Well, I'm apparently an updating full right now.-AC
Cheree's POV
I woke up to my alarm making obnoxious noises in my ear. I peeked open one eye, looking at the sunlight being let in by a slight sliver in the blinds. And then, it hit me.
Fucking balls, Layne... That party — it was that night. I could already feel my body start to convulse and a headache coming in. My anxiety really sucks sometimes. I sighed, getting out of bed and making my way to the bathroom.
The doorbell rang, making me nearly fall in the shower.
Who the hell is here at 7 am?
As I made my way downstairs, the person at the door began holding the doorbell. I looked through the window and saw good ol' Danny waiting there. I flung the door open giving him a frown and one eyebrow up...
"Oh goody, my lord and savior," he sang, making his way inside. What the fu...?
"Well? What are you doing here?" I asked, slightly irritated.
"Cheree, baby, I am going to get this place set up. Therefore, I'll be skipping school today and getting your little home ready. I do need to know, honey, if there is anything you need hidden, or out of sight. I don't want drunken fools messing with your shit," Danny says.
Pause. Danny was a boy I met when I was 14. It was the summer before high school and just after my mother and sister left me. My anxiety had turned into depression and my aunt had started to worry. So, she sent me to see a therapist and group therapy. There I met Danny. He was the only one, besides Layne, that knew all about me and all about my family. I loved him like a brother, and he treated me like his sister. We both had tragedies happen to us at young ages — it helped us bond.
Danny was a tall, 6 foot 2, slightly built hunk. He had shaggy, sandy blonde hair, green eyes that pierce through your soul, and a strong jawline. Ladies loved him. He loved ladies and the men. Boy didn't discriminate.
Anywho... play.
"Uh, yeah, anything that looks breakable. Luckily, the TV is mounted on the wall, and out of reach for most. No one and I mean no one, upstairs. I don't need crazy hormonal teenagers bumping uglies on my bed." I pointed my finger at him.
"Did I hear someone say bumping uglies?" Layne said, walking in with Georgi.
"What the hell, Layne?" I asked. Why were there people in my house at 7:05 am?
"Just making sure Danny showed up. Also, I'm making sure you haven't backed out, babe." She said the last part glaring at me. I rubbed my temples, feeling my headache turn into a migraine. "Plus, I want to take you to school. Figured we could all just carpool afterward. Get everything else ready." She threw her arm around my shoulder. "You know I would never let anything bad happen to you or your house. Neither would Danny. We both love you and just want to calm your nerves." She kissed my cheek and I went upstairs to finish getting ready.
***
An hour later I found myself walking into the school, all eyes on me. Ugh, could this day have gotten any worse? Feeling a panic attack approaching, I scurried off to the restroom ignoring the girls doing last minute make-up touch-ups. I shut the stall door quickly and sat on the toilet seat. Clutching my chest, I started doing breathing exercises to slow my heart rate. I went off to my happy place.
Four years ago
The cool breeze hits my face. The feeling of the warm sand beneath my toes and the smell of salt water invades my nose, making me crack a smile. I feel a soft hand on my shoulder and peak my eyes open, noticing the retreating sun, and the pinks and orange colors in the sky on the horizon. I turn around and am met with identical eyes like mine.
"Hey baby sis, you ready? Mom wants us to get to bed early so we can leave at daybreak." My big sister Hailey smiles at me.
"Can we just sit here till the sun goes down? It's so beautiful. I feel like nothing can touch us here — like life is on pause. 'Cause once the sun goes away, you know its almost time for another day," I say smiling, looking back towards the beautiful view in front of me.
Hailey takes my hand and starts to sit down. I follow her lead and sit with my legs crossed next to her while she stretches her legs out in front of her. I take this second to look over at her and wonder how my 17-year-old sister could be so perfect. I hope to be like her someday, as beautiful as her. Tall, long blonde hair that reaches just below her lower back, athletic, a face that glows in the sunlight. "You know, Ree, these moments, I wish we could just pause them and stay forever too. Before you know it, we are back home, going to school. Then we graduate, go to college, meet boys, have babies, and then you wonder where the hell time went. And then, our lifeline will be up." At that, she stops talking. I rest my head on her shoulder and we remain silent until the sun goes down and reality comes back to life. Moments like these are ones you always have to cherish with the ones you love because before you know it, they're just memories of the past.
I open my eyes, and the tears are just flowing. I didn't even notice the warm body up against mine, holding me tight like there is no tomorrow. I realized I was shaking and somehow made my way to the floor.
"Cheree, oh my god. I couldn't get you to stop. You just, you spaced out completely, you scared me." I looked into those green eyes. My heart made this... flutter. It was weird.
Wait, why was Brooklyn here... how did she know I was in here?
Brooklyn's POV
I was in the girls' bathroom, putting on my eyeliner and fixing my hair when I heard the bathroom door fly open and a very flustered looking Cheree make her way in one of the stalls. The other two girls looked at her then back to the mirror. About, two minutes later I heard whimpering noises and quiet sobs coming from the stall.
