Page 2 of Don't Fall

I’ve barely got my key out of the ignition and the door open, when I hear Jules.

“Thank God you’re finally here.”

I was thinking the same thing. I just wasn’t expecting to hear it from her the second I step out of the car.

“Jules? What are you doing out here? Do you know what time it is?”

She reaches for my arm and misses. She’s drunk. Fucking awesome.

“Come ooon. Drea needs you.” Her fingers catch my elbow on the second try and she stumbles off, dragging me along. We don’t get far before I see my best friend and neighbor sitting in a rumpled mess on the ground beside the staircase leading up to the third floor and our respective units. She’s got on her favorite hot pink bejeweled hoodie, so she’s impossible to miss. Even in the dark.

“Drea, what are you doing down there?” At three thirty in the morning, I was hardly expecting a welcoming committee, even if I have been gone all summer long.

“She can’t move,” Julie explains dramatically as I crouch down to further investigate.

“You can’t move?”

Drea bites her lip and shakes her head. Even in a drunken stupor with mascara running down one side of her face and smeared lip-gloss reaching down to the dimple in her chin, she’s still beautiful. “I think I broke my leg.”

I fight the urge to roll my eyes. Doesn’t matter what sort of a state she’s in, she’ll notice, and she’ll hold it against me tomorrow. Regardless of how ridiculous she acts; she expects to be taken seriously. Apparently, it’s part of the best friend code. I just take her word for it. That’s part of the code, too.

“Why do you think you broke your leg?” Meanwhile, I can’t even find her legs under the fluffy skirt thing she’s wearing. It looks like part of her old prom dress. Wait a minute. “Are you wearing the gown you wore to prom?”

“Yes! Stupid Scott dared me to. He said there was no way my new boobs would fit.” By new boobs she doesn’t mean fake, just that they came in after graduation. Surprised us all.

“He was right.” I pull the zipper on her hoodie up higher. “Back to the leg.” Which I’ve now found. Strapped into the same heels that nearly killed her on prom night. “Never mind.” Her left ankle is red and slightly swollen. She must have rolled it coming off the last step. Wouldn’t be the first time a pair of shoes nearly sent her to an early grave. Booze, stilettos and Drea just don’t mix.

Placing both hands under her arms, I hoist her to her feet. We’re barely standing when Jules reaches out in an attempt to help, and nearly knocks us all over.

“It’s cool. I’ve got her.” Her face falters slightly and I add, “Thanks, though. Really.”

I line Drea and I up with the stairs and peer up at the daunting task that lies ahead. I’m definitely off schedule. Cheers’ll be on by the time I get to bed. Because I really need more bar sounds for background after all of this.

“Oh, I better get Scott. He can carry Drea upstairs.” Jules makes to rush past me, but I stop her.

“If Scott was willing and able to do that, why was she sitting on the ground when I got here?”

“That fucker,” Drea mutters, “he’s the reason I fell.”

Oh, hell no. “What?”

“He was supposed to catch me.” Her eyes glaze over as she stares off into the night.

“What were you guys doing?”

“Walking down the stairs!”

I hate when drunk people get exasperated with me. Like, really? I’m the problem in this conversation?

“Got it. You were walking. You tripped. He was supposed to catch you, on principle I’m assuming? And he dropped the ball, or rather ballgown. Literally.”

“Exactly!” Her enthusiasm does seem to bring back some clarity. “Then he had the nerve to try and help me up. After I already fell! I told him, ‘Fuck off, buddy. Too little, too late’.”

“Fantastic.” I shake my head and reposition my grip to make sure I won’t drop her as well. “Alright. Let’s get this done and over with. First step. Nice and easy.”

It takes us at least twice as long as it would have if Scott had just carried her ass, but we finally make it to the third floor. At least her door is shut. Most nights when I find Drea out in the parking lot, we make it upstairs to find the door wide open and all of her worldly possessions free for the taking, not to mention the open opportunity for any potential creeper hoping to move up in the world of sex crimes.

“Hang on, I gotta get my keys.” I turn to Jules for backup in holding Drea upright but she’s nowhere to be found. Her condo is on the floor below us. Obviously, I was kidding myself when I thought she was in this mission with me for the long haul.

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