Exposure by Annie Jocoby

loopy. But loopy was better than panicky, so I felt that I was ready to leave for home.
    I walked out and Scarlett was actively flirting with Asher, having apparently recovered her composure. Asher, however, wasn’t flirting back. He was looking down the hallway the entire time she was talking to him and doing her trademark hair-flip. He saw me emerging from the bathroom and walked up to greet me. He attempted to put his arm around me, but I abruptly took his arm and flung it away from me with a glare.
    I was almost home free.
    “Come on, Scarlett,” I said, without a backward glance. “Let’s go home.”
    “Oh, okay,” she said, her beautiful eyelashes batting furiously. “It was very nice to meet you, Asher.”
    “Likewise,” he said. “CJ, please turn around so that I can say goodbye to you.”
    I just shook my head and got into the cab. “Come on, Scarlett, get in here right now.”
    She got in, and the cabby drove off.

12
    S carlett was yammering in the cab, apparently trying to fill the silence. I was just sitting there, staring out the window. I didn’t want to speak and I didn’t want to listen. I just wanted silence and solitude. I wanted to just get into the safety of my bed and never, ever leave.
    “Oh my God, CJ, that man is probably the most beautiful man I have ever seen. I mean, I’ve seen pictures of him, but they don’t do him justice at all. At all.”
    I just nodded my head. “I guess so.” At that moment, Scarlett was acting like a groupie, not like my best friend and soul sister.
    “I guess you’re going to explain all of this, huh? I mean, I have to confess that I’m more than a little bit confused as to why you were in the hospital with that gorgeous man, and why he’s not taking you home. But I hope that it will all come out in due time.”
    “In due time.” I leaned my head against the window of the cab, and the comforting sound of the rain lulled me almost to sleep. The sedative was working its magic, that was for sure.
    “Oh, I’m so sorry, CJ. I’m just sitting here drooling over your date.” And then she giggled. “I’m not being a very good friend, though, so I’ll just shut up for now.”
    “He wasn’t my date. He was just my wannabe charity benefactor. And now he’s nobody.”
    “What do you mean?”
    I just shook my head. “I don’t want to talk about it right now. I just want to get home and get into bed and forget today ever happened. Forget that Asher Sloane even exists. Sorry about that.”
    “Oh, no need to apologize,” she said. “I mean, I should be the one apologizing. I lost all sense of reason when I saw that man. But I’m being insensitive, so I really need to just be quiet.”
    I just continued to look out the window and say nothing. The rain and the sound of the wiper blades on the windshield of the cab were soothing me. I didn’t know it until right that second, but I really missed the sound of wiper blades. I also missed the sounds of cars driving on slick streets.
    It’s funny how you start to miss little things when you don’t get them anymore.
    Finally, the cab came to a stop in front of our place. I attempted to hand the cabby my debit card, but Scarlett handed him hers instead.
    I didn’t protest, even though Scarlett was also making me feel like a charity case. I was the one in the hospital, yet she was the one picking up the tab. Because she knew that I couldn’t afford it.
    Couldn’t afford the cab ride home. What had my life come to?
    We walked through the door of our building, and I trudged up the four flights of stairs. Scarlett was right behind me. She had her hand on the small of my back, as if she were afraid that I would fall down otherwise.
    When I got into the apartment, I went straight into my room and got under the covers. I was fully clothed.
    Then, without warning, came the torrent of tears.
    I cried myself to sleep.
----
    T he next day , I slept in until noon. When I woke up, Scarlett had long since gone to