Blue's POV
Mr. and Mrs. Ellison stood in front of me, waiting for a response. I looked at them in awe, not expecting to see them anytime soon.
"Blue?" Frankies mom asked again. "What's going on?"
"Uh-" I looked at Frankie, then back toward her parents. "I don't know."
"What is she doing on the floor? Is she passed out?" Mrs. Ellison threw her hands to the side in anger.
"She's high; that's all I know." I lied as I shook Frankie's shoulders.
"Oh, brother, not again." Frankie's father chuckled.
Frankie slowly slumped over onto the floor once I took my eyes off her. My head pinged back, and I saw her chest rise and fall, indicating that she was alive.
"What do you mean not again?" I asked sharply.
"She does this all the time." Mr. Ellison looked back at his phone and walked toward his side of the apartment.
"So, what do you do about it?" I stood up and followed behind him.
"Huh? Oh, about her? Nothing. She'll come to her senses sooner or later." Mr. Ellison said, barely looking up from his phone.
My cheeks were hot with anger as I observed him carelessly minding his own business, not giving a single fuck about his daughter. I looked down at him, typing away on his phone, and without a second thought, I snatched it from him.
"What do you think you're doing?" His head snapped up at me.
"Your daughter is fucking high, and you mean to tell me you don't do anything about this?!" I stepped toward him.
"What do you figure I do, boy?" Mr. Ellison said sarcastically as he tried to grab his phone from my grip.
"Help her?!" I threw his phone behind me, not caring if it shattered or malfunctioned as it smacked the marble tile.
"What do you think you're doing?" Mr. Ellison angrily pushed me back.
I caught myself and yelled. "I've always been the one here helping Frankie while you and your wife are out doing whatever the fuck you do without her."
"Don't speak to me like that; how dare you."
"I'll speak to you, however, the hell I want. You don't deserve any respect from me." I started to raise my voice.
"I don't need to do anything for her, she gets everything she asks for, and this is how she repays me? Acting like- like that?" Frankie's father pointed to her.
"She's your daughter? She owes you nothing." I shake my head at his statement.
"She's ungrateful; she does this for attention." Mr. Ellison yells.
"You're daughter, Frankie, is a fucking drug addict!" I yelled.
Mrs.Ellison gasps behind me; I pay her no mind.
"No, she's not." Mr. Ellison brushes past me and grabs his phone from the floor.
"You're a fucking asshole. You're delusional and selfish." I grit my teeth.
"You better find yourself leaving soon." Mr. Ellison shoves his phone into his pocket.
"Maybe- maybe we better hear him out." Mrs. Ellison taps her finger tails on her teeth.
Now I know who Frankie gets that nervous trait from.
"No, Blue is a fucking liar." Mr. Ellison grabs his coat furiously.
"LOOK AT HER!" I yelled.
Mr.Ellison shakes his head at her. "This isn't my problem."
"You don't even wonder why she does this to herself?" I look over at Frankie to see her mom sitting her back on the fridge.
"For attention." Her father spat.
"Yeah, maybe at first, now look at her. She's not only doing it when you're around. It's constant." I could feel my blood boiling. "You're a horrible father."
Mr.Ellison stood silent in front of me. He examined my face and then opened his mouth to speak. "You have no right to blame me for the situations she decides to put herself in. If Frankie wants to take drugs and ruin her life, so be it. It won't affect me. She's always been a fucking mess; I refuse to believe it's all my fault."
"You don't know her at all. Frankie is kind, thoughtful, and loving. You were never around long enough to see that, and I feel sorry for you. You'll never get to know her heart, and frankly, you don't deserve to. Neither you nor your wife." I knock my shoulder into him and walk back towards Frankie.
"I don't know who you think you are, Blue, but speaking to me like this won't get you anywhere." Mr.Ellison shouted.
"There's no reasoning with you anyway. You can't even see that you and your wife are a huge reason Frankie is like this. She's never known love from either of you, and you want to stand here and tell me this has nothing to do with you?" I paused. "Fuck you, man. Fuck. You."
We all stood in silence. I waited for Mr.Ellison to react and lose his shit on me. That's not who Frankies dad is. He's a coldhearted bitter man, and I refuse to give him any more of my time.
"We're leaving." Mr.Ellison gathered his things furiously.
"I'm not surprised." I turn my back towards him and crouch down towards Frankie.
"Let's go, Diane." Mr. Ellison spoke.
Mrs.Ellison rose and gathered her things as well. I watched her slowly make her way towards the door and take one last glance at Frankie.
"Blue." She spoke softly.
I stared at her waiting for her to speak.
