CHAPTER 2: Aftermath

Get out. Get out?

Elaine paced back and forth as she waited for her food to heat up. Tiffany didn’t like it? Elaine remembered the taste of Tiffany’s lips. She might have been drunk and stupid, but she wouldn’t say she hated it! Fuck!

A force grabbed her head in place. Her thoughts halted and she found an easy target for her rage. Elaine glared at whatever vermin it was that dared to interrupt her inner monologue-ing.

“What do you want? I’m busy!”

“You’re blocking the whole kitchen, asshole.” The giant man walked over, opened the cabinet to her side and grabbed his cutting board. He was one of her dorm mates who regularly used the kitchen to cook. They’d chat about random shit to pass the time.

Elaine didn’t have the energy to snap back. “Hey Tom?”

“‘Sup?”

“Do you have a best friend?” 

Tom closed the fridge, which elicited a ‘thud’, and carried a bag of vegetables to the counter. “Is this your weird way of telling me I have no friends?”

“No. Damn, just answer the question.”

He began to strip the skin off the potatoes. “I do. What about it?”

“If you were to kiss them when—”

“I’m not attracted to men.” Elaine suddenly wanted to pour a pot of boiling water on this blockhead.

“Imagine. IMAGINE you have a girl best friend. You both got drunk and you kissed, but you realize you didn’t like it. What would you do?”

Tom chopped in quick succession, the sound of a knife hitting the cutting board filled the empty room. He waited to finish cutting his last potato before he replied. “I’m not attracted to girls either.”

“Fuck you. I’m leaving.”

“You can’t take a joke? Geez.” Tom set aside his knife to turn to Elaine. “If I kissed my best friend and didn’t like it… I’ll pretend I don’t remember anything. Or tell them it was disgusting.”

“I see. Thanks.” Elaine found herself in another spiral of questions. A series of high pitched beeps resonated throughout the kitchen. She opened the microwave and took her food out. She had no energy to cook today.

~~

A week after she made out with Tiffany in her apartment. Elaine thought she needed some space to process what happened— she did too. So she gave her a week, but nothing’s changed. When Elaine finally messaged and tried calling her, the woman never responded. 

Was she being tossed aside like one of Tiffany’s flings? 

It didn’t make sense.

They had been friends for years! Since high school! Why would she toss that aside for one bad kiss dammit? Was she really a bad kisser? Was it so horrible? 

Thankfully, they were both regular members of their University’s hiking club. Everyone wanted to see the blood moon tonight, so someone suggested backpacking (hiking and camping) on a trail that showed the view of the eclipse. 

Since today was Friday, no one had to worry about classes tomorrow. Tiffany was the kind of person who showed up for important events in groups she’s part of, so Elaine had a lot of confidence she would see her tonight. 

The plan was simple. 

Help Tiffany through difficult parts of the hike and let her gradually open up. She was not usually the outdoorsy type, so she got tired easily. 

If that didn’t work, after the hike when everyone else was busy setting up their tents, Elaine would talk to Tiffany and figure out what was going on. If all else failed, dammit, she might as well drag her to a tent and lock her inside until they talked it out.

With these thoughts weighing on her mind, Elaine packed her gear for the night. 

When she arrived at the meeting place, her heart skipped a beat — she was right. Tiffany showed up for the hike.

She was wearing a black beanie and a brown hoodie. Her long hair tied up in a ponytail.

Someone tapped her on the shoulder. "Yo, Elaine,” 

"Oh. Hey, Jae." Jae was an energetic woman with a big smile and a big personality. She was a year younger than Elaine, but she was always the one leading the hikes and making everyone feel comfortable. The backpacking trip to see the Blood Moon was her suggestion.

"Where’s everyone else?” Elaine swiftly scanned the surroundings and only five out of ten of them had arrived. A burly man hovered around Tiffany and began chatting with her. He was a new member of the club. Elaine’s foot tapped in rapid succession.

Jae tapped on her phone and read the message. “They’re still on their way.”

“Tell them we’re gonna leave them behind if they don’t hurry up.”

Jae laughed, “I don’t think you should be saying that, Elaine.”

From her periphery, Tiffany was leaning towards the man who seemed to be showing her something. No matter how much Elaine stretched her neck, she couldn’t see what they were so preoccupied by. A wave of irritation flowed in her, immediately followed by a click of her tongue.

“You can stay here and wait for them if you want. I’ll lead the others to the trail so we can get everyone a spot to camp.”

Jae sighed, “that’s probably for the best, yeah.”

“Great.” Elaine mumbled before walking over towards the two lovebirds.

She yelled, “alright people! It’ll take everyone else some time to get here so we’re just gonna go on ahead of them! Follow me!”

