fast car | STEVE HARRINGTON [2]

22. lady and the tramps

"IT'S CALLED BEING A RADIO PERSONALITY YOU KNOW," Jerry, Hawkins FM's producer, called out to the blonde show host. The show host who currently had her forehead resting on the table after announcing on the air the next song to be played to her listeners. "You actually kind of need to have a personality."

Ringo Wheeler had responded with a lift of her middle finger, refusing to so much as raise her head to acknowledge his words. It was fair to say that today's rendition of Radio Ringo was utterly dreary and monotone. From Ringo's complete lack of enthusiasm and engagement, to the endless repeat of non-upbeat songs played that all seemed to generalise around the theme of heartbreak and loss. But the blonde found it near impossible to even get out of bed that day, forcing herself to hide how she was feeling was proving actually impossible.

Ringo was depressed. In every sense of the word. And on top of it all, she was anxious about the fact that she had let a boy mean so much to her that it would affect her mood this badly. It was true the Wheeler girl had always struggled with her mental health, but she had thought she reached a level of stability by now to better react to events like this.

But truly how could anyone not feel this awful after potentially pushing away the love of their life?

"Look, it seems like you're going through something, kid," Jerry continued, his tone softer as he approached the booth. "Just please try to play a little more upbeat songs? Spring break is tomorrow, the kids want to get in the mood not out of it."

Ringo leaned back in her chair, lifting her red-rimmed eyes to give him a nod of acceptance as the chorus riff of 'Please Please Let Me Get What I Want' by the Smiths flooded through her headphones. Spring break was tomorrow, he was right, but all Ringo could think about was how it had been three days since she and Steve had spoken.

The blonde barely ate, spoke or left the comfort of her bed. Her friends had tried their hardest to rally around her, but she refused to see any of them. The only thing in the world that roused much of a reaction from her these days was Fonzie, who proved to be the world's greatest comfort dog. The golden retriever seemed tuned in to his owner's feelings as well as any human, and made it his mission to curl up into her side and lick her face incessantly as often as he could.

As much as Ringo felt justified in her choice, as much as she knew it was the right thing to do for both herself and Steve, it didn't mean she felt any better about it. She had single-handedly broken the heart of the last person in the world she ever wanted to hurt. The Wheeler girl wished her hardest that she could be different.

Letting out a sigh of relief when she noticed she only had enough airtime left for one more song, Ringo stuck on Cherry Pie by Warrant in the hopes Jerry would be content with her choice. The upbeat tune played in the background while she began to pack her things up, making a mental note to stop by the liquor store on her journey home, hoping at least it would dull her pounding headache if not just her aching heart.

✵

Even Fonzie had seemingly grown tired of trying to bring her around, the dog leaving his owner on her own to drown her sorrows in tequila inside the comfort of her quiet bedroom. Ringo had made a move to play one of her vinyls, but every case that met her fingertips reminded her that she wouldn't have these vinyls if Steve hadn't bought them back for her. Every custom mixtape she owned either was made for Steve or by him. Instead, she resorted to laying in silence, curled into a ball on her bed.

Ringo toyed with the idea she was being dramatic, but couldn't bring herself to care all that much either.

The marks in the ceiling above her swirled from her consumption, and soon disappeared from sight when her gaze snapped to her bedroom door at the sound of raised voices. Curiously, she forced herself to get up when she recognised her mother and sister's rise in tone, trailing toward her bedroom door and opening it a crack.