty flavor of toothpaste lingered on his tongue.

“Hey,” Sam pulled back, smiling. “It’s going to get cold!”

For a minute all I wanted to do was smile up at him. But after a second, I couldn’t ignore the smell of sausage-and-egg sandwiches.

“I guess you’re right,” I sighed and started ripping open the bag. “Damn, I’m starving!”

Sam jumped over me and sat up with his back against the wall. He grabbed the other sandwich and we started to eat.

Maybe I was just tired after last night, but the sandwich was one of the best things I’d ever tasted.

“I think I could eat, like, four of these!” I said with my mouth full. “You know for a second I thought you’d left for good.”

“Did you really think I’d leave without saying anything?” Sam was eating too, and I kind of liked how we were comfortable enough to chat while stuffing our faces.

“Well, no… But after the conversation last night…”

Sam took a break from scarfing down his sandwich and rubbed my leg through the comforter.

“I’m not going anywhere, baby!”

He leaned over and kissed me. He tasted better than our breakfast.

“Oh…” Sam’s face suddenly darkened. “Only I kinda do have to leave.”

“What do you mean?”

I wiped some egg from the corner of my mouth.

“I have to get back to the bees, and Jack has some furniture he needs help loading onto his truck. Sorry.”

I scrunched up my sandwich’s wrapper and tossed it toward the trash can—only just missing it.

“When will you be back?” I asked.

“I’m not sure. Last night made me think that it might not be the best idea for me to hang around here. Those guys didn’t seem to like me or people from Bear Creek very much.”

“Sean is just a stinky-ass jerk,” I huffed. “And you don’t need to worry about Chris.”

“I know. But there’s a reason the elders are on high alert these days. Increased hunter sightings mean it’s dangerous for everybody if I’m here. You saw what happened last night. I nearly shifted, and who knows who those guys might have told if you hadn’t stopped me.”

“Yeah, okay. I get it.”

I must have looked really sad then because Sam leaned over and took my face in his hands.

“Just because I won’t be here doesn’t mean we aren’t together.”

He ran his hand down the side of my neck and over his mark.

“We’re mates, remember?”

I looked into Sam’s face and felt bonded with him in a way I’d never felt before.

I knew that no matter where we were—no matter the physical distance between us—we would always be together.

We kissed until it was time for him to go.

***

Helen

Hey sexy lady!

Emma

Morning sweetheart

Emma

😍

Helen

Where r u??

Emma

At some guys house

Helen

Whose house???

Emma

Not sure…hold on.

Emma

He says his name is Kyle.

Helen

Hahaha lolz

Helen

😂😂😂

Helen

how you feeling?

Emma

ruff 🐶

Helen

wanna get some food later?

Emma

yah! Need to go to the mall for some delicates first, meet me there?

Helen

lol…ok!

***

“So he was ~watching~ you guys have sex?!”

“Shhhh…”

People in the mall turned to look at Emma and me. I smiled apologetically, grabbing my friend by the arm and trying to speed her up.

“That little creeper!” Emma whisper-shouted at me.

“He says he was just peeing, but I don’t think Sam would have reacted so badly if that’s ~all~ he was doing.”

“You mean?” Emma mimed jacking off, which attracted even more stares.

“Stop it!” I shoved her and laughed. “But well…yeah.”

“What a sleazeball!”

“That’s not even the worst part!”

“How much worse can it get?” Emma almost choked from laughing.

“Chris showed up.”

“Oh my Lord!” Emma stopped walking and grabbed my arm. “Are you serious!?”

“Uh-huh. I thought I was going to die of embarrassment.”

We turned into Barbara & Company because we liked their underwear selection and they were having a sale.

“What were they doing out by the reservoir anyway?” Emma said, heading straight for the bargain bins near the checkout. “Maybe they’re a secret couple and just wanted some alone time!”

~I wish that were the case.~

Something about the way Chris and Sam had locked eyes kept bugging me.

Sure, they could have been acting possessively over me. But it felt like there was more to it than that.

“Don’t you have enough of those?”

I raised an eyebrow at Emma, who was rummaging through a bin filled with discounted thongs.

“A girl can never have enough underwear…and these are just a dollar each!”

Remembering how Sam had ripped up my panties last night, I started to agree with Emma and joined in her search.

“Speak of the horny devil!”

I looked up at Emma, who was holding about six different thongs and staring toward the exit.

“What is it?”

I turned and was shocked to see Sean hurrying past.

“I think he saw you and hightailed it,” Emma said. “Serves him right! I ought to go give him a piece of my mind, the little pervert!”

“~Weird~!”

I was lost in thought, realizing how strange it was to run into Sean twice in such a short amount of time, when Emma interrupted.

“I need to pee. Can we pay for these and go?”

Turning back, I found Emma cradling more thongs than she could carry, and I burst out laughing.

“Sure!” I cackled. “You want some help carrying those?”

***

With a bagful of dollar thongs, Emma and I made our way to the bathroom. I’d only just sat down when I noticed someone crying in the next stall over.

I finished up and found Emma at the sinks. She raised her eyebrows at the crier.

Whoever was in that stall, it sounded like she was having a really tough time.

I was still washing my hands when the door swung open.

~Oh shit!~

Out walked Brittany with red puffy eyes and mascara running down her face.

