Judith, Veronica, and Jennifer sprint across the road in front of Kacey's property. Her Ford Elite is parked against the curb, and through the passenger window, they see her glaring at the steering wheel. Her elbow sits on the door, and her temple rests in her palm.
Jennifer opens the passenger door, and Kacey lifts her head, tears trailing down her cheeks. She sniffles, tugs the seat down for them, then watches Judy and Ronnie climb into the backseat. Jenny lifts it behind them, sits beside her friend, and shuts the door.
"Are you okay," Jenny asks, and Kacey shakes her head. She returns her forehead to her hand, and Jenny sighs. "Is there anything we can do?"
"Can you get me out of this fucking state?" When they don't respond, she scoffs. "I try so hard to please him, to prove that I can be the son he wants, changing myself for him."
"Is that why you cut your hair," Veronica asks, and she shakes her head again. Judith listens to the sadness in her voice, and she's left in shock at the different side of Kacey.
"No. I cut it after Rodney broke up with me; I wanted to try something different." Jennifer sits her hand on her back when she bawls into her palms. Her shoulders rack, and Jenny caresses her back in circles. "I don't know how much longer I can do this. I'm killing myself just to hear, 'I'm proud of you,' and it's so fucking exhausting."
"I know that feeling, Kacey," Jenny says. "For a while, I tried to get my Nana to accept me. You've met her, so you know how she is toward black people. Remember what she did that made me give up?"
Kacey shakes her head without looking at her. She sniffles, and Judith's eyes soften with sympathy.
"Her new husband tried to kill me." Judith blinks back and looks around. Ronnie alternates her attention between the two in the front. "He chased me with his shotgun, and I went home and had a spaz attack. I told her the next day, and she called me a liar, said I made it all up — just bored. Sometimes I wonder if I did but check this out."
Kacey lifts her head, Judith and Veronica veer over Jennifer's seat and watch her lift her dress up her thighs. A thin, dark scar runs from her left hip to the right side of her respective knee.
"Jesus H," Judith mumbles. She lowers her dress and straightens her posture.
"We're all dealing with stuff, but if you go to Red Cave again, I'll drive a truck through that place, and when I get you out, I'm beating your ass." Kacey chuckles, and Jennifer wipes her friend's face with her thumbs. Veronica reaches into her cleavage and removes a marijuana cigarette.
She went to Red Cave?
"Anyone wanna hit?" They look at her when she asks. She twiddles it with a faint smirk.
***
Veronica and Judith's lips are pressed to the inner side of their respective fists, and the outer side is against the other person's. Ronnie deflates her puffed cheeks, exhaling the marijuana smoke into Judy's mouth.
They lean away, and the trio laugh as Judith coughs clouds of grey smoke. With the cigarette in her right hand, Kacey spins the lever and rolls her window down.
Judith's chest burns as if the blaze at the end of the cig inhaled into her lungs, and she gasps for the clean air pouring in.
"Oh, hell, she's turning red," Veronica announces, her face full of worry. Kacey draws another puff with her eyes on them. "You're not gonna throw up, are you?"
"No, I'm fine." Judith takes a deep, shaky breath, and when her color returns to brown, Veronica sighs, then shakes her head.
"So, do you feel it yet," Kacey asks her before turning in her seat and resting her back on her door. A stream of smoke drifts out of her mouth like steam from a kettle, and she passes the shortened cigarette to Jenny.
"I don't feel anything from this weak shit," she teases, and they look at her sternly. "Honestly, I've gotten higher off my ex's stash. This was like —"
Wait – what was I talking about?
Judith chuckles, and it gradually turns into a hysterical laugh. They snicker at her, sharing glances.
"I thought she was serious. I was about to get so mad," Veronica says through belly laughs.
"Yeah, you're lucky you're cool, Judy," Kacey tells her. Jenny pulls what's left, then flicks the cigarette out her window. "Ronnie's got a green thumb and she treats this like a job."
"Because it is," she clarifies. Jennifer exhales and scratches the top of her head. "It's not like growing tomatoes and shit. I got a cousin in Cali who's competing with me; he has a shop and everything."
"I'm sorry. I was just joking; I didn't mean to offend you." The car falls silent, and Kacey lowers her head, then clears her throat. She turns to the radio, and they watch her twist the dial. Munchies for your love begins to play, and glee enters everyone's eyes except Judy's.
The trio sings along to the song, and Judith feels herself sinking into the creme leather seat. Her mind wanders with images of David and Mary. She envisions him leaning in to kiss her, only stopping with their lips close enough to feel the heat of each other's breaths.
"I'm selfish with your love, you see," they belt out the line in unison and Veronica's hair swings against the breeze. Judy looks at them, then at the radio. She jolts forward, causing Ronnie to flinch, and they watch her turn the knob off.
Tears strike her eyes like the lyrics did her heart, and she slides off the armrest, returning to her seat. They look at each other, and when they notice the confusion they all share, they return their attention to her.
"Fuck Mary," Judith says with a quiver in her voice, and Kacey curls her mouth into a smirk. Veronica and Jennifer furrow their brows.
"Um, fuck, marry, kill?" Kacey shakes her head before Judy can, so Ronnie asks, "Then what's she talking about?"
