Blue's POV
I stood in front of Frankie's door, shifting back and forth on my heels. My hands were shoved in my pockets to try and stop myself from picking at my cuticles. I hadn't seen Frankie in months, so standing in her hallway seemed surreal to me. I wasn't even sure if she wanted to speak to me after everything. I took a deep breath and raised my hand against the door. I knocked softly, knowing that if she were in her room, she wouldn't be able to hear. I sighed deeply, trying to release the anxiety I was feeling. I rose my hand again and knocked harder.
_____
Frankie's POV
"What do you want?"
"Can I come in?"
"Shit, I don't know, dude; what do you want?"
"Just let me come in, and we can talk."
"Whatever."
I stepped inside Baxter's house and sat down on the couch. I wrapped my arms around myself to keep warm.
"If you came here to buy heroin, you're out of luck; I won't sell to you." Baxter locked the door behind him before he came and stood in front of me.
"Why not?" I asked.
"Because I'm not going to be the reason you die from that shit." Baxter crossed his arms as he towered over me.
"I don't need a lecture from the guy who pressured me into doing it."
"I didn't pressure you into anything. God, can you ever take responsibility for your actions?" Baxter spat.
"I wasn't completely open to trying it until you showed it to me," I said defensively.
"You'll try anything, F, don't blame it on me."
I shook my head and leaned back on the couch.
"I'm out, okay? and I need more before I withdraw." I changed my tone.
"As I said, you came to the wrong place."
"So you'll beat the shit out of me when you find out I slept with Blue, but you won't sell me heroin in case I die?"
"Yeah, I don't need your blood on my hands," Baxter sat down next to me and grabbed a joint to spark.
"You don't make any sense, you've beaten me up twice now, but you don't want me to die?" I stood up, not wanting to sit next to him.
"As I said before, I don't want your blood on my hands. I'll beat the fuck out of you because you deserve it. You're a fucking liar, and you've always been." Baxter explained before taking a hit of his joint.
I didn't have the energy to fight with him; all my mind could think about was getting high. I scanned the room; I knew exactly where he kept all his drugs. I could grab some and dump the money on the table when he leaves the room; then, technically, he wouldn't have given it to me.
"You should leave, Frankie; I have important people coming over that you shouldn't be around." Baxter checked his phone and stood up. "I need to take this." He walked a few feet away from me with his back turned.
I quietly walked over to the reclining chair he had in the corner and dug my hand into the side of the cushion, trying to feel around for any bag. I turned my head to see if Baxter was looking, but he was occupied with his phone. I grunted, reaching deeper in and feeling two bags of what I was hoping was heroin. I pulled my hand out, and my eyes lit up at the sight. I shoved them into my jacket pocket and fished money out, digging it into the couch where the bags were. I ran towards the door and unlocked it.
"Okay then, bye," I said as I stepped out.
"Bye-"
The door closed before I could hear Baxter say anything else. I sped walked down the street, not looking back; I walked quickly for 5 minutes before turning down an alleyway. I pushed my back against the brick wall and caught my breath. "Phew, fuck." I said to myself.
I was only a few blocks away from my house; I didn't want to wait, I honestly couldn't wait. I crouched down and pulled one of the bags out of my pocket.
_____
Blue's POV
I knocked again for the third time and called out softly. "Frankie." I grabbed the door handle and pulled it down slightly to see if it was locked or not. The door handle pushed down, indicating that it was unlocked. I hesitated and took a deep breath before walking inside. I peeked my head in and called out again. "Frankie?!"
I stepped inside and shut the door behind me. I looked around at how disorganized the apartment was. There were empty liquor and pill bottles everywhere, clothes, shoes, and needles. I ran my hand down my face and started walking towards Frankie's room, bracing myself for what I was about to see. The door was slightly ajar, and a breeze came through the crack. I could tell she left her balcony door open, and she doesn't do that unless she's home. I pushed the door open and stepped inside.
"Frankie?" I called out for the third time.
No response.
Frankie's room was a disaster as well; everything was thrown everywhere. The ground was hard to see throughout the chaos. I looked around the room that was filled with silence. She wasn't here; there was no point in calling her. I started picking up trash in her room and bringing it into the kitchen to throw away. I cleaned up the garbage in the living room and kitchen, put the dishes away, and threw her clothes in the laundry bin.
I cleared my throat, throwing away all the needles and pill bottles. I shook my head, not realizing how bad the situation was. I wiped down the counters and did the same to her bedroom. I sighed as I took a seat on the couch. In the midst of cleaning, I decided to wait for her to return. I pulled my phone out and dialed Layla's number.
"Hey Blue, what's up?" Layla answered on the other line.
"Hey, sorry to bother you. Have you heard from Frankie today?" I asked, getting straight to the point.
