Free Song of the Fireflies by J. A. Redmerski

again and almost fell. I grabbed her instinctively and held her up by the elbow, but she shoved my hand away. “I got this,” she snapped. “Don’t… I’m great, I told you.”
    I didn’t really want to help her anyway, so I was happy to let go.
    “Yes, I’m Elias’s girlfriend,” I finally answered.
    She attempted a grin, but it was quickly overrun by the lazy fluttering of her eyelids as though she was struggling to keep her eyes open.
    “He’s a good lay,” she said to me and then smiled at the black-haired girl, who looked bored, or just ready to get back to the party rather than stand up here with the two of us.
    I gritted my teeth at Jana’s comment but held my composure.
    Jana laughed and almost fell over again. This time I didn’t try to stop her. I
wanted
her to fall.
    “They both fucked me at the same time,” she added, that grin finally winning its battle with the inevitable unconsciousness. But she didn’t seem to be gloating about it, just reminiscing a little too openly. “Him and Mitchell. God damn.” Then she looked right at me and pointed again. “Have you done them both? Surely you have, since you lived with them and all.” She said it so casually, as if she and I were talking about what to have for breakfast. Clearly she wouldn’t be saying these things if she wasn’t so messed up. No, I take that back—she definitely would.
    “Ummm, no, I haven’t,” I answered, trying to stay calm when really what I wanted to do was hit her in the fucking mouth.
    “Let’s go back to the fire,” the black-haired girl said.
    “Well, you should,” Jana said to me, ignoring the girl’s suggestion. Her upper body swayed backward slightly like a tower hit by a gust of wind.
    Then she stuck her finger in my face. “Hey. Oh my God!” Her breath was rancid. “We could totally have a foursome. You game? Or shit, a fivesome!” She pointed at the girl and the girl’s face soured. “Wait”—she had a dumb moment look on her face all of a sudden—“that’s an orgy, right?”
    I swallowed hard and took a step back away from her. “No,” I said. “I think I’ll fucking pass.”
    “Uh, yeah, me too,” the black-haired girl said. “Jana, I think you need to find your tent and sleep it off. Seriously.”
    “Fine. Whatever,” Jana said, but she wasn’t responding to the girl. She was still talking to me. Her eyelids started getting heavy again. “Probably better, anyway. I think I fucked up when I screwed them. I mean it wasn’t that long ago, but I think I might be pregnant with your boyfriend’s baby.”
    The breeze burned my eyes as they widened and I sucked in a sharp breath. “What the hell did you say?”
    The black-haired girl shook her head and took a step back. “I’ll see you later. No bitch drama for me tonight.” And then she walked off toward the path that Elias took and left Jana and me standing alone.
    Jana’s head swiveled on her shoulders and she tried to stifle a laugh, pressing the side of her index finger against her lips.
    Now
she was gloating.
    “Yeah, I’m like five days late,” she said twirling a hand in the air, pleased to be filling my head with this information. “And I’m
never
late. So yeah, I’m pretty sure I’m knocked up.”
    I punched her right between the eyes and her head snapped backward. I don’t know how she managed to stay on her feet that time. It was an uncontrollable reaction to hit her, in retaliation to her taunting me about it. I regretted it a second after I pulled my fist back. My knuckles stung painfully.
    With her hand cupping her nose, she just laughed.
    “For your sake,” I said with anger rising in my voice, “you better hope that’s not true.”
    I started to walk away, back through the clearing and toward the trees. She followed.
    “Or what?” she mocked me. “You won’t do
shit
except babysit our kid on the weekends. Fuck you.” She laughed.
    I kept walking toward the trees, but I was blinded by anger and