Mr. Ellison opened the door and charged out with his belongings.
"Will you let me know how she is?" Mrs.Ellison tapped her nail on her tooth again.
"Come on, Diane. I'll send someone to grab more of our things later." Mr.Ellison yelled from the elevator.
I said nothing to Mrs.Ellison. I turned my head away and grabbed Frankie by the waist to lift her. I heard the door close softly behind me.
_____
Blue's POV
After a few minutes of resting, I opened my eyes only to realize I probably wasn't going to get much sleep tonight. I put Frankie to bed about an hour ago after fighting with her to wake up from her high. She finally awoke but was still significantly out of it and hallucinating. I sighed and swung my legs off the couch across from Frankie's bed in her room. I walked over to her sleeping and crouched down in front of her. I believed Frankie was one of the most beautiful people in the world, but I didn't even recognize the girl lying in front of me anymore.
Frankie was pale and her eyesockets were hallow. She lost about 15 pounds, and her skin lost its shine. I could tell she was biting her nails again and picking the skin off her lips. She always looked mad now, as If her face was stuck in that only emotion. I closed my eyes and shook my head, unsure of what I should do.
"What are you doing here?"
I opened my eyes to see Frankie staring at me. I smiled softly, hoping she wasn't too angry to see me.
"I thought I'd come check on you."
"I don't need your help, Layla. I told you."
Frankie's face stayed pinned in an angry stare. She was still hallucinating, and now I started to wonder how many days has it been since she been out of touch with reality. I decided not to fight her since she wasn't in the right state of mind. Tonight I am Layla.
"I know, but I'm worried about you," I responded.
"Yeah, well, don't be." Frankie turned over in bed.
I stood up and walked to the other side of the bed. I smiled again at her and then slowly crawled on.
"How'd you even get in here?" Frankie hissed.
"You left the door unlocked again."
Frankie moaned, putting her hand over her eyes.
I examined the track marks stretching far down her arm.
"Talk to me; it's been a while," I whispered.
"You're not going to lecture me, are you?" Frankie peaked thru her fingers at me.
"No." I shook my head.
Frankie trailed her hand off her face and sat up slightly. "Is everyone talking about me?" She looked away for a second, then back at me.
"Not really." I lied.
"Tell me the truth, Lay."
I cleared my throat and sighed. "Kinda."
"Fuck, I knew it. I bet Savannah is making fun of me with Dani now."
"Fuck her," I replied.
"Yeah, well." Frankie trailed off. "How's Austin?"
My nose wrinkled at the name. "Fine, he's worried about you."
"Well, tell him not to be." Frankie rolled her eyes.
I couldn't believe Frankie was seeing me as Layla. Even after sleeping for a little, she was still so far in a hallucinogenic state. I wanted to keep talking to see if I could get some answers from her that she could potentially be hiding.
"I uh- saw him talking to Blue the other night."
For the first time tonight, Frankies face softened. "What?"
"Yeah- yeah, we were out, and they were talking, just thought you should know that," I said quickly as my anxiety grew.
"You don't think he told Blue that I'm-" Frankie stopped. "I don't even think Blue would care anymore."
"Why do you say that?" I asked.
"He's dealt with this way too much; now it's just so bad I don't think even he would know how to fix it." Frankie brought her knees up to her chest.
"I think he cares; I don't think he would just stop caring."
"I don't know, Layla. This is fucked up, all of this." Frankie sighed. "I can't bring him into my fucked up life anymore."
"You're glad he's gone?" I questioned.
"No, obviously not." Frankie's eyes closed. "Just happy he doesn't have to deal with me like this anymore; he didn't deserve that."
"I don't think he anticipated for this to happen after you guys stopped being friends." I laid down next to Frankie.
"Yeah, well."
"I don't think he did either," Frankie whispered. "I miss him."
"He misses you." I turned my head towards her.
Frankie still sat up with her knees against her chest. Her arms were wrapped around her legs, hugging them, and she stared expressionless at the wall across the room.
"You think?" Frankie spoke.
"Yeah," I answered.
We both sat in silence for a little. An occasional sigh would leave one of our bodies; more Frankies than mine every few minutes. I sat up slightly and looked at Frankie. She moved her head toward me and smiled ever so slightly. I knew she didn't have the energy or mental capacity to do anything else.
"F?"
"Yeah?"
My heart started racing in my chest. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
"What?" Frankie asked again.
I took a deep breath and asked, "Are you in love with Blue?"
Frankie kept her eyes locked on mine; she smiled slightly again.
"Yeah, I'm still in love with Blue."