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My best friend Aubrey was always more exciting than me, which usually made people question why we were best friends in the first place. She was outgoing and wild, always with a new boyfriend and always looking for a new party. I was nothing like that—most Friday nights, I stayed in, baby-sitting my little sister and brother, while my parents enjoyed their weekly date night. It was no surprise that at sixteen, I had yet to have a boyfriend. Even if I wanted to put myself out there like Aubrey, I just couldn't. The thing was, our differences, they just seemed to make us stronger. It didn't matter that we were so different. We just kind of worked.
“Guess who just asked me out Friday night?” Aubrey said, rushing up to me in the hallway on a Wednesday afternoon. No hello, just immediately into conversation. That was Aubrey's way.
Closing my locker, I pressed my school books against my chest. There should have been some rule stating that math textbooks couldn't be more than 100 pages. They were just too heavy. “Who?” This wasn't a new scene. We repeated the same moment every week—Aubrey would rush up to me in the middle of the week, gushing about her new guy. They would go out Friday night, and by Sunday she would be “so over him” and onto the next guy by Tuesday, Wednesday at the latest.
“No seriously, you have to guess.” She said, “because this is too good.”
I shrugged. “Honestly, I have no idea.”
“Garrett Davis.” She nearly squealed, her voice loud and excited. I honestly thought she was about to jump out and down, like a kid in a candy store. Garrett Davis was one of the most attractive guys at Dalkery High School. But not only was he was one of the cutest, he was also one of the smartest. He was always top of the Principal's list every semester, which really pissed off those who assumed that because he was a jock, he was stupid. I couldn't think of one girl in the school, myself included, that didn't have a crush on him. He just didn't walk around with that same old jock attitude that most guys did. When he talked to you, he made you feel like you were the only girl in the entire world. There was this mystery to him. You just wanted to get to know him better. What made him even more mysterious was the fact he barely ever dated. This was a huge deal.
“No way. Are you serious?” I asked, excited.
Aubrey nodded, her face brighter than I've seen it in ages. She never got this excited about boys, ever, “he came up to me after my Math class and just asked me to go to his party, with him might I add. As his date,” She paused, dramatically, as a couple cheerleaders walked past us. “I mean, can you believe it? You totally have to come.”
“When is it?”
She paused, biting her lip. “Friday night.”
So that was the obvious catch. Because it wasn't possible for me to get a chance to have a little fun. “You know I can't,” I sighed, leaning against the cool metal of my locker. It was May, and summer was quickly approaching, sandals and sun dresses not just distant memories. But the school was still blasting the heat full blast, as though they couldn't let go of winter quite yet. Any hint of cool metal felt nice. “I have to baby-sit Abigail and Joey on Friday night. You know that.” Every time this happened, I cursed my parents for not just making me an only child like Aubrey. You would have thought her parents would have been more protective since they had only her to worry about, but they weren't. If she didn't want to come home, they just assumed she would be home eventually. I envied her.
“Can't your parents stay home one Friday night? It's not fair.”
“Don't I know it.” I sighed.
“Well you still have to ask. Please. Maybe they'll change there mind if you tell them how important this is. They can go out any Friday night, but you definitely won't be asked to a party of this magnitude every Friday night? Please ask. Please try to change their minds.”
Like that was going to happen, but I couldn't tell Aubrey that. “I'll give it my best shot, okay? That's pretty much all I can offer. “
“Good enough. And, do you think you can still help me get ready for Friday night, even if you can't come?” she asked, pouting slightly. “I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to wear or anything. This isn't just some guy, this is Garrett Davis. I can't just look like every other girl at Dalkery High. I need to look different,sexy.”
As much as I knew that was only going to make me wish I was going out with her Friday night, I knew this was important to Aubrey. And somewhere deep within the Best Friends Code, I knew there was the rule to help your best friend, no matter if you couldn't join in on the fun too. “No problem. Come over after my parents go out and we'll get you ready. Just tell Garrett to pick you up at my place or something. I'll make sure we have plenty of popcorn waiting for you.”
She wrapped her arms around my shoulders. “Oh thank you so much Chloe! I knew there was a reason why you were my best friend.”
“Hard day?” Mom was still dressed for work, her Shhh, quiet tag pinned to her cardigan. Picking up a plate of cookies, she put them down in front of me. Chocolate chip, my greatest weakness.
