Please, Don't Fall

c h a p t e r 4

I clamber out of the car glancing down at the address the guy—Alex—had sent me from Coltan's phone. Our conversation was cut short as I was out the door and already on my way to wherever the party had been in session.

As I look up at the three story house, I can't help but stare in awe. The lights inside flashed fluorescent colors reflecting on the freshly cut lawn. People hung out the second story windows waving around beer bottles as if they were performing some type of ritual. The front door was slung open and a couple stumbled out, their movements messy due to being under the influence. I couldn't help but frown at the sight. What was so fun about this?

I was never one to go out of my way to be at a party. I had only attended one once and it was when Coltan had first turned into the stranger he is today. I had been wanting to see what his new definition of fun consisted of, and this was that. I was ashamed of my generation, how did it make us responsible ones look? That and I had a very pressuring friend wanting me to attend.

Cursing, I reluctantly stomp up onto the porch. If only I could count how many situations I've had to save Coltan from. As soon as I cross the threshold I'm hit with the stench of alcohol, sweat, and vomit. Holding my nose, I maneuver throughout the wave of bodies. The music was so loud it made my ears ring, everyone around me oblivious to the level of noise. Foreign hands ran down my arms, some even attempting to pull me to them. Each time I manage to slip from their sweaty grips just to be caught by another. Finally, I make it across the living room and begin to look forward to the well-deserved shower I'll be taking tonight.

My phone was clear of any new messages. Which left me to find Coltan in a stack of drunk needles on my own. I preferred to stay clear of the upper levels if possible, so I check the bathrooms first. I'm greeted with a couple locked in a heated session, so I quickly give them back their privacy. Disgusting. The next bathroom is luckily but sadly empty. No Coltan. I somehow round a corner and end up in the kitchen where a dining table had been moved to the middle of the room and people playing beer pong. God forgive them. And my brother.

"Marley?"

The old, but familiar voice was the first thing that had stopped me on my journey since I arrived. No, it couldn't be. Could it? Slowly turning on my heel I confirm my worries. It could be after all.

"Heidi?"

The blonde smirks deviously, crossing her arms playfully.

"Well, well, look who the cat dragged in."

I purse my lips, scanning the kitchen again for that familiar mop of amber hair. Coltan where are you when I'm in need of saving?

"What? No famous words for me? I'm hurt, Marley, really."

I roll my eyes, kicking at an empty beer can that hand been abandoned on the ground. Heidi and I had a rough past, but at one point we had been thick as thieves. We were those two girls that always did everything together and didn't worry about the lack of friends we had. But Heidi had grown on others and once we arrived at high school she had replaced me. My attempts to hangout fell on deaf ears and she no longer had time for me. However, everyone else had been "fit into" her schedule. And as she gained popularity I lost it, more involved in raising my siblings and keeping together my family that so desperately seemed to be breaking.

"I don't have time for this."

My wrist is caught in her grasp, stopping me for the second time. This time I wasn't as friendly, my temper flaring and my eyes narrowing on her grip.

"We have unfinished business, Wallace."

"I have nothing to say to you," I snap.

She hadn't changed a bit. She was still the blonde-headed, green-eyed rebellious girl I remember. I would sit around at night wondering how we had became friends in the first place. We were polar opposites, while she preferred parties in her spare time I stuck with movie marathons with my family. I guess our friendship didn't really ever have a chance now that I look back. But I at least fought for it, she didn't even lift a finger.

Her outfit screamed attention. Her tight cocktail dress a deep burgundy that cut low between her breasts. The leather jacket she had always worn since her father passed thrown over her shoulders and matching quite well with the dress. Thinking about the girl she was before her dad reminded me of why we were best friends. Once Heidi's father had passed in a car accident she went off the rails. And her mother didn't have the time to pay attention while raising Heidi and her two other younger sisters.

"Fine," she draws back. "Then at least answer this. What is "Miss Golden Girl" doing here."

I've been asking myself that same question since I walked through the door.

"My brother," I mutter embarrassed.

She chuckles, not one of those hardy laughs where someone is laughing with you. One of those belittling ones where they are laughing at you. Fighting the growing urge to smack her perfectly sculpted make-up I take a step towards my escape.

"Of course, I should have known you were chasing after that lost cause."

A rope in the distance snaps. My hand whips across her face in a satisfying snap and as her eyes widens in realization I can already see the whelp of my impact.

"He is not a lost cause."

Fuming, I leave her with the expression of pure hatred.

And for once in my life god had felt sorry for me and realize I had had enough. My brother stumbles from an open door with another familiar face keeping him stable. My brother looks up as if sensing me in the crowd. A bruise ringing his right eye and tears on the verge of falling. Despite the music radiating throughout the party and the bodies moving in and out of my view, my heartbreaks at the sight of Coltan. He looked as if he had no more fight left in him.

In a matter of seconds he closes the gap of the hallway. But instead of like all our other rare hugs he wasn't taking me in, I was holding him. His head fell in defeat against my chest and he bent over awkwardly to wrap his arms around my waist. He let out a gut-wrenching cry as he snuggled deeper into my shoulder, tears wetting my skin.

"I-I couldn't take it anymore, Mar. I'm s-so sorry," he slurs so quietly I can barely hear over the noise.

My eyes look to the other presence, a face I know I'd seen around but couldn't put a name too. I ask him what happened with my expression and he replies with a sad look at my brother in my arms.

"Mar, please don't be mad."

| a/n |
Does anyone feel sorry for Coltan? Or does he even deserve to be pitied? Lemme know by voting and commenting if you want too! :) xoxo