Words from a Country Song Ch. 05

Words from a Country Song - Chapter 5

This one is based on the song "Heart They Didn't Break." It was written by Ryan Beaver, Benjy Lashar Davis, and Anna Hawthorne Vaus, and was recorded by Maddie & Tae. All credit to them.

I also used some lyrics from "Shoot Tequila." That song was written by David Mescon, Kendra Slaubaugh, Krista Slaubaugh, and Kevin Riffin, and performed by Tigirlily Gold.

If you have requests of your own, put 'em in comments or contact me through the site!

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I am so goddamn lucky to have a friend like her. No, lucky isn't the word. Lucky doesn't come close. She's my best friend, and I couldn't love her more. Who else would take my frantic, blubbering, barely coherent phone call, then tell me she was skipping class that minute and driving the two hundred miles from Oxford to be there for me? She said she'd bring the wine. She's the best.

I'm just trying to hold it together until she gets here.

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She breezed in the door, frowning at it when it didn't close properly.

"Yeah, that son of a bitch slammed it so hard it broke, when he tore out of here," I told her, after she was finally able to pry me off her.

"Asshole," she opined as she set a box on the kitchen table and pulled out a bottle. Turning back to me, she grinned.

"Corkscrew?" she asked.

I pointed.

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A couple of hours later, we were deep into a third bottle, and there were ruined tissues scattered everywhere.

"Why do I always wind up with such... such..." I choked, as I reached for another one.

"Assholes?" she asked. She had a pretty firm, albeit one-track opinion regarding my recent ex.

"All the things he said... how could he compliment me one minute, and then tell me I was stupid the next? It's like he went out of his way to build me up, just so that he could tear me back down!"

Kay pursed her lips. "Hmm. Well, I ain't no psychiatrist, but I did read in Cosmo about men like that; they make their girlfriend, or wife, or whoever feel bad about themselves on purpose. Sounds to me like he was tryin' to do that to you. Make you feel worthless so that when he did say somethin' nice, you'd be so grateful... you get what I'm sayin'?

"Next thing, he'd start telling you he didn't like your friends, probably starting with me."

I paled.

"Oh hell, honey, he already did, didn't he?"

I started to cry. Again. I'd been such a damn fool!

"Aww Maggie, come on now..." she was blinking away her own tears as she rubbed my back. "I ain't gonna blow smoke and tell you everything's gonna be all right, not right away anyway, but I will promise that I'll help you get past it," she said. "I'm gonna stay right here and make sure of it, okay?"

I nodded and hugged her back. Sniffling, I told her, "You're my bestest friend, and I love you. Thank you for comin' and for everything."

"You'd do the same for me, honey. Now give me your phone; I don't want you drunk texting that asshole at 3 a.m. Now go try to get some sleep. Imma see how comfy this couch is." She looked down at her t-shirt, which had snot and tear stains all over it.

"But first I'm gonna need to change outa this shirt," she smirked.

I couldn't help but giggle. She really was the best.

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I'm glad she took my phone. She was right, I mighta done something monumentally stupid. I tossed and turned, trying to get to sleep, but my jumbled thoughts kept me awake. Amazingly my thought drifted from that... asshole... I snickered quietly; now Kay had me calling him that... wait, where was I? Oh yeah, I had stopped thinking about him and now I was wondering what I did to deserve her? Kay, short for Katherine, my bestie. She didn't make this mess, but she was sure here to help me clean it up. Her exact words were, "I didn't break your heart, but I'm gonna do my best to fix it." I hugged her for a long time when she said that.

"First things first," she said after breakfast the next day. "I refuse to let you sit around and mope. Now where's the best place to dance in this shithole?"

"Kay," I started to whine, "I am so not up to going out..."

"I'm not askin', honey." She grabbed me by the hand and dragged me to my bedroom. She pushed me onto the bed, where I sat bemusedly as she started going through my closet.

"Nope... nope... nope... good grief girl, don't you own a little black dress?" She looked at me in exasperation.

I just stared at her.

She threw up her hands. "Come on, we're going shopping."

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Four hours later, I did. Have a little black dress, that is. Also, some scandalous things to wear under it!

"Kay!" I hissed, mortified, when she reached over the dressing room door with two scraps of cloth on a hanger. "I can't wear this! Anyone sees, they'd think for sure I was some... some kind of tramp!"

"Oh, honey, this isn't for anyone else to see; this is just for you to feel sexy. Just you."

My cheeks flamed red, but what the hell? Maybe she was right. But when I tried them on, my blush came right back.

"Umm... Kay?"

"Yeah, sugar?"

"I can't wear these."

"Why forever not? I told you, they're just for you. That asshole treated you like crap, and this will help prove he was so, so wrong."

"Yeah, but..." and I was back to whispering, "It's kinda small? And I'm kinda..."

"What? What's wrong - OH! Okay, I get it! One trip to the salon, coming up!"

I flamed red again.

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She was right. I felt better about myself than I had in a long time, enjoying the looks I was getting as Kay and I walked into the club and found a table.

But we only danced with each other. "No boys, honey, not tonight. We're gonna push those memories right outa your pretty little head."

