"You think they're gonna miss us at the party?"
"Nah. They're all too drunk or high to even notice that we're gone."
For a beat the girls exchanged a glance. Then they shared a laugh.
When the laughter had died and gone, the girls simply sat in silence, neither one engaging the other as they did their own thing.
Deidre picked at her nails, digging  out the dirt that was uncomfortably caked underneath. Her lips were pursed and twisted to the side as she used the point of a metal nail file to dig as close as she could to her cuticles. She sighed. "What I wouldn't give for an old tooth or manicure brush right now."
Lindsey nodded absently as she pulled off her socks, the both of them at once. There was a visible line where her filthy skin ended and her clean skin--once covered by socks--began. Her feet ached and throbbed and her toes were red and swollen. "I'm hungry," she whimpered back as she reached to yank the scrunchie from her hair.
Sitting behind her friend, Deidre could see all the matting's and clumps that were caked in her best friends hair. "Jeez," she breathed. "I don't think a single shower will do it."
"'Course it won't," said Lindsey as she pulled herself slowly to her feet. As she stood, she winced and hissed at the pain that wracked her body. She wanted to cry. And for a moment there, she did. Her tears were hot as they pooled at the corners of her eyes and slid down either side of her face. She didn't have to look into the bathroom mirror to know they left clean streaks in their wake.
"Oh my God, Lindsey!" Hopping up from her post on the edge of the tub, Deidre threw her arms around her friend and hugged her as tight as she could, both girls ignoring each other's pain. She had known that Lindsey was hurt and in pain, but she hadn't allowed herself to think on just how badly she'd been suffering until now. "What can I do?" she asked. "Just tell me. I'll do anything."
"I know," Lindsey sobbed as she pulled away from Deidre. "Just--stop fussing and run the bath, okay?"
Deidre nodded. "Okay." Letting go of the other girl, she went to work on the bathwater, making it as hot as either of them could stand. While the water ran she daydreamed and even lost track of time. It wasn't until the tub began to overflow that she remembered herself. Looking to Lindsey, she noticed the other girl wasn't much better.
Lindsey was starring into the mirror, watching her reflection watch her. Everything was there in the mirror, her every fault and every flaw. And she could see them all. Every last one of them. She couldn't wait to scour them away.
"Lindsey?"
Though it took her a moment to pull herself from her reflection, when finally she had, she found herself frowning. And part of herself still pondered what she had seen. Deidre was looking at her, trying to read her expression, wondering what right words she could say and what more for her friend she could do. Sucking in a slow, deep breath, Lindsey closed her eyes. "Yeah," she said as she exhaled. "I'm okay. I'm fine." And for the first time in her life she wasn't lying.
Deidre approached Lindsey, her bare feet sloshing through the water on the floor. Reaching for the other girl, she carefully began the task of undressing her. It wasn't an easy task, pealing the clothes away, all the while minding any places on the other girls body that were visibly sore. Some things were harder to remove than others, and had to be torn or cut away. When finally she was finished she quietly whispered, "'Kay," and stepped aside to let Lindsey into the tub.
Getting her own clothes off were less of a challenge. Kind of. The only difference for her was that she wasn't in nearly as much pain as the other girl, which left her free to tug and pull herself free as she needed. Once undressed, she climbed in with Lindsey. Both girls facing once another, they were only half aware of the overflowing water that poured over the side of the tub and added to the already flooded floor.
They watched as the layered mixture of dirt and blood softened on both their bodies beneath the water and began to melt away. Swirls of gray and brown and rusty red colored and darkened the water,  then on to the bathroom floor. It didn't matter that the water soaked their clothes, they would need to get rid of them anyhow. Of course, if they weren't already waterlogged they could have burned them. But they could always wait for them to dry.
"You think that she'll be missed?"
Lindsey shrugged. "Maybe. But  not by me."