Chapter 5- Party of 2

Warnings: Sadness

The bar Sloane had decided to drag Daniyah to was every bit as shady as she had imagined it would be. She tried not to gape in horror as Sloane pulled into the parking lot. The place looked like it hadn’t been graced with the presence of a broom or any type of cleaning device in at least a couple of years. There were cans tossed all around the premises and the smell of smoke-or whatever else could be in the air- seemed to permanently linger around despite the fact that they were outside. She would be highly surprised if she came out of this with her clothes unscathed. It was yet another example of the things she let Sloane guilt her into under the guise of being “good for her.”

“Oh my Lord, I can see the judgement just pouring out from you right now,” Sloane said with a very amused look on her face. She was clearly enjoying Daniyah’s reaction to the place; much to Daniyah’s dismay.

“Are you surprised?!” Daniyah replied, turning to look at her so-called friend. “I think you have me mistaken for Jolene or something.”

“Relax, Miss Goody-two shoes, I’ll get you home without a scratch,” Sloane said, and got out of the car. Daniyah scrambled out after her; she couldn’t bear to be left alone in the scary parking lot. She gave Sloane a look of apprehension and surveyed the rest of her surrounding hoping to find something a little bit comforting. “Scout’s honour,” Sloane added in a bid to relax her a little.

“You were never even in girl scouts, you liar,” Daniyah said, a small smile threatening to break through her cloudy face. “Oh wait, that’s right, you got kicked out after two meetings.”

“We promised to never speak of that again!” Sloane gasped in fake outrage. “Besides, you know the troop leader hated me. I guess my shining personality was just too much to handle.”

“Yep, I’m sure that’s exactly what it was,” Daniyah replied with an amused smile. Sloane, with no other comebacks, merely stuck her tongue out at Daniyah and began to make her way into the bar.

Once inside the bar, Daniyah found herself being pleasantly surprised at the big difference between the interior and the exterior. The seedy, less than palatable outside had given way to a far cleaner inside. The bar had the right atmosphere of being somewhat private but still very much a party spot. It was sufficiently out of the way enough that there wasn’t a big crowd of people trying to look cool at the new, trendy hotspot, yet it was just populated enough to give it the fun vibe a bar always needed in her opinion. Sloane was quick to notice her obviously impressed expression and smirked at her.

“See? I know my bar scene, Dani-bear,” she said, using the annoying nickname she knew got under Daniyah’s skin like nothing else. “Let’s find a seat!”

Swallowing her displeasure at the nickname, Daniyah obediently followed Sloane as she led the way to the back of the bar. She quickly secured an empty booth and slumped into it with an exaggerated sigh. Almost like a new idea had hit her, her eyes quickly brightened and she shot up out of her seat again.

“You still drink beer right?” she asked, quickly turning back to look at Daniyah.

“Um, yeah? I’m not sure how that’s even a valid question,” she replied with a quizzical look on her face.

“Well, I dunno, since I came back you’ve been all subdued and sophisticated, so I wasn’t sure if you still drank beer,” Sloane said with a shrug. Daniyah looked down at the table in confusion. Sophisticated? She didn’t think she’d changed at all. She certainly didn’t feel changed.

“Well, I’ll be right back Dani-bear,” Sloane said and made her way to the less than crowded bar. Daniyah took the time to think about the fact that she was about to spill about what happened. This would be the first time she’d ever done so and she was not feeling all too calm about it. Still, she tried to calm herself down, she had nothing to be scared of, and after all it was only Sloane. It’s just Sloane, she thought to herself, already feeling a tiny bit calmer.

It didn’t take long for Sloane to come back with two giant pitchers of beer and two glasses in her hands. She wore a giddy, excited look on her face and Daniyah had known her long enough to know that this meant she’d met someone she found attractive. Daniyah waited for her to take a seat before bursting out with the question.

“What’s his name?” she asked as Sloane slid one of the glasses towards her and poured the beer into it.

“Oh, come on Dani. You always assume it’s a guy. I assure you that, contrary to popular belief, I am not completely boy crazy,” Sloane replied with a coy smile creeping onto her face.

“Mmhmm,” Dani said and took a sip of her beer.

“So, feel free to start from the beginning,” Sloane said, plastering a sweet smile on. Daniyah was almost shocked at the abrupt change of topic, but then again, Sloane was known for cutting to the chase. She despised the little games people seemed to play when something important needed to be discussed; it was the reason she’d earned the description of no-nonsense.

“Well, I’m not sure where to start. I mean, there isn’t really much to tell.”

“Not much to tell? Dani, I left with you and Micheal happy as could be, and the next I hear, you’re broken up, he’s moved off with some woman and has a kid on the way. I think there might be a little bit to tell,” Sloane replied with an incredulous look on her face.

Daniyah shrugged dejectedly and took a giant gulp of her beer, almost like she was bracing herself.

“I got knocked up, as you know, then I lost the baby. A year later, Micheal knocked someone else up and I guess they got together. I’m not sure; I stopped paying attention when he dropped that bomb on me.”

Sloane kept quiet and grabbed Daniyah’s hand; she didn’t dare say anything, all she could do was wait for her to say her piece.

“I woke up one day, and I knew I’d lost the baby. I tried so hard to deny it; maybe he was just asleep. I knew what was up though, I wish I didn’t, but I knew,” she continued woefully.

“Do you know what it’s like to have to into the hospital, give birth, and come home with nothing? I didn’t, and even till today I wish I could forget that feeling.”

“I’m so sorry you had to go through that, Dani, I would give anything to have been there for you,” Sloane added in a soft voice.

“I would have given anything for Micheal to have been there for me too.”