I stuck out my tongue at her as she laughed. Of course, more than a few boys did their best to get us to dance with them, but most were polite when we told them it was a girls-only night. One half-drunk guy called us a couple of cock teasing dykes and it got real quiet around our table. He looked around to see everyone within earshot glaring at him.

Before anything else happened, the observant bouncer came up to the guy and politely requested that he leave immediately. Kay and I thanked everyone and everyone got back to drinking and dancing.

Kay said, "Maybe this town ain't so bad, huh?"

I tried to smile, but the kindness of everyone around us really hit me at that moment.

"Thanks for this," I sniffed.

She looked away, blinking rapidly. "Cut it out, now, I spent too much time on my makeup!"

We both laughed, a little shakily.

Then the band started up with "Shoot Tequila," by Tigirlily Gold, and she dragged me back onto the dance floor. The lyrics were perfect. We were pointing at each other, singing along and laughing at the same time as the first verse began.

You've always been a whole lotta trouble

But it's the kind I like getting in

So we might as well make it a double

Yeah, you know how the two of us get

We're dancin' on the bar

Kay eyed the bar, then raised her eyebrows at me. I colored, shaking my head violently, eyes wide. She grinned. A few girls dancing near us noticed our exchange and started grinning, waiting to see what we'd do next.

Ain't a pretty sight

And I'ma blame you when you get us in a fight

At this point we had our fists raised, grinning, as we pretend-boxed with each other. We weren't the only ones.

One tequila, two tequila, three tequila more

If I had a little sense, I would've stopped at four

'Stead of cursing your name on the bathroom floor

Swear to God I won't drink tequila no more

We had our hands in the air, shouting the next couple of lines. Again, we weren't alone, and wow, it got really loud!

But Mama didn't raise no quitter!

Giddy-up, line 'em up, knock 'em back!

But at the line, 'Bout to cut a rug, call my ex, talk some trash, Kay gave me a guarded look. I shouted, "Screw him! And not in the good way!" More laughter from those nearby.

She laughed and twirled me around, and we kept on dancing. There was a lot of applause and we got some hugs from the girls around us at the end. It was really nice.

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The next morning, I felt surprisingly good. Oh, I had a hangover - headache and a bit queasy - but my heartache was much, much better. I made myself some coffee and started making some toast - about all I could handle right now - when Kay stumbled into the kitchen. She was wearing an oversized T-shirt (inside out), and one sock. Her hair was a fright. A snort of laughter escaped my mouth when I saw her.

"Shut up," she mumbled, stole my coffee, and slumped down at the table.

"I'm never drinking again," she groaned.

"Swear to God?"

She stuck out her tongue. "How did we get home?"

"Uber," I replied, as I started another cup, and slid the toast in front of her. "But since we were smart enough to Uber to the club as well, we don't have to pick up anybody's car."

"Oh yeah. Glad I thought of that."

She must be on the road to recovery if she was able to be snarky this early.

"Kay?"

"Urgh?" she grunted.

Softly, I said, "Thanks for last night. I mean it. I had so much fun, and I feel a whole lot better. Well, not physically, but emotionally. And that's the important bit." I walked around the table, leaned over from behind, and wrapped my arms around her. She patted my hands and leaned her head against mine.

"That's what friends are for, sugar," and I could feel her smile.

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We decided to spend the day lounging by the lake. We put on our bikinis, loaded up the cooler, and baked in the sun. It was validating (once my headache finally went away) to see the looks we were getting. I hadn't felt... desirable... in such a long time. I mean, I know the interest was just superficial. Guys checking out our boobs or butts, or whatever. But still. It was kinda nice just to be noticed.

Finally, Kay declared, "Hungry!" so we packed up and grabbed some takeout on the way back to my apartment.

Kay gave me the look. "You gonna be okay, Maggie?" She rarely called me Maggie, unless it was serious. She was more of a 'honey, sugar, or babe' kind of girl.

I smiled at her and reached across the table for her hand. I took a deep breath, thinking about what I wanted to say.

"You know what? I think I am. And of course, you know it's because of you. You're my best friend, Kay, and I love you like a sister. I know you didn't make this mess, and maybe I'm not all the way there just yet, but by damn, you sure helped me a long way down the path to fixing it. Who else would have done that?

"That asshole tore me down, step by step, the whole time you were together, and I never saw it. You did, and in two days you helped build me back up. He broke my heart, and without a thought. But you! You put it back together. Imma start calling you Kay-zy Glue."

She laughed, sniffling a little. My eyes were wet too.

"Anyway, I know you hate it when I get all sappy, so I just want to say, thanks. Thank you for being my friend. Now," I continued, "Sure you can't stay another day?"

She just walked up and wrapped her arms around me. We stood there and swayed for a while. Finally, she pulled back. She searched my eyes, then kissed me on the cheek. Running a hand through my hair, she stepped back and sighed.

"I wish I could, honey. I don't mind missing class again, but since you're doing okay, I better not. Dr. Pimplepuss would chew me a new one."

I shuddered. I'd had a class with Dr. Plimpton my last year, and I remembered. "Go on then, abandon me." She could tell I was teasing, but her eyes went soft.

"Never in this life, Maggie. Love you."

"Love you more."

One last hug, and she headed out to her car. "I'll be up next break, all right?"

"You better!"

And then she was gone, but I'd see her again soon. My bestie. She fixed a heart she didn't break.

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