I figured there was no harm in just asking. After all, Aubrey was right. My parents did go out every single Friday night. Would it really have been so difficult for them to stay home one night or, the horror, move their date night to Saturday. Inhaling deeply, I picked up one of the cookies, just looking at it. “Well, not hard. It's just...”I let my voice trail off slightly, “I was kind of invited to this party on Friday night.”
“Oh Chloe,” Mom's tone of voice answered my question already, without her having to explain why, “you know you and Daddy have plans on Friday night. We're spending the night at the Hillside Inn, remember?”
Damn. “Oh yeah, I forgot.”
“You know Dad and I need our Friday nights,” she told me, as though I hadn't heard this same thing every time I asked.
“I understand. I was just curious, you know?” She nodded, putting Joey's hot dogs down in front of him. This time, she had cut it up like a octopus, paring it with French fries. Mom was getting good. Joey couldn't even tell that the French fries had been stuffed with spinach. Mom bought one of those how-to-trick-your-kids-into-healthy cook books and was loving all the things she could make. She had even figured out how to make pizza out of zucchinis.
“How about you have Aubrey over for a sleep-over on Saturday night?” She suggested, taking a bite of one of Joey's French fries.“You girls can have the whole downstairs to yourself. You can watch movies and talk about boys. Whatever you want.” Sometimes I wondered if my mother realized I wasn't 12 anymore. A lot of time, it didn't seem like it. “How does that sound?”
It wasn't Garrett Davis' party, but it would have to do, I guess. It wasn't like I even had a choice. Hadn't my parents heard of a baby-sitter before? An actual baby-sitter, and not just taking advantage of their daughter.. I sighed, defeated. “Sounds good. Thanks Mom.”
“Hey!” Joey said, dropping his fork down on his plate, a shocked look on his face, as though his whole world was now askew. “These aren't my normal French fries!”
I nodded in agreement, “he's going to die when he sees you. He won't be able to keep his hands off of you.”
She grinned, “here's hoping.”
Something about tonight felt different. Aubrey had gotten ready for dates at my house before, and she had certainly borrowed my clothes before, but none of it had felt there this. I'd never seen her so excited for a date. She was dancing around my room to my old Spice Girls cd, trying to calm her nerves. I couldn't help but feel on edge just watching her. “Oh god,” she said as she stopped in front of the mirror, checking herself over again. “What if he thinks I'm just some stupid girlie sophomore? I mean, he's a senior. The senior. ” That was another thing about Aubrey I had never seen before. Usually she held the upper hand around boys, and she knew it. Tonight she was questioning absolutely everything.
“Garrett is going to die. Seriously, he'll be putty in your hands and every single girl at that party is going to be dying to be you.”
“You think?”
I nodded. “My self included. Except, well, I don't get to go to the party.” Oops, this wasn't suppost to be about me, or my bitterness. I was about to continue my pep talk when I heard the doorbell downstairs ring, echoing all the way upstairs. Rushing over to my bed, I jumped up, looking out. Sure enough there was Garrett's BMW—okay, it was his father's BMW—parked neatly beside my parents Hybrid. “He's here.” Aubrey's face instantly glowed, followed by a small panic attack. Rushing to her side I wrapped an arm around her shoulder, “come on, we should hurry before the terrible two get to him.” Nodding, Aubrey rushed to the door, pausing just long enough to check herself in the mirror just one more time.
“You're going on a date with Aubrey?” It was too late to catch Garrett before my little brother and little sister made their way to them. The three of them were standing in the middle of the hallway when we finally made it downstairs. “ew, girls are icky.”
“Boys are icky.” Abigail corrected from the other side of Garrett. He was surrounded by them, but surprisingly unfazed. He just laughed as my brother and sister launched into a debate over who was more icky. Sweet, smart, athletic and didn't mind the little monsters? Aubrey had hit the jackpot with this one. Wrapping an arm around each one of my siblings—I could see their debate quickly turning into a wrestling match—I held them back.
“You two should really get going.”
Garrett told her hand, lacing his fingers with her. A pang of jealousy, or was that envy, crept up my spine. Just once, I wanted to be the girl going on a date. “Chloe is right,” Garrett said, “my big brother is watching the house, but he was just getting into the jell-o shooter as I was leaving, so we should probably head out. Are you sure you don't want to come?” He asked me.
