We were going to go drop Erica off but I thought it would be better for the three of us, Erica, Quinn, and I, to spend the night together. I certainly don't want Quinn alone and I'm sure they both wanted to talk to each other.
"Bye, boys." I wave at them as we all head into Nick's apartment. Yes, he let us use it but I made some promises for tomorrow to convince him. Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do.
"So, where do we start?" Erica sighs. I lead them over to the living room and we all sit on the couch.
"How about how you guys feel right now?" I say as if I were a therapist. I just don't want either of them to keep anything bottled up and explode later. I want them to let everything out right now before it ruins them.
"Like a fucking criminal." Quinn says harshly. "They kept us locked in rooms, away from the world. Sure, it was just a couple of hours but it's still fucking scarring." She explains and I feel my eyes water. My best friend was in pain, a lot of pain.
"They tied me up and taped my mouth shut like I was nothing." Erica says with tears slowly falling down her rosy cheeks.
"You are both amazing girls. Neither of you are criminals nor a 'nothing'." I tell them. "Let it all out tonight and I promise you will feel a little better." I suggest.
Tears. Sobs. Cries. They all filled the room as we all hugged. I was spilling some of those tears too. My best friend, who I think of as a sister, was kidnapped and I thought I might never see her again. That's scary as hell. I couldn't help but cry with them.
"Okay, enough with all of this messy shit," Quinn wipes her tears and puts on a smile. "We are alive and okay. We can keep going with a smile, show them that they didn't affect us." Quinn says as she holds Erica's hand. Erica smiles up at her and nods. I smile at both of them for how strong these women were. People keep this in and don't try to keep going so soon.
"I agree. Let's watch some movies, order some pizza, get some snacks, and hang out." I say.
"I would love that." Erica nods happily.
"Erica, where's your family? Won't they be worried?" Quinn suddenly asks.
"I was running away from home." She admits and my jaw drops open. Quinn gasps, too.
"What? Why would you do that?" Quinn asks and Erica shrugs.
"It's a long story." Erica says.
"We have time. Let it all out." I say and she takes a deep breath. Quinn and I look at each other for a second.
"I was abused. Still am, kinda. My mom passed away when I was seven, my dad passed away when I was eleven. I am an only child and they took me to a foster home. I was adopted at age twelve into a family that looked perfect. I was their only 'child'. They would beat me for even breathing wrong. My foster mom would slap me and pull my hair. My foster dad would hit me with a belt and kick me." She explains as tears fall down her face.
"It's okay. You can keep going or stop." I hold her hand as she shakes her head.
"It feels good to let it out. Anyway, I would always try to run away but they would always call the police and they'd find me. When I tried to tell someone, none of them believed me. My foster parents are lawyers who are friends with everyone. They were never looked at negatively. I despise them. I never did anything to them that would actually give them a reason to hit me. I have good grades, get along with everyone but somehow I manage to piss them off. I've tried in every way to please them but they just don't like me." We were all crying at this point and I pulled Erica in for a hug. Quinn joined in and we stayed like that for a while. We only pulled apart when there was a knock.
I grabbed a vase, that was still full of flowers, and walked in front of both girls. I shushed them with a finger over my mouth and they nodded. Quinn quickly ran to the kitchen and grabbed two knives, giving one to Erica. Erica's hands were a bit shaky.
I checked through the peep hole and saw a guy that was around our age with a box. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion and I slowly opened the door.
"Hello, pizza for Quinn." He says and Quinn bursts into laughter.
"Oh shit, I forgot I ordered pizza." She hunches over and I slap the back of her head as she winces. Erica laughs and Quinn walks away to get money.
"What's the vase and those knives for?" He asks, quirking an eyebrow. I slowly look at my hand and see I was still holding the vase. I put it behind my back and started to laugh. Erica put the knife behind hers and joined in on my laughter. Quinn handed him the money, took the box, and closed the door.
"To the kitchen!" Quinn shouts, pointing towards the kitchen and we follow.
"When did you get this?" Erica asks, grabbing a slice.
"I took a bathroom break and while I was doing my business, I thought about how hungry I was. I ordered pizza while I was peeing. He probably heard the toilet flush in the background." She chuckles.
"You almost gave me a heart attack! Erica was shaking!" I slap her arm lightly.
"I thought it was my foster parents and they had found me." Erica whispers. Quinn and I look over at her.
"Hey, we won't let you go back with them. You can move in with me!" Quinn squeals and I smile happily.
"I can move in with my other friend, she offered me to stay with her. I really don't wanna bother you, you don't even know me. What if you hate me a month or a week later? I really don't want to bother you. Thank you so much though. You have an amazing heart." Erica smiles at Quinn.
"Thank you, you wouldn't bother me by the way. Whatever you're more comfortable with is fine. As long as we all keep in touch and go out every once in a while!" Quinn bargains and I nod.
"That'd make me very happy." I say.
"That's totally fine with me. I'll go with her tomorrow. I just have to call her. I'll be back." Erica says.
"She's only fifteen! Can you believe it!"
"Woah, what the fuck. Well, we aren't that much older than her." Quinn shrugs.
"Let's eat!" Erica says and jumps over the couch, sitting down in between Quinn and I.
The rest of the night was spent watching movies, eating pizza and us going to get more snacks. That was an adventure because Erica decided to shake a coke bottle, then open it in the middle of the store. We were pretty much chased out. Quinn had her shoes in one hand, mine in the other. I was holding Erica's as we ran to the car. Erica also decided to get into the drivers seat, keep in mind that she doesn't know how to drive. It was fucking crazy but a lot of fun.
We all fell asleep, cuddled into the couch and each other. Adira sighed contently, she let me calm down with my own thoughts. Everything seemed to be in place.