The other two freshmen hollered. They attempted to jump with their big backpacks, but ended up just bending their knees up and down. The five of them went on to start their hike with Elaine at the front. 

As they walked, the crunch of leaves and dirt underfoot followed them in an erratic rhythm, sometimes too fast, sometimes slow. The brisk wind whipped Elaine’s hair into a disarray, some strands slapping across her face. 

“Elaine, I heard you’re in charge of the drinks. What’d you bring?” Apple flitted around Elaine like a baby chick. This was her tenth question in the span of 30 minutes. Elaine was beginning to regret her decision. The two freshmen excitedly chatted with her about all kinds of things, leaving Tiffany all alone with that man. 

“Vodka and Tequila.” She tapped the backpack behind her, feeling a subtle shape of one of the hard bottles.

“Hey, no drinking allowed for freshmen,” said Tiffany. 

“Wow, you can actually hear me? That’s crazy. I never realized.” Is what Elaine wanted to say, but didn’t. She tried very very hard to bite her tongue and not retort back. Tiffany hated arguing with other people around and she didn’t want to make it even worse between them. 

When the freshmen glanced towards Elaine, waiting for a response, she could only shrug.

Once they found a suitable place to camp, the sun was already setting. Elaine helped the freshmen set up their tent, and when she looked over to find Tiffany, she was already cooking food using her camping stove. 

The man still hovered around her like a fly… didn’t he have anything better to do? He might as well plaster on his forehead how much he liked Tiffany. The night started with the crackling of in the campfire ring, the cold breeze, and the sound of chattering in the background.

Elaine walked over to Tiffany, her cooking emitted a savory-sweet aroma, which was particularly appetizing after a three-hour hike.

“What’cha cooking?” the noise quieted. Tiffany continued to cook her food without care. Elaine would have suspected she never said anything if everyone else didn’t have their eyes glued in her direction.

“Tiffany.” 

Her eyes shifted nonchalantly to meet Elaine’s. Her eyebrow subtly raised before she replied, “what?”

Before Elaine could respond, a racket came through the camping site. 

One of them shouted in particular, “Elaine, you asshole! You better have secured the biggest, coziest, and best view for us!”

Elaine glanced over at Jae, who only smiled, before responding to their club president. “You can look at it yourself. It even has a restroom and a stream nearby.”

“Woah, great job!” He held a hand out and gave her a thumbs up. “What’s that smell? My mouth is watering!” The liveliness brought over by the latecomers drowned out the tension a few minutes prior. Yet it remained a constant itch at the back of Elaine’s mind.

The fire in the ring blazed as the night grew darker, illuminating the people around them with a warm glow. As everyone filled their stomachs with Tiffany’s cooking, their conversation topics shifted from the Blood Moon to stories about their classes, roommates, and anything that came to mind.

“Everyone, look!”

Jae’s voice broke the atmosphere and everyone turned their attention to the sky. A dark shadow was covering the moon, and the longer they looked, the more the moon seemed to transform into a red giant.

When Elaine shifted her gaze back towards the people around her, Tiffany was already gone. If that wasn’t concerning enough, the burly man was also nowhere to be found.

Fuck!

Everyone cheered in unison at the sight of the moon as Elaine whipped her head about trying to catch a glimpse of Tiffany. When she still couldn’t find her, Elaine shuffled over to Jae who was sitting next to Tiffany.

“Jae, have you seen Tiffany?”

“Yeah, she said she was going to the restroom. Has everything been fine with you two?”

Elaine tapped her on the shoulder. “Yeah. Thanks!” She hurriedly moved out of the crowd and walked towards the restroom. Before she could get any far, she saw the burly man walking back to the campsite. Her eyebrows knitted.

“Hey, what’s your name again?” Elaine said.

“Timothy. What’s up?”

“Where’s Tiffany?”

He put his hand on the back of his neck. “I don’t know. I was just taking a leak.”

Elaine squinted her eyes. She wanted to question him some more, but she had to find Tiffany first. “Sure. Thanks.”

As Elaine followed the path to the restroom, the noise from the campsite died down. She walked through the uneven path with buried stones. It had partial lighting, so she didn’t have to turn her phone light on. 

There were two stalls in the restroom. Both were vacant. Elaine walked past them and continued to search. 

Where are you?

She sent a message to Tiffany, hoping there would at least be a seen notification, so she’d know she was safe.

The rhythmic sound of water followed by an irregular splash filled the night. Elaine stood still for a while, looking at the water, at the possible cause of those splashes. Her eyes led her to the woman she’d been searching for.

When Tiffany saw her, she dropped the stone from her hand and pushed herself up. 

Before she could walk away, Elaine hastily marched closer to her and asked, “What is wrong with you?”