“I'm sure.” I lied, trying to keep a grasp on my siblings who were now jointly trying to wiggle their way free. Wasn't that sweet—the one moment they actual decide to get along.
Pushing the kids back, I followed the couple out into the night. Stepping out of the house, onto the deck, the door securely closed behind me, I watched my best friend and her prince charming disappear into the night. It was the kind of night that I should have been having, dressed like that. Aubrey waved at me as Garrett opened her door for her. I would not be jealous, I wouldn't be. Just because she got to have another perfect night and I was stuck baby-sitting, again. Like I said, I wasn't jealous. Really, I was perfectly fine.
“Want some popcorn?” Joey asked as I walked into the house, flopping down on couch, a sad expression now etched upon my face. He held up the bowl of popcorn I had fixed for him earlier, which was now decorated. Was that chocolate? Glancing up into the kitchen I noticed that kitchen was a mess, and both of them had discovered Mom's cooking drawer. Chocolate chips and chocolate sauce decorated the counters, and they had managed to smear peanut butter onto the door of the microwave. That was what happened when you tried to trick kids into healthy eating. They went behind your back and ate the chocolate anyway. Looking down into the bowl—chocolate sauce, marshmallows, chocolate chips—I figured what the hell. Who did I have to impress tonight? There was no need to worry about thunder thighs when you would never get a date.
“Sure.” I said, reaching down. It was messy and squishy and reminded me of childhood.
“Chloe,” Aubrey's voice filled the room as I reached for the receiver. “Chloe, please pick up. Oh god, please pick up.” I had never heard her voice sound like that before. So small, and weak. So scared. It sounded like a completely different person, certainly not my best friend.
“Aubrey,” I said as soon as I picked the phone, “Aubrey what's wrong?”
She was crying, or had just finished crying. Whatever was going on, she was definitely upset. I could tell from the cracks in her voice as she spoke. “I need you to come get she,” she was begging, scaring with me every word. This was not my confident best friend—this was someone else. “Please come get me.”
Looking over towards the living room, I saw my little brother and sister, both passed out in front of the TV. And I thought to my parents car, parked neatly in the driveway. They had banned from even thinking about touching the car. I had my licence, well, my beginners permit. And I wasn't that horrible at driving, but if my parents knew that I had taken the car I would be grounded for life.”Aubrey, I don't know if I can. My parents are gone for the night and...” I didn't even have a chance to finish my sentence.
“Please Chloe,” she begged, her voice cracking again. God, she sounded so scared. Something must have happened, “please come get me. Please.”
There was no way I couldn't. She knew the rules, and she knew how much trouble I would get in if I was caught. Obviously, this was more serious than that. “I'll be there as soon as I can, okay?” There was some mumbling on the other line, like other people were in the room. “Aubrey?” I asked, getting worried. Why wasn't she talking? What was going on at that damn party? And where was Garrett—why couldn't he drive her home?
“Hurry,” she whispered, and then the line dropped dead.
With my parents gone for the night, it meant I had to bring Joey and Abigail with me. Loading them into my parents car, I prayed they stayed asleep until I got home again, with Aubrey safe and sound. If anyone was going to rat me out to my parents, it was going to be them. But the thought of leaving them at home, and having them wake up without me there. The outcome would have been much, much worse. Starting the ignition—thankfully, this was the car Dad had been teaching me to drive on—I took off down the driveway, just missing the mailbox as I slid around the corner. The tires made a sick squealing around, and I prayed that none of my neighbours were light sleepers.
“Chloe,” Abigail said, rubbing her eyes in the back seat, “where are we going?”
“Just a little trip,” I said, pulling onto the main drag towards Ocean Drive, where I knew that Garrett lived. Thank god the streets were dark and quiet. I kept slipping over the line as I drove. I kept my eyes open for the police, who might catch me. It was Friday night, the night when they stalked the streets looking for someone to bust. And me and my little car would have been the perfect opportunity to throw someone in the slammer.
By the time I arrived at Garrett's, both Joey and Abigail were awake, and excited for the late night trip. Pulling into his driveway alongside the other dozen odd cars, I prayed that I was in and out quickly. I had tried calling Aubrey's cellphone on the way over—as though my driving didn't suck enough already—but she wasn't answering, which just worried me more. Unbuckling my seat belt in a hurry, I glanced at my brother and sister in the rear-view mirror.
“I'm going to be right back, okay?”
