Chapter 5: Mega Drug Mart To The Rescue

I didn't know what to say. The gauzy, cottony feeling in my mouth along with the headache really did a number on my mental faculties. "I... I really do need an aspirin," I groaned.

Blithe glanced suspiciously at me for half a second, suspecting me of some sort of trickery, but gave in and walked up to my medicine cabinet. Promptly five seconds later, she yelled over, "Sorry, I think you're fresh out of aspirin! Is your head okay? How bad is it?"

Wonderful. "It's pretty bad."

She shot me a look of concern. "Want to me to make a run to the pharmacy? I can run pretty fast, you know." Her tone was light, but I could tell she was starting to get seriously worried.

That sounded great, actually, except I didn't want her to leave. The oppressive pain, the fogginess in my head, the sandpapery flesh of my tongue... it all suddenly felt very trivial as opposed to being alone in my apartment. I sucked in my cheeks and tried to shake off the sudden fear. I'd never felt this way before.

But now there was a nausea-inducing knot of panic building in the pit of my stomach at the very prospect, and I hadn't the slightest idea why. There was nowhere safer than my own home - right?

The mounting confusion, the queasiness, the panic. I squeezed my eyes shut, burying myself in the dappled darkness. My hands went to my face, and I felt the coolness of my palms on my forehead.

"Jodie!" she exclaimed, making no effort to hide her anxiety. "That's it. I'm going to the pharmacy. Sit tight until I get back, okay? This... this can wait."

I shot upwards too fast, losing my balance and staggering before steadying myself on the sofa's ratty arm. "No!" My voice sounded wrong - too reedy, too panicked. "No," I repeated. "I'll come with. I, um, really need the fresh air."

Ten long seconds. Blithe bit her lip and turned the suggestion over in her head.

"Fine," she said. "Well, come on then."

I swear the second we left the apartment, my upside-down world swerved back to its rightful position. The queasiness leaked into the air, leaving me feeling feather-light and refreshed. My feet felt buoyant, every step propelling me up into the cool air.

Okay, now I knew something was up. "Refreshed" and "buoyant" were generally not words that described a walk in Newell City. I'd go with something more along the lines of "paranoid" and "looking over your shoulder every twenty-five seconds to make sure that kid from the corner isn't about to snatch your wallet". As usual, the sky was a membrane of watery gray, and the air was steeped in that familiar cigarettes-and-trash funk. It wasn't like a double rainbow had come out to beam down at us, or there was a herd of ponies prancing on the sidewalk It was just... inexplicable, airy lightness.

Unfortunately, Blithe didn't seem to be sharing the sentiment. Usually, she would jog a little to keep up with my longer strides, but today she paced alongside me, her steps fast and orderly as a soldier's. I felt the guilt twist uncomfortably in my gut - which was stupid. Right? I had nothing to feel guilty about.

It was time to get this all sorted out and fess up. Only problem was, I wasn't so sure what I was fessing up to.

"Okay," I said, glancing down at Blithe. "So... you wanted to know. What happened on my vacation."

"Yup," came her clipped reply. Her eyes were fixed firmly on the concrete before us, and they lookde distant, like she was a hundred miles away in her mind. She wanted answers, but obviously didn't want to push me.

"Well, that's the thing. I can't really remember."

My best friend cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean, you don't remember?"

"I mean it's all a blank. I don't know what I did. I don't even know where I went, really. It's... unclear.

"You don't know where you were for the past freakin' month? How is that possible? And no, that's not a rhetoical question because I really, really want you to answer that." Her voice was picking up steam now, reverting back to its typical level of energy and gusto.

"I think something's seriously wrong, Blithe. There's got to be a reasonable explanation, but I honestly just..." I wasn't sure what to say. "Look, I'm back now, right? So, we can just carry on with our lives."

Blithe turned her head fast enough to give herself whiplash. She looked at me as if I was clinically insane: "You're kidding, right? You get a month's worth of memories just wiped out, and you're completely fine with that? Just la dee da, pretend like nothing's happened?"

"I think you're overreacting a bit," I tried, injecting sarcasm into my voice, but it sounded weak even to myself. I just... didn't want to think too much about my vacation. That... that was it. I didn't want to think too much about any of it, really. Why was she making a such a big deal out of it?

"No. Nope, nope, nope. I - we - are getting to the bottom of this." Yup, I knew that tone. It was set in stone now.

Still, no shame in trying. "Calm down there, Scooby. We're not detectives. Besides, maybe -" I scrambled for a semi-reasonable excuse. I just partied my way through the whole thing and that's why I can't remember a thing! Maybe I got so wasted I was blacked out for most of it."

Blithe laughed. "You? Wasted? No offense, Jodie, but I'm pretty sure anyone who's known you for over three minutes can deduce that you're not that much into drinking. Or partying. Or having fun in general, but that's for a whole other conversation, which, believe me, we are having someday."

My lips opened and closed, but I had nothing. Blithe smirked in triumph. She would've said more, but thankfully, the doors of the aptly-named Mega Drug Mart had come into view.

So, my current plan of action was:

1) Buy aspirin (and new mascara, and maybe some tropical fruit gum, and definitely toilet paper).

3) Hope Blithe forgets about the whole thing.