Page 5 of Withered

The front of my dress is now ruined. Even though my dress is black, the soaked stain can be seen. I don’t even know what type of alcohol it was or if the stain can be washed off. Having nothing to change into, I’ll have to roam around like this.

Pushing my way through the stairs and the crowded hall, I get to the second door.

I turn the handle to open the door, but it won’t budge. I keep on trying, and it finally clicks open.Thank god.

I thought it was empty, but I forgot to mention my luck, as I find Olivia and Jake on the bed. The abrupt opening of the door stopped their movements.

Olivia is on top of Jake while he looks at me blankly. At least both are fully clothed, so imagine my embarrassment. I don’t think any of them, or even both combined, would be as embarrassed as I am right now. I could feel the heat rising on my cheeks.

“Uhm… sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” I apologize. My mind is screaming for me to turn around and run, but it’s like I am frozen in a trance. My legs won’t move.

“Do you need something?” Jake speaks with a flat face.

“I just wanted to use the bathroom.” I finally croaked.

“Why don’t you go and find one then?” Olivia snaps.

Still shocked, I manage to turn around and leave the room, closing the door on my way out.

Leaning back against the door, I let go of a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. I see the last door at the end of the hall open, and before I can process, my feet take me there. When I reach the door, I say a silent prayer because I have finally found the bathroom. I do my best to clean the stain and leave it to look better.

I make my way down the stairs, careful not to bump into someone else again, mentally making a note to myself not to attend any more parties.

Kristy is still where I left her, and Tyler is nowhere to be seen. I approach her and hear her mumble. I try to understand, but her slurred speech is gibberish.

“It’s time to go home, Kristy.” Snatching the bottle from her, I toss it in the trashcan nearby. Throwing my hand over her shoulder, I manage to carry her out and to her car. Securing her with the seat belt, I open her clutch to find her car keys, but instead, my eyes land on a picture.

A picture of Kristy with her ex-boyfriend Aaron. They are smiling, looking happy. They were so cute together that people thought of them as the perfect couple. Even I thought they would last, but nothing goes as we want it to. I cannot forgive him. I will never forget what he did to her.

Memories of the day flashed when we were walking down the hall to our next class when we passed the janitor’s closet and heard some noises. We thought it was any other couple, as the closet is infamous for such things, but what made us halt was Aaron’s voice. We weren’t sure, so we hid around the corner. What shook the ground beneath us was what we saw in front of our eyes! There they were. Aaron and Olivia were leaving together.

At first, I was taken aback. I assumed I was having a dream or something. Aaron was the last person I expected to hurt Kristy. Kristy walked past me, grabbed Aaron by the collar, smacked him, and hurried away before I could grasp what was happening. I went after her because I didn’t want to leave my best friend alone. We skipped the rest of our lessons and headed to her house for some girl time. There’s nothing a movie and a tub of ice cream can’t fix. Ever since that day, Kristy’s hatred towards Olivia has increased to a far new level.

Kristy mumbles something again, which breaks me from my thoughts. I grab the keys and move to the driver’s seat. Kristy sleeps soundly beside me as I drive in silence.

Parking the car, I carry her to her room, change her into comfortable clothes, and tuck her into the bed, not before removing her makeup. She owes me for this.

I go under the blankets beside her once I’ve freshened up, with only one thought on my mind. Why does Kristy have that picture? Is she not over him? I thought she must have burned the picture. I’ll ask her tomorrow.

“Kristy,pleasewakeup.”I shake her shoulders in an attempt to wake her up, but she refuses to move an inch. “It’s ten o’clock.”

“Let me sleep a little more,” she whines sleepily, which makes me chuckle.

I get up and clumsily drag myself to the bathroom. I take a nice long shower before changing into some of Kristy’s clothes and putting my hair in a messy bun.

I find Nancy in the kitchen with her back to me. Kristy’s father appointed Nancy to care for her and the house. She’s a stunning, tall woman with dark skin and black hair, brown eyes, and she’s a fantastic cook.

“Hey, Nancy,” I say. She turns to me with a big smile on her face.

“Hello, Rose. I didn’t know you’d be here. How are you?” She asks.

I cross the room towards her and say, “I’m good. What about you? What are you cooking?”

“Never been better. Waffles. Is that okay with you?” She waves a hand around the things sprawled on the counter.

“Of course. I’ll just go wake Kristy up.” I tell her before heading upstairs.

When I enter the room, Kristy is already up, sitting on the edge of the bed, her head in her hands.

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