“No!” Joey nearly yelled. My hand was already on the door latch, ready to leap out and figure what was going on. “Don't leave us here Chloe. Take us with you.”
“Take us with you.” Abigail agreed.
Looking up towards the house, I knew that bringing them with me would make it harder to find Aubrey. But if I left them here, I guaranteed it would be worse. “Fine,” I agreed, jumping out and opening the back door for them. “But you have to promise me that when Mommy and Daddy get home tomorrow, you're not going to say anything about this trip tonight to them, okay?” Both Abigail and Joey nodded in agreement. Of course, I would only find out the truth in the morning when my parents came home. “We have to go find Aubrey up there, okay?” They nodded, each of them taking my hand like little angels. Holding my breath, the three of us rushed up the drive towards the house. This needed to be quick. We needed get to home before anyone noticed we showed up. This was definitely not the place for kids.
“Ew, that guy threw up.” Abigail said as we stepped into the house. It was unlocked, obviously. Most of the house was passed out, or too drunk to stand. Stepping over the guy Abigail had been referring to, we made our way deeper into the house.
“This house smells weird,” Joey looked up towards me, his shirt over his nose.
“Shhhh,” I said, looking around. In the dining room there was a game of strip poker going on. Making sure that Aubrey wasn't in there with them, I was quick to lead my little siblings away before they saw anything. The kitchen was a mess, covered in bottles and cigarette butts, but no Aubrey. I was beginning to get even more worried. It was her voice on the phone that was haunting me, the lost way she had asked for my help. Noticing Brody Brent standing off to the side—relatively sober and still standing—I made my way to her, still keeping my sister and brother at my side. I could tell from the way both of them were holding onto me, they didn't want to run off and explore, that they were scared of this place. “Brody!” Last year the three of us, Aubrey, Brody and I, had all worked on a project in English on Hamlet. I was praying she was sober enough to remember me.
“Hey Chloe when did you get here?” Looking down, she noticed the munchkins standing beside me. Brody cocked her head to the side, obviously not used to seeing a couple kids at a party like this. “Hi.”
“I'm looking for Aubrey,” I stated matter-of-factly. “Have you seen her?”
Taking a sip from her drink, she pointed down the hall. “I saw her go into the bathroom about half an hour ago so that would be my best bet. She didn't look too good either.” Nodding, I didn't even bother saying good-bye to Brody, rushing down towards the bathroom. There were only three doors down the hall, two of which were open. Since neither of those were the bathroom, I took a leap, banging my hand on the third, closed door.
“Aubrey,” I called, so scared for her. “Aubrey is that you in there? It's Chloe. Come on, open the door. I'm here to take you home.” I waited a minute, my hand pressed again the door. A second later the door unlocked, opening slowly, revealing Aubrey. She was curled up on the floor by the toilet, her mascara running down her cheeks. The strap of my dress was broken, there was a very noticeable rip down the side, from her thigh to her bra, and her hair was a mess. Around her wrists there were very noticeable bruises in the shape of finger prints. She looked up at me with her big blue eyes. They were filled with tears. Immediately I rushed into her, wrapping my arms around her shoulders. She was shivering, but didn't feel cold to the touch. I wasn't even sure how to react, or what to say. I just wanted to hold her and make everything better.
“Take me home,” she was crying. “Please take me home.”
I felt Abigail and Joey beside me. They were hugging Aubrey too, holding her close, “it's going to be okay.” I promised her, scared to let go.
“Take me home,” she repeated, “I just want to go home..”
“It's okay Aubrey,” Abigail was assuring her, reaching into her pocket and puling out a Kleenex, crumpled up the way kids always kept them. “Everything is going to be okay. We're here to bring you home.”
Joey nodded in agreement, “nothing bad will happen. We're here to rescue you.”
The kids fell asleep on the car ride home. Aubrey sat in the passenger seat, her head pressed against the cool glass of the window. It had started to rain while we had been inside, and now the road was slippery and wet. I kept my hands securely on the steering wheel, hoping I could get my parents car home in one piece. Every so often I glanced towards Aubrey, scared to ask her the question that was gnawing at my mind, the question that was too scary to ask: what happened? It was the look in her eyes as she curled up in the corner, the quiver in her voice as she spoke. There was no need to ask if something had happened, I knew it had. Knowing exactly what, though, was the scary part.
“We're almost home,” I told her, taking the corner onto my street. “We'll be there soon.”
