Always the Opposites {Brollins}

[ Chapter 41 ]

Rebecca stared at the wall in front of her emotionless. She thought after the instant sadness and anger she'd be feeling it for days after, but so far, she felt nothing. She was completely numb.

It had been days since anyone had heard from her or seen her. Luckily, school was online that week, but the diner, the daycare, and the library were all afterthoughts.

Each of those places she had shown to him, his presence filled the air and bled into each wall. She couldn't even bear to stay in her own room because it had undertones of his cologne lurking.

When there was consistent pounding on her door for five minutes, Rebecca decided to tear herself away from her rivetingly plain wall, get off of the couch and see who it was.

She looked through the peephole and saw Mercedes, Pamela, and Ashley all standing on the other side of the door.

"We know you're in there." Ashley finally spoke up.

"Shhh, people are gonna think we're mugging her or something." Mercedes shook her head at the blonde.

"Look!" Pamela pointed under the door, "The shadows, she's right there."

"Becky, open the door." Mercedes insisted, "We just wanna make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine." She responded dryly, "You can go now."

All three of them exchanged glances, and Pamela put her hand against the door along with her forehead. "C'mon Becks, please."

There was something about Pamela, in general, that made Rebecca more in touch with humanity. It wasn't even the sentence itself, it was the gesture, and Rebecca finally remembered for the first time in days, that she did have people that cared.

It was enough to crack the concrete and let a tear spill from her eye as she mimicked Pamela's gesture on the other side. Placing her palm across from hers and her forehead down, as if Pamela would somehow know she was doing it.

Rebecca knew the trio barely had any time to organize a meet-up with all of them together. Which meant they were putting their lives on hold for her, even if she didn't want them to. She gave up, opening the door after she watched Pamela move off of it.

"See, I'm alive." Rebecca gestured to herself.

"Alive and okay aren't the same thing." Mercedes responded as they all went in, whether Rebecca wanted it or not.

"What happened?" Pamela asked, wrapping her arms around Rebecca.

"Nothing." Rebecca sighed, "Everything is fine."

Mercedes looked around with her hands on her hips as she thought to herself. "Where's Colby?"

Rebecca tried to keep her expression neutral, so she just stared at the floor, but that gave the girls everything they needed.

"What happened?" Ashley asked cautiously, as Rebecca returned to the corner of the couch she had been sitting at for the past few days.

"The day I was supposed to go over... to eat dinner with you guys..." Mercedes spoke, "When I got there, Colby said plans had changed. He looked rough, said something about a headache."

Mercedes started putting things together, "I thought it was weird that nobody had warned me, but I guess it was my fault for not pushing further."

Rebecca knew they weren't going to leave her alone unless she answered. "I had gone over, to fulfil our original plans."

She swallowed hard, trying to ignore the lump in her throat, "When I got there... I found him in bed... with Sarah."

"What?" Ashley's tone didn't even inflect a question, just disbelief.

"Oh, Rebecca." Pamela was immediately at her side.

"But... why would he do that?" Mercedes furrowed her eyebrows, "That doesn't make sense. He knows how it feels to be cheated on... it ruined him. Why would he do the same thing to someone that actually cares about him?"

"I don't know." Rebecca sighed, "We aren't even... in a relationship. I don't even know what we... were. But I walked in, she was on top of him, and that was that."

"This doesn't- something's not right." Mercedes looked at them, "You guys stay with her. I gotta figure out what the hell is going on."

Mercedes left before Rebecca could protest and headed to Colby's place. Once she got there, she knocked on his door unrelenting, until he finally opened it.

"What the hell happened?" She was both of their friends, but her tone still held a sharp and cold note towards him.

"I don't know." His eyes were bloodshot, and she could see the tears lining the bottom of them.

"What do you mean, Colby?" She shook her head, "How can you not know?"

He was at a loss for words as he shrugged, his tears begging to be released. "I woke up, and suddenly nothing made sense."

Mercedes walked into his apartment, and the smell of alcohol filled the air. She slowly walked forward, seeing shattered glass scattered across the kitchen floor. "What the hell Colby..."

He slumped back onto his couch slowly, "Are you supposed to be drinking while on meds?"

"Who cares?" He mumbled, "It doesn't matter anymore."

"Where's Riley?" Mercedes looked for signs of the little girl.

"My mom took her and won't let me see her till I sort out my shit." He shrugged, "I always knew she'd be better off without me anyway."

"Colby, you're acting like you're never gonna see either of them again." Discomfort filled her chest, "This is just a minor problem. You'll find an answer and get back on your feet."

"Don't you get it?" Colby stood up and threw his hands in the air, before running his fingers through his hair. "She was the answer!"

She watched him pace back and forth, "I'm a virus... a plague. Everything good I have going for me gets ruined, and she was the only shot I had of finding an antidote."

Colby's voice broke, and he stared out of his window defeated, "Everything I care about is gone, and I can't even tell you why."