KILL YOUR DARLINGS ✸ Saltburn

𝒗𝒊. it's good to have a friend

𖤐 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑺𝑰𝑿:
╰┈➤ it's good to have a friend ༉‧₊˚.

THE FOLLOWING MORNING, MEREDITH was almost able to make it to class without interruption.

There were already talks and rumours regarding her absence the prior day flying around the University, but to make it all worse, she'd been stopped by Alice and Livia twice to see if she wanted to attend an end-of-the-year party with them at one of the frat houses on campus. But honestly, that was the last thing Meredith wanted to do.

She'd been drowning in exams this week and a party was truly the last thing on her mind.

Now, after her final class (and exam) of the day, she'd been looking forward to curling up and in bed and relaxing, for once.

However, her body clashed into another, preventing her from doing just that.

This time, rather than her papers going flying, it was the boy across from her's.

He had glasses and was wearing a button up and it was quite obvious it was Felix's new friend, Oliver.

"Hey, my knight in shining armour," she grinned from ear-to-ear as she helped him gather his papers back into a neat pile.

If it weren't for Oliver, she could still be in that god-awful smelling fraternity house, drunk in the middle of their living room floor.

"Oh, hi." He offered a small smile, quiet and reserved.

However, there was this sudden sadness she could see within him, and honestly, it was starting to rub off on her. She reached out and placed a gentle hand on the side of his arm. "Hey, are you alright?"

His piercing blue eyes met hers, and he appeared to be in disbelief, almost. Like he'd been utterly shocked by the fact that a girl like Meredith was asking him so genuinely if he was okay.

He nodded, slowly, but Meredith didn't buy a word into it. She gave him a knowing look, and he immediately gave in. "My dad's just died."

Meredith's face contorted in sadness for the boy, and she immediately embraced him a hug. "Oh my goodness, Ol. I'm so sorry."

Slowly, his cold hand met the brunette's back and indulged in the scent of her lavender-like scent.

"Here," she frowned, her hand still remaining on his back as she moved him out of the dark hallway and into the courtyard, sitting him down on one of the wooden benches. "How did it happen? I—do you want to talk about it?"

Meredith had so many questions but the last thing she wanted was to overwhelm the boy. She kept her hands clasped together in the lap of her dress and awaited his answered.

He gave a brief shrug. "He fell. Er... cracked his head on the pavement on his way to the mailbox."

Just between hearing the words and imagining the display horrified Meredith and saddened her deeply.

"He's a drunk—" he corrects himself. "Was."

"How are you coping?" Meredith wondered aloud, genuinely curious and baffled to herself as the question played in her head. "Do you need to see the school counselor or something? I can't imagine."

Meredith was talking fast, sure, but her mind was racing like crazy. Her poor friend's father has just died in a sickeningly gruesome way and she has no idea how to respond to that, or how to be there for the boy.

He shakes his head. "It's hard, but, he wasn't ever much of a father anyhow."

Given what he's said about his father's alcoholism, that didn't surprise Meredith much. But she still felt horrible and couldn't believe he wasn't feeling worse than he's showing.

"And your mother?" the curly-haired girl asked, dark brows furrowed with worry and anticipation. "How is she?" 

He just gives a simple shake of his head once more. "She's unavailable." 

"Unavailable?" The furrow between her brows depended. She didn't mean to pry, per say, she was just worried for her friend and how lonesome this all must be. 

"She..." he hesitated, his breath hitching. "drugs." 

It was clear he was uncomfortable and wary of the topic, and Mere didn't blame him one bit. 

She doesn't say anything, just looks over the glum boy one more time before embracing him in a tight hug.

It's obvious he needs it, and Meredith had hoped she could make it all better somehow.

"It's good to have a friend." he says, voice barely above a whisper as he wraps his arms back around Meredith's smaller frame. 

Meredith gives his torso a tighter squeeze as a smile morphs onto her face. "Isn't it?"