“I told him no.” She whispered, her voice breaking as she spoke. “I told him no.”
Oh god. My mind raced. She couldn't be saying what I thought she was saying. Stuff like that didn't happen to girls like us. Pulling into the driveway, I cut the ignition, looking over towards my best friend, the girl that I had known since I was four. Removing my seat belt, I leaned in close to her, no idea of what to say. She smelled of her shampoo and cigarette smoke. The words were there, the questions I didn't want to have to ask, but my mouth wasn't working. Every time I tried to say something, it got caught in my throat.
“Do you want to go inside?” I asked instead.
She nodded.
Dragging the kids inside, thanking god they were light and easy to carry, I made my way into the living room, where Aubrey was curled up on the couch. She was wearing my Dad's Harvard sweater and a pair of sweatpants. Her hair was now pulled back into a ponytail, and the smears of makeup had been wiped away from her face. She looked like the beautiful Aubrey I knew and loved again, as though she had removed what had happened with her mascara. But it wasn't true, and I knew eventually I was going to have to bring it up. There was no way to forget how she had looked, or how she had sounded.
“Aubrey,” I started, crashing down on the couch beside her. “You need to tell me what happened.” I tried to say it as softly as possible, hiding all hint of urgency in my voice. There was no need to let her know how scared I was.
She sniffed, leaning her head on my shoulder, “I didn't want to do it.” She told me, sniffing. Her tears were splattering against my knees. “We went upstairs, and he was on top of me,” I felt my stomach flip, knowing how this story was going to end. Oh god. “he wouldn't move” she was crying now, her tears full on flowing, cascading down her cheeks. All I wanted was to know what to say to her, to make this better. “And he wouldn't stop. I kept telling him 'No, I don't want to' and he kept laughing. He wouldn't stop. All I wanted was for it to be over. I just wanted to go home.” She wrapped her arms around my shoulder, holding me tight. “I just wanted him to stop.”
“Oh god.”
She sniffed, blowing her nose with the crumbled Kleenex that Abigail had given her. “He ripped your dress. The asshole ripped your dress. I'm so sorry.”
“I don't care about the dress. I care about you.” I paused, feeling protective. I wanted to make everything better, to make him pay. This was my best friend, my family. The girl that was always there when I needed her. “We need to tell someone. You can't keep this a secret, you have to tell someone.” Now I was urgent. I was scared.
She wiped her cheek, but the tears still continued to fall. “Who's going to believe me? We're talking about Garrett Davis, the nicest, sweetest, smartest guy in all of Dalkery High.” Pausing, she shook her head, “and who am I? The sophomore that was stupid enough to go upstairs with him at a party,” her voice cracked, as she spoke, and I knew where she was coming from. There would be people in our school that would think exactly that. But it didn't mean it was right, and it didn't mean she deserved it.
“I know the truth. I may not have been in that room with you, but I know you, and I know that you wouldn't make something like this up.” I wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her in, “you don't want to let this happen to anyone else.”
She nodded.
“I promise that I'll be there with you,” I told her, holding her tight, never wanting to let go. This kind of thing didn't happen in a town like Dalkery, or so I had thought. Now it made me wonder. Maybe there were girls out there that this had happened too, but were too scared to come forward because they knew no one would believe them. It was wrong, so wrong.
“Can we go to sleep?” She asked, curling up on the couch. I pulled the blanket off the edge, wrapping it around her. Grabbing the remote from the coffee table, I flipped off the television. All of that and I hadn't even realized that we had been bathed in the blue light of the TV. Shifting from the couch, I found another blanket, curling up in my father's chair. I was almost scared to fall asleep, scared that something else awful could happen between the moments I closed my eyes, and opened them again. But in the morning, as the light broke through the big picture window in our living room, there was Aubrey, still safe and sound, curled up on my couch like I always found her.
“Every thing's going to be okay.” I promised as she slept, “every thing is going to be okay.”
Monday morning's at school were almost always awful. There was something about the weekend being over, and the knowledge that there would be another five days before you escaped again. That morning was different though, and I was glad to be there. Standing against my locker, I just waited. In the background, through the masses of students, I could see him coming. I waited there, pressed up against the cool metal of the locker, arms crossed over my chest. Part of me wondered if this was the right thing.