"I'm talking about that blonde bitch I was friends with," she clarifies, but they remain unsure. "Mary. Mary Hendricks? She almost fought Juniper."
"Oh, her! Wait, what'd she do," Jenny asks, and Judith shakes her head.
"She's with my ex-boyfriend. He talks like they're done, but figuring out the truth in the lies he spews is like finding a needle in a haystack." They look at each other, then at her.
"Do you still love him?" She slowly turns her head to Veronica when she asks.
"No." Judith narrows her eyes as she answers sternly.
"Then why do you give a fuck what they do?" She doesn't respond. Instead, she lowers her gaze to her knees, and Ronnie sighs. "Listen, I get it. I was kicking it with this guy in Miami when I was your age, and he cheated on me three times, but I still stuck by him. After I found out he got one of his others pregnant, I left him."
"Are they still together?" Veronica twists her mouth and bites her inner cheek. She nods her head. "And they're happy?"
"As happy as anyone can be in that situation." Kacey shakes her head, and Jennifer's eyes dim with sympathy. "I know it isn't encouraging, but it doesn't matter how happy they are. How you get them is how you lose them. Remember that, you dig?"
***
Judith steps out of Kacey's Ford Elite, and when she shuts the door, she turns her head to her right and notices Jerome sitting on his steps.
"I'll call you later." Judith glances behind herself and nods. Kacey drives down the cul-de-sac, and Judy meets Jerome's gaze. He flashes her a smile and she hesitantly returns the gesture.
He waves her over with his right hand, and she glances at her front door, then at the pink, cloudless sky. She draws her arms behind her back, locking her hand over her wrist as she approaches him with her attention on the shifting sidewalk.
When she stumbles behind the bench, he jumps to his feet, and she leans against the back. Her trembling hands grip the curved end, and her body quivers under the brush of the autumn breeze. Jerome rushes to her aid, and she scans his usual attire: a grey university sweatshirt and grey sweatpants.
"Are you alright," he asks when he reaches the bench, and she nods, chuckling at her drug-induced clumsiness.
"I'm going to Morehead," she drags her words, and he furrows his eyebrows. He takes her hand, guides her toward the front of the bench with his arm around her, and sits with her. "I think – that time with Kacey, and Jenny, and Ronnie was enough to convince me."
"Are you high," he asks, staring into her red eyes. The smell of marijuana lifts from her clothes at the hands of the wind as if the Earth decided to answer for her. "Judy, what the fuck is wrong with you?"
She blinks from surprise and scoffs. "Wow, okay, um, I'm an adult, and I don't appreciate you cursing at me. How can you condemn me for swearing, and then you do the same?"
"I cursed this once, and it's because I'm disappointed in you. Not on some infantile shit but out of every chick I've met, you stood out," Jerome explains. "The girls I've dated partied every night and slept through the day."
"So what's your point in all this," she asks with an awkward chuckle. Kacey cruises past them, and Judy watches her drive away.
"I want what's best for you, and smoking reefer isn't on the list." Judith rolls her eyes at him. "Keep doing this, and not only will you get caught by your Mom, but when they drug test you – it'll be worse than anything she can say."
"I'm an adult; I can make my own decisions. Stop lecturing me," she monotonously orders him, and he shakes his head with his lips pursed. "Jesus H, I smoke one time in my whole life, and now you're ready to play stepdad."
She pushes herself to her feet and gasps when she senses the pavement wobble under her. Staring at the ground, she feels like she's standing on a tight rope, and when Jerome notices the tinge of panic in her eyes, he scoffs and says, "Some adult you are. Try to walk, Judy."
Judith doesn't take a step despite his order, and he emits a breathy chuckle.
"What's your problem? Why're you getting high all of a sudden? Is it because of your Dad," he bombards her with questions.
She scoffs, tears trickling onto the brims of her eyes. Judith mumbles, "I don't wanna talk about it."
"Okay, well, do you need help getting home," Jerome asks, and she shoots him a dark look that merely softens at the gentle amusement in his expression.
"No, I can't go home." She returns to her seat, shaking like a chihuahua. "My mom has a nose like a hound dog, and I don't wanna hear her fuss."
She rests her head on his shoulder, and he throws his arm around hers. He licks, then bites his lip in thought.
"Do you wanna – maybe – wear my sweatshirt," he asks, and she lifts her head with knitted brows. She feels his heart pounding and notices his erratically blinking eyes on the house across the street. "I can take you to my room and spray it with cologne, and you can wear it over your shirt."
Yes, say yes!
"I – would love that." Her cheeks burn as she feebly attempts to suppress the joy on her face. He takes her hand, and they walk to his house.
***
Jerome strolls hand in hand with Judith in a black short-sleeved shirt. She's warm in his sweatshirt, and the smell of Shulton Old Spice wafts in her nose at the wind's beckoning.
She looks him over as they ascend the steps to her front door, baring her top row of teeth despite the tension in her cheeks. When he lifts his right hand and knocks, her eyes trail his chubby arm toward his protruding stomach.
He glances at her for a second, then returns his confused gaze to her when he catches her staring.
"What? Do I have something on my face?" He wipes his mouth with his right hand, and she shakes her head.
He's so dreamy.
Stevie opens the door and stares at Jerome, then at Judith. With a smirk, he steps aside and shuts the door behind them.