Since Forever Ago by Olivia Besse Page A

shaking in anger as the words left her mouth. “You can totally tell by the way he’s touching her. They’ve probably been sleeping together this whole time.”
    “No way,” Riley loudly declared, though she was well aware that Liz was probably right. “I’m sure he’s just really drunk.”
    “Is that an excuse?” Liz scoffed in disgust, not tearing her eyes away from the scene for even a second.
    “Of course not,” Riley quickly replied, letting out a tired sigh. “Ugh, all guys really are assholes.”
    “Do you think he’s slept with anyone else?” Liz suddenly asked, turning to her friends with widened eyes. “Oh God, am I going to have to go to student health and get myself checked? Those girls look like they’d be harboring all sorts of novel strains of herpes!”
    At this, Riley felt her eyes bulge out in surprise, her arm limply falling from Liz’s shoulders. Why hadn’t she thought of that before? How had that possibility never crossed her mind?
    All that she had worried about was what people would think, or how many people had known, or if Noah had fallen in love with one of his digital paramours. Of course a responsible girl like Liz would think about the practical repercussions of her boyfriend’s illicit affairs. Only someone as stupid as herself wouldn’t have thought of such glaringly obvious matters after finding out about the string of girls with whom she had shared Noah’s bed.
    Fuck, fuck, fuck! Had Noah used protection when he’d cheated on her? He was, after all, the one who’d made her get an IUD because he hated wearing condoms. Was it possible that she was now the not-so-proud owner of an exotic vernereal disease?
    “I feel sick,” Liz muttered under her breath, blinking furiously as she pushed past her friends and began making her way towards the exit. “I need to get out of here.”
    Riley numbly nodded in agreement to no one in particular as she and Audrey scampered after her, feeling extremely nauseous as they pushed through the sweaty crowd. Without a doubt, she had honestly never felt sicker in her entire life.

Ten
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    “S o I put my hands up, they’re playing my song! The butterflies fly away!”
    “Shut the fuck up, Max!”
    “I’m nodding my head like ‘yeah,’ moving my hips like ‘yeah’!”
    “How the fuck do you even remember the lyrics to this song?” Riley grumbled.
    “Got my hands up, they’re playing my song, and now I’m gonna be okay,” Max continued, ignoring his miserable friend in the passenger seat.
    “You’re fucking kidding me.”
    “Yeeeeeeeah, it’s a party in the USA!” he wailed out, looking over and grinning maniacally at Riley as she shot him a death glare. 
    “Yeaaaaaaah! It’s a party in the USA!”
    With an annoyed groan, Riley slammed the palm of her hand against the volume button, effectively shutting off the blaring music and rendering the car silent. 
    “Rude,” Max said with a theatrical scoff, shooting her a judgmental glance before turning his eyes back to the road. 
    “I’m not in the mood, okay?” Riley snapped, sulking in her seat with her arms tightly crossed in front of her chest. She was well aware that Max had just been trying to lighten the atmosphere, but all of his obnoxious screaming was making her feel even more on edge.  
    “Look,” Max began in a soft voice. “Everything’s going to be all right. Let’s just get your results so you can stop freaking out.”
    Riley let out a long sigh. “I hope so,” she muttered under her breath. “Thanks... Thanks for coming with me again, by the way.”
    “I’m your spirit guide, remember?” he reminded her, turning to give her a small smile.
    Forcing a weak smile onto her own face, Riley let out a shaky sigh. “Well, let’s hope you won’t be having to guide me to the pharmacy after this.”
    “Don’t say shit like that,” he quietly replied as he pulled into the parking lot behind the health center and shut