“I got your message.” He said, holding up the note I had slipped into his locker earlier. I had made sure to come in early, to get the upper hand. “And I seriously think you and I need to have a conversation.” Garrett crushed the piece of paper, and I wondered if he thought he was being intimidating. He tossed the note in my direction, and it tumbled to the door, rolling towards the garbage. Stepping closer, he got in my face. “You have no idea what happened in that room between me and Aubrey, no idea. You weren't there.”
“You're right, I wasn't. But I find my best friend in your bathroom, her dress ripped, bawling her eyes out...” my voice trailed off. I looked him direct in the eyes. He didn't scare me, and he didn't make me swoon. I saw right through his act, and to be honest, it made me sick. He made me sick, “And I certainly think the bruises she has on her wrist would be evidence enough...”
Suddenly he looked scared, but he fought it away quickly. “She was drunk. I was just trying to keep her from bumping into things. Everyone saw how drunk she was.”
“You think her being drunk gives you the right to rap-”
“I didn't do anything,” he said, cutting me off before I could get the words out. What, he didn't want to hear the truth? “Where is she, I want to talk to her.” He was mad now, his voice rising. And was that panic? His cool, collected demeanour was quickly vanishing. I loved watching him squirm. I could have watched him squirm all day. He turned around, looking at me, “Where is she?”
I had to remain calm, collected. “She's not here.”
“Where is she?”
“She's not here,” I repeated again, briefly glancing down at my watch. Just after 10 am. “Her and her parents were going downtown, oh, about two hours ago.” I looked up towards him, studying his face. He was the one who looked scared now. Good, he deserved it. He deserved that and so much more. It was then I noticed them behind him, walking through the crowd, pushing closer and closer to us. I'd been waiting for this moment all weekend, picturing how it would go. There were some students who started whispering as they walked by. “I used to think you were so cool, such a nice guy,” I wasn't sure where this was coming from. Maybe it had to be said, not just for Aubrey but for every girl he might have taken up into that bedroom. “You're just an scared asshole. And you're so lucky it wasn't me up there because you wouldn't be walking right now. In fact you're lucky I promise Aubrey I wouldn't kick your ass the second I saw you.”
And then Mr. Cloverfeild, our principal, tapped on his shoulder. “Mr. Davis,” he spun around. Everyone was watching. “These officers would like you to come with them.”
I would have stuck around to watch everything, but I knew that it was done for me. Pushing out the main doors, I met Aubrey in the parking lot. She was sitting on the hood of a car, sunglasses covering her eyes, just waiting. The thing was, she looked like the same old Aubrey—even without a hint of a smile. I kept searching for a change, something that told me how she was, but there was nothing. It was almost as though none of this had happened, that maybe it had been just a horrible dream. Of course, I knew that wasn't true, but it gave me hope. Maybe we would get through this after all. Maybe everything would be okay.
“I think they used cuffs.” I told her, walking up. No hello, just a jump into conversation. It was how it had to be. “I didn't want to stick around to watch though.”
She nodded. “Me either.”
Climbing on the hood, I leaned back against the windshield. Whose car was this? I guess we would find out when someone came rushing out, yelling for us to get the hell off of their car. “So what happens next?”
Letting out a heavy sigh, she heaved her shoulders, “I don't know.” Leaning her head on my shoulder, I closed my eyes and tried to wish everything away. A police car drove past us, and I looked to see if I could see Garrett sitting in the back, crying his eyes out, but it was too far away. “Every thing's going to be okay, right?”
Looking over in her direction, I nodded. “Everything will be okay, I promise. No matter what happens, everything will be okay.”
The sun was bright, and we sat there for a long while, silent. I wasn't sure what was going to come next. It was a beautiful day, full of hope. Neither of us had any way of knowing what tomorrow would bring. The two of us had faced some pretty heavy things, but nothing like this—nothing even close to this. No matter how much I tried, the future was just haze and confusion and a lot of blank space just waiting to be filled in. The world could go any way, and there was no place to hold on, no chance to make things “right”, whatever right was. All I could know was that I would be right there beside her, keeping my head high, and keeping confident that we could figure this out. No matter what happened, no matter what tomorrow would bring, I knew that I needed to remain hopeful, to be optimistic that everything would find a way to work itself out. We could get through this, we would get through this. It didn't matter if I felt like crying, or the world was crumbling under my feet. I just had to keep hoping that everything would find a way to work itself out.
It was, after all, an unwritten rule of being a best friend.
THE END
