Request of the Nerds

I roused in the dim hours of early morning to Courtney’s phone buzzing on the nightstand. She groggily reached for it and checked the screen.

“Shit, it’s Ash,” she hissed. “Should I answer it?”

“Why wouldn’t you?” I muttered and tried to fall back to sleep. Courtney sat up, instantly awake, and cleared her throat.

“Hey, what’s up?” she asked quietly when the call connected. Ashley’s response through the phone’s speaker sounded tinny and far away.

“Hey, where are you? Did you leave?”

“No, I’m downstairs,” she admitted, then quietly cursed herself for it. She immediately rolled out of bed and frantically rooted around on the floor for her clothes. Ashley’s cautious response came after a long pause.

“Downstairs where?”

Courtney held the phone with her shoulder and danced her way into her panties. I head footsteps overhead.

“I’m in the bathroom,” she lied, fumbling to untangle her crumpled cami. She dropped the phone onto the bed and quickly pulled it over her head. The stairs creaked.

“Why are you using the downstairs bathroom?”

Courtney snatched up her phone and quickly slipped out the door, blowing me a kiss before shutting it with a soft click. “I got a surprise visit from Aunt Flo,” I heard her say as she tiptoed down the hall. Then, before I knew it had happened, I fell fast asleep again.

Sunlight sliced past a narrow gap in the vertical blinds to paint my face, waking me for the second time. I could tell by the high angle of the beam, and a decidedly refreshed feeling, that I must have slept late. My phone confirmed it to be well past noon.

I took the shower I should have taken the night before and redressed in the same clothes. In the vanity, I found a new toothbrush, as well as toothpaste, deodorant, and a comb. Twenty minutes later, I felt almost human again.

I bumped into Erin almost immediately upon exiting the room, hauling a clinking bag of recyclables to the garage. She smiled when she saw me, but I didn’t feel in the mood to reciprocate.

“He lives,” she said sardonically. “Sleep okay?”

“Fine.”

“Fine,” she repeated in a mocking tone, and laughed. “You just missed Clay. He literally just pulled away.”

“Where are my keys?” I asked, shifting my backpack. I couldn’t have cared less about Clay, or her for that matter.

“We’re going to have a lot of fun today. Clay won’t be back until ten, so we’ve got lots of time,” she said, resuming her journey to the recycling bin. “Ashley’s in her room. You should go up and see her. Mommy will come find you later when her pussy needs you.”

I called after her, but she had already disappeared into the garage. Goddammit.

I thought about searching for my keys, but I knew that would be fruitless in a house that big. Uber remained an option, but then I’d have to come back at some point with my spare. I resolved to leave the house, with or without my Rover, well before Clay came home. I didn’t want to see him again after what he’d pulled the night before.

Regardless of how I felt about Clay and Erin, however, I found my spirits lifting as I climbed the stairs to Ashley’s bedroom. I felt excited to see her again, and that surprised me.

Her door stood closed. As I approached, I heard heated conversation coming from inside. Ashley arguing with someone. Courtney. Shit. I knocked on the door and the arguing stopped.

“What?” came Ashley’s voice from inside.

“It’s me.”

The door flew open, and Ashley stood glaring, her face red. “What do you want?” she asked, turning away before I could answer.

Brittney and Kayla sat on the edge of the bed playing a video game, neither willing to look at me, while Courtney stood off to the side with a miserable expression on her face. I could guess what they’d been arguing about.

“I was hoping we could talk,” I said, easing into the room and closing the door behind me.

“About what? Having sex with my so-called best friend?” Ashley fumed, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. Courtney looked like she would be ill. I gave Ashley a dour look and shook my head.

“No. That’s none of your business.”

Ashley’s eyes flared, and she jabbed an accusing finger at Courtney. “Why do you always have to be such a slut?”

“Back off!” I snapped, and Ashley shrank back, immediately cowed. The other girls, startled by my outburst, turned to stare. “Sit down.”

Ashley dropped her butt onto the foot of the bed, and Courtney sat as well, even though I hadn’t been talking to her. I fixed Ashley with a stern scowl but kept my voice calm and even.

“I told you, that’s none of your business and it’s the last time I ever want to hear you bring it up again. Are we clear?”

Ashley gulped and nodded her head. Her anger appeared to have been superficial and probably amounted to little more than petty jealousy and hurt feelings. Still, better to nip it in the bud before it flared into something more. It also wouldn’t hurt to establish some ground rules about what was and wasn’t out of bounds at the same time.

“You guys are supposed to be friends. You should all be supporting one another, not trying to tear each other down and call each other sluts. You know what I’m saying?”

Ashley glanced at Courtney and her face reddened, but this time with shame. She nodded again.

“Good. Now, I came up here to talk about what your mom said last night.” At that, everyone’s ears perked up. “Is there somewhere we can go? Somewhere private?”

Ashley exchanged furtive glances with her friends and said, “I told them about it. They know.”

Interesting. I nodded and pulled her desk chair over, spinning it around to sit on it backwards. “Whatever. Look, I was pretty fucked up last night, and so was your mom, and she said some really awful shit to you she shouldn’t have, and I’m really sorry about that.”

Ashley watched me intently, saying nothing, so I continued.

“Anyway, I want you to know that I really don’t give a flying fuck what your mom thinks or wants, alright? Fuck that bitch. I only care about you and what you want, and I’m perfectly happy to tell her to go fuck herself. So, if you don’t want to take me up on my offer, just let me know, okay?”