Read Online Ache by P. J. Post - Free Book Online

she waves her arms.
    “I’m done.”
    “You don’t get to say that, she gets to say when she’s done,” Christy shouts for no obvious reason other than to participate in the drama.
    “Just get out,” I say.
    “When I feel like it,” Debbie says.
    Tonya jumps up and gets in Debbie’s face.  “How about you don’t pass Go, don’t collect two hundred dollars and go directly to fuck off and die!”
    “Is this your new whore?” Debbie asks.
    “You dated her?” Tonya scowls at me.
    “He sure can pick ‘em,” Todd says.
    “Oh he didn’t date me, I fucked his legs off, but we didn’t date,” Debbie says.  “Does she go down on you or is her mouth too precious?  He has a great cock, you should give it a lick sometime.  How ‘bout it Connor, you got a bomb-pop for me?”
    “Enough Debbie, just enough,” I say.
    “No, you don’t get to tell me shit.  You aren’t the boss of me!”
    I can see Todd laughing and with Debbie’s last comment, he grabs his belly nearing hysterics.
    Tonya leans over and looks Debbie in the eye.  “You, are a cunt,” she hisses.
    Debbie’s eyes widen in shock.  I’m sure she’s heard it before, but it doesn’t sit too well nevertheless.
    Debbie holds her cigarette out to one side and leans closer, jabbing a finger in Tonya’s face accentuating each word.  “Fuck — you.”
    And then Debbie and Christy walk out.
    Tonya glares at me and walks over and sits back down in front of our washers.
    I’m speechless again.  I don’t know what to say.
    I walk over and sit down next to her.  She doesn’t look at me.
    Todd stumbles over, gasping for air.  “That was some funny shit.”
    I whisper, “Dude...”
    “No, that was funny as hell,” he says as he tries to catch his breath.
    I lean back in my seat and put my hands on top of my head; this day just gets better and better.
    A few minutes later, Debbie and Christy come back in and head straight for us.
    “Oh shit,” I say under my breath.
    But they don’t walk up to us, they stop at our washers instead and before we can get to them, they open the lids and pour something in.
    “What are you doing?” I shout.
    Tonya is done talking.  Her face tightens and she’s snarling, her lips pull back showing even white teeth.  I’ve never seen her like this before.
    She’s suddenly on her feet and punches Debbie in the side of the head with a clean, crisp, round house.
    Debbie bounces off the washing machines, dropping the can she was holding and blue paint spills everywhere.
    “Fuck,” Todd says coming out of his chair.
    Christy grabs Tonya by the hair and as Debbie takes a swing at Tonya, she slips in the paint and falls.
    I run over and try to pull Christy off Tonya, but now she has Tonya’s shirt and she’s turned and pushing and tugging like she’s having an epileptic fit.  I drag Christy away, but she pulls Tonya’s sweatshirt off as she goes.
    I’m embarrassed for Tonya, she’s standing in the middle of the Laundromat in her sweatpants and bra, but she doesn’t seem to notice.  She grabs Christy by the shoulder, like in the movies, and pulls her around and punches her in the mouth.  Tonya throws a nice punch.
    “You fucking bitch,” Christy shrieks through bleeding lips.
    Debbie gets back on her feet as the flashing red and blue lights become visible through the storefront glass.
    Debbie and Christy see the reflecting lights and step back while they try to wipe the paint off their hands.
    I jerk Tonya’s sweatshirt away from Christy and help Tonya put it back on.  She’s panting and trembling with rage.
    We all stand back as two cops walk down the aisle towards us.  They stop short of the paint.  I’m pretty sure they saw at least some of what happened, because the one in back is smirking.
    I glance around at the Friday night washing club.  There’s a pay phone near the back, one of them must have called the police as soon as Debbie started shooting off her mouth.
    “We got a call