“Oh crap.” Brittany rolled her eyes as she spotted Emma and me.

“Are…you okay?” I asked.

“What, like you care?” I couldn’t blame Brittany for acting hostile. She hated me, and I’d just found her at her most vulnerable.

“I... do. What’s wrong?”

Even though Brittany had been a bitch on wheels, I wasn’t heartless. Despite her defensive attitude, I could tell she wasn’t okay.

She leaned against the wall next to the hand dryer.

“You should know…”

Grabbing some paper towels from the dispenser, I handed them to Brittany and waited while she blew her nose.

“What should I know?”

“Chris... doesn’t want anything to do with me…”

~Oh!~

I couldn’t help feeling a little guilty.

“I’m sorry.”

“I bet you are. It’s your fault. You know he’s weirdly obsessed with you.”

“With me...?” I felt myself blushing a little.

“She doesn’t care about that dick!” Emma chimed in. “She’s got a boyfriend.”

“Oh yeah,” Brittany said, sniffing. “Your stepbrother.”

I knew she was teasing, but I hadn’t forgotten the way she’d made me feel that day in class. She must have caught me looking unimpressed, because she quickly softened her expression.

“My friends said they saw you with him. Apparently, he’s super hot.”

I blushed again, and Brittany shrugged.

“Maybe if my stepbrother was that hot I’d want to fuck his brains out too.”

~What is going on?~

~Is she being nice to me?~

“I’m sorry I told everyone,” she said, looking at the floor.

“How did you even know?” Emma said, joining me.

“You guys were fighting real loud. The walls in the dorm are, like, paper-thin.”

I snuck Emma an apologetic look. I should never have accused her of betraying me.

“Are you here with anyone? Do you want me to go get them?” I asked, but she only looked more upset than before.

“You shouldn’t be nice to me,” Brittany said, mascara running down her cheeks. “I’ve been horrible to you forever. You’d kill me if you knew why.”

“Why?” I asked.

~What is she talking about?~

“I’ve always hated you because... you’re the reason my dad left.”

I was speechless.

“I always knew it wasn’t fair. The reason he left…,” Brittany sobbed. “He left because he hit someone with his car. Someone on a motorcycle. He didn’t want to get in trouble with the cops because he had a record. When I heard what had happened to your dad…”

My eyes grew wide as I connected the dots. Was Brittany saying that her dad was the hit-and-run driver who had killed ~my~ dad?

“I felt so guilty! I knew I couldn’t tell you, so I started being mean because I knew I’d let it spill eventually. Then I started to hate you because your dad died…but mine abandoned me…”

I took a step back.

My head was spinning.

Brittany and I may have been mortal enemies, but seeing her like that made me think back to when we were friends. When we used to be so happy.

Maybe I should have hated her for what her dad had done. But I looked at Brittany, sobbing pathetically. I knew she was just as much a victim as my dad was.

“We were going to go get some food,” I said. Emma was glaring at me, but I didn’t care. I wanted the cycle of hatred to end. “Do you… Do you wanna come with?”

“Really? You’re inviting me? After everything I just said?”

I nodded firmly, trying to show kindness on my face.

“Brittany, remember how we were friends once? I miss that.”

Brittany looked at me like she was trying to decide whether I was making fun of her or not.

“I’m sorry I’ve been such a bitch,” she said, and I smiled at her. “I’m sorry about everything.”

“It’s okay.”

“If you ladies have finished making love,” Emma interrupted, “I’m freaking starving!”

“We’re going to drive to Antonio’s for pizza—you need a lift?”

“I brought my car; I’ll meet you there.”

“Okay.”

***

“You’re being way too nice!” Emma said as we left the parking garage and began driving toward the restaurant.

“What was I supposed to do? Leave her crying in the bathroom?”

“Bitch, that’s exactly what you should have done! You could have been bleeding all over the floor and Brittany would have stepped over you to get to the tampon dispenser.”

Even if Emma was right, I was glad that I might be able to begin repairing my friendship with Brittany.

I didn’t say anything; I just kept driving. On our right, a row of trees lined the road, but on our left, a field stretched out forever. The sun was beginning to set, and the sky was shades of peach and lavender.

Antonio’s was this old-school pizza restaurant just outside of town. Emma and I had started going there during freshman year. The slices were big and cheap, and they never carded, even before we’d turned twenty-one.

I smiled to think that maybe things were starting to look up.

Maybe, despite everything, there was a chance me and Brittany could mend things.

Emma and I were as tight as we’d ever been.

And Sam and I were truly committed to each other, despite all the obstacles that might have kept us apart.

I turned to say something to Emma, and that’s when I saw it…

A car hurtling down a narrow road through the trees.

It was coming straight for us!

~Why isn’t it slowing down?!~

I didn’t see the turnoff until it was too late…

I tried to swerve, but the car crashed into us—and the Corolla went flying.

My head hit the window as we swerved off the road and began to flip.

Emma and I were flung around as the car rolled over and over.

I saw Emma go limp as her head hit the ceiling and she passed out.

~Oh God, Emma!~

~Please don’t be dead!~

Finally, we came to a stop.

I felt the blood drain from my head…

My vision started to blur…

The last thing I heard before I fell unconscious were voices coming toward us…

I slumped forward in my seat…

And passed out…