"No, I haven't heard from her in days, I've been trying to contact her, but I think her phone is off." Layla sounded upset.
"Okay, just wondering." I sighed, getting up to search for her phone.
"Why do you ask? When was the last time you talked to her?" Layla sounded snippy.
"God, I don't even know." I walked into Frankie's room and started checking around.
"Why pop back into her life now? I'd rather you not make things worse." Layla turned defensive.
"I spoke with Austin a couple of days ago, and he told me what was going on."
"What do you mean?" Layla asked.
"About her and Austin and the heroin use." I blurted out. I know Layla didn't know about Frankie using, but there was no point in keeping it a secret anymore.
"What? What are you saying right now?" Layla exclaimed.
"Austin didn't want to tell you," I said, crouching down to look under Frankie's bed.
"What the fuck?!" Layla yelled. "Where is she?"
"I don't know. I went by her place earlier, and she wasn't home." I walked back into the living room, still searching for her phone.
"I'm going to kill her; this is why she's been so weird," Layla said while fidgeting with something in the background. "I need to call Austin right now."
The line went dead.
I pushed my phone into my pocket and searched in between the couches. No anvil anywhere out here. I turned towards the other end of the apartment, Frankie's parent's wing. I paused to go down that way as I'd never been in her parent's room. I sighed deeply again and sauntered down the hall. I slowly opened the bedroom door, revealing the bedroom in absolute shambles. I saw a phone lying on the floor next to the nightstand. I quickly walked over and picked it up, noticing the phone case was Frankie's. I clicked it on, seeing the screen was on do not disturb; I turned it off, and the influx of notifications appeared.
My eyes scanned the phone and then tucked it into my back pocket. I walked out of Frankie's parent's room feeling extremely weird being inside. I decided not to clean up in there; I didn't want Frankie to know I was snooping on that side of the apartment. I went back into the living room and sat on the couch. I grabbed the phone from my pocket and shuffled through the notifications I could see. I was unsure of her password and didn't feel like it was necessary to try and figure it out. I saw messages from Layla, Austin, Binx, Jackson, and a few unsaved numbers. I was unable to read them due to her notification settings. I placed the phone beside me and leaned my head back into the cushion, closing my eyes.
I couldn't help but think the worst. I had no idea where Frankie could be and if she was okay. My phone started ringing; I opened my eyes and grabbed it next to me. I expected the call to be from Layla, but it was Dani.
"Hi," I answered.
"Hi babe, where are you?" Dani asked.
I held my breath. "I'm with Binx and Austin; we're about to grab a drink."
"Okay, why didn't you tell me?" She asked.
"I just ran into them; I was about to text you." I rubbed my forehead.
"Okay, will I see you later?" Dani sounded annoyed.
"Yes, I'll call you," I said, growing annoyed.
"Okay, have fun; I love you."
"Love you too, bye." I hung up and tossed the phone back where it was initially.
"Fuck." I said to myself.
Just then, I heard a loud bang at the door. The door handle jiggled then it stopped. I stood up from the couch and walked over to the door, stopping a couple of feet in front of it. The door then flew open, and Frankie stumbled in. Frankie caught herself on the door, looked at my shoes, and glanced up.
"What the fuck" Frankie narrowed her eyes at me.
I stared at her, not knowing what to say. Her eyes were droopy and red; her face was thin and pale. I didn't even know if I was looking at the right person. I took a step back to observe her more. My eyebrows furrowed at her.
"Jesus fuck, I'm hallucinating right now, aren't I?" Frankie put her hand on her forehead and laughed as she kicked the door closed.
I still said nothing. I wanted to observe her in this state.
Frankie stumbled to the kitchen island and put her hands on the side to hold herself up. My eyes followed her as she did so. She turned toward me and snickered, "You're still here? They usually disappear after I stop looking at them."
"Who's they?" I spoke.
"The things I'm imagining." Frankie closed her eyes and dropped to her feet. She leaned her back against the fridge and breathed out.
I stepped towards her and crouched down in front of her letting my knees crack.
Frankie opened her eyes to the sound and fanned her hand in front of me. "Go away, stop fucking with me."
"You're not hallucinating."
Frankie's eyes locked with mine. "You're not real; they all say that."
"Frankie, it's me, Blue," I whispered, putting my hand on her knee.
Frankie yanked her leg. "What the fuck. You're not real." Her eyes widened.
"Frankie, it's me. Let me help you, please."
Frankie scanned my face; she kept closing her eyes and forcing them open to look at me. Her head leaned against the fridge again, and her eyes rolled into the back of her head.
"Frankie," I said, shaking her
She didn't answer.
"Frankie!"
"What's going on in here?"
I jump at the voice that entered the room quietly.
"Blue? What's going on?"
I said nothing; I just stared at Frankie's parents in front of me.