"That girl has some serious issues," one of the blonde bimbos decided to say. I glared at her, told her to get the fuck out and pushed her and her little friend out the door. The sobbing got louder and I knocked on the stall door calling her name. I got nothing but more whimpering and sobs. "Cheree, open the fucking door!" At this point, I was starting to get worried. And pissed.
Finally, after 3 minutes, I sent a quick text to Layne and decided to do the nastiest thing: I got on my hands and knees and crawled under the stall. The sight before me broke my heart.
Cheree sat on the floor, knees to her chest, tears rolling down her face, eyes closed. "Cheree..." I whispered slowly inching my way towards her. I got next to her, kneeling, trying to shake her, but nothing worked. So, I just held her and rocked her in my arms. She still hadn't acknowledged me and it was starting to scare me. Layne, where the hell are you?
I noticed the sobs stopped, so I leaned my head back and looked her. We looked into each other's eyes for a moment. How could someone so broken look so beautiful? "Cheree, oh my god. I couldn't get you to stop. You just, you spaced out completely, you scared me." She looked at me, confused. She just stared into my eyes without looking away. I started to get self-conscious.
"What the hell happened?" I heard Layne behind me. "Shit, Brooklyn, can you leave us please." I nodded my head and looked back at Cheree, who was still looking at me. I started to get up and stopped when I felt a small, soft warm hand grab my wrist gently. "Thank you," she softly whispered.
I smiled down at her and gently removed my wrist out of her soft grasp. I took her hand in mine and helped her up off that nasty floor.
I turned to make my way out the bathroom door. I took one last glance back before I opened the door and saw Layne hug my broken girl.
I never knew how broken she was. I wanted to be the one to put her back together. Layne looked in my direction and gave me a sad smile. I nodded at her and made my way out the door.
Layne's POV
After receiving a text from Brooklyn saying that Cheree needed me in the main bathroom, I ran out the classroom and left my teacher shouting my name. I didn't really give a damn.
I made my way to the bathroom and saw something that pissed me off, but also made me smile. Brooklyn Jameson, consoling my best friend. She was holding her. After a few seconds of shock, I approached them and noticed Cheree had a panic attack. I knew that look. I'd experienced it with my best friend many times.
I asked Brooklyn if she could give us some alone time. Brooklyn nodded her head and Cheree grabbed her wrist thanking her. She then helped Cheree up and started to walk away. I opened my arms and Cheree gladly accepted the invitation, sobbing into my shoulder. I took a glance at Brooklyn, and gave her a sad smile, silently thanking her.
After Brooklyn left, I gently pulled away from her. "You okay, shorty?" I asked, wiping away her tears. "I had a panic attack. I tried going to my happy place. The last happy memory I had with Hailey. I miss them so much, Layne. I wish I could've gone with them." Those words completely broke me — my best friend admitted to me that she wanted to die.
"Hey, I can tell Danny to call off the party. They can find somewhere else. We can just sit and watch Friends reruns and order some pizza," I said, smiling at her. She stood there, thinking. "No, it's okay Layne. I know you all have been waiting for this." She smiled at me sadly. I took her hand and led her to her class.
***
Cheree's POV
I sat down at our usual lunch spot. I started munching on my turkey sub when I saw Layne sit down with a guilty look on her face. She mouthed a sorry at me. Wondering what she was sorry about, I saw Georgi take a seat next to her and then... I heard laughter and loud talking behind me. I looked up and saw Angel, Lindy and Brooklyn at my table taking seats. Of course, Brooklyn sat next to me but didn't acknowledge me. I was still embarrassed for blacking out in front of her and showing my vulnerable side. I looked at Layne, giving her a frown. She smiled timidly at me and typed something on her phone. I got a text and opened it.
Text from Layne - Sorry, he wanted to eat lunch with us, but they followed.
I rolled my eyes and kept to myself. After halfway finishing my sandwich, I felt eyes on me. I looked up and noticed Layne, Georgi, Angel, and Alex all in an intense conversation. I felt a hand on my knee and noticed Brooklyn looking down at me with a worried look.
"You alright? You spaced out for a second," she asked with concern. It was weird how Brooklyn was showing me sympathy. It wasn't normal... but the weirder thing was that I liked it.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just not used to having a bunch of people around me," I said quietly with a slight smile. She squeezed my knee a little and smiled back at me. She went back to her conversation with her friends, while I sat there finishing my sandwich. Brooklyn never released her hold on my knee though. I didn't want her to.
I looked over at the table next to me and saw Cassidy sitting with the other punk kids. She was flirting with one of the girls next to her. I frowned a little, feeling a little jealousy. As if she knew I was looking, she looked over at me and noticed my frown. She quickly unwrapped her arm from the girl she was flirting with and I looked away.
I had a bad feeling that at this party, something really, really bad was going to happen.