Heaven // Ryan Tedder

Chapter Four; Better Days

That same night, Janelle walked into her apartment, immediately throwing herself down on the her couch again. She was too exhausted to move, much less get up and change for bed. She'd just sleep here.

She groaned, running her hands through her hair and taking out the hair tie that gathered the long brown strands into a messy bun. She shut her eyes, thinking about her week.

It was tiring, repetitive, and honestly complete hell. Not to mention how she embarrassed herself in front of that guy, falling over and completely breaking down. She hated breaking down in front of people like that. She always tried so hard to hold it in and play it off like she was okay. Crying like that made her feel weak.

She rubbed her eyes, sighing and praying she would forget the entire day altogether. If she wanted to forget, she'd have to distract herself. And what better way to distract herself than with music?

She pulled her iPhone out of her pocket, putting in her passcode before opening the music app. She scrolled through her artists a bit, before finally choosing The Wallflowers. She began playing the song 'One Headlight,' and smiled to herself.

She shut her eyes, taking a deep breath, feeling her body calming down. She wouldn't have to work tomorrow, since it was Sunday, so she didn't have that stress, at least for now. She would take the day to focus on herself, something she only got to do once a week.

Eventually, halfway into playing the 'Bringing Down the Horse' album, she fell into a deep sleep, curled up on the couch with not even one blanket.

"Yo, Janelle," Janelle stirred a bit, before feeling a tap on her shoulder. "Wake up, girl."

She opened her eyes, looking up to see her friend, who was looking at her with her wide brown eyes.

"Good morning." She smiled, her white teeth becoming exposed.

Janelle sat up quickly, looking around groggily. "Abby, How the hell did you get into my house?"

"Abby Gonzalez has her ways." Abby Said, raising her left eyebrow at Janelle. 

Janelle Yawned, stretching a little. "What time is it?" She Asked her friend, who pulled her phone out of her teal hoodie pocket.

"Ten forty-two." She Said, before slipping her phone back into her pocket. "Now, vámonos, get your ass off of the couch."

"Why?" Janelle Asked. She would be perfectly content just staying here for the rest of the day.

Abby twirled a strand of her short, dark brown hair around her finger habitually.

"I thought you could use a day, Maybe go shopping?" She Asked, smiling at her friend.

Janelle shook her head. "Abby, I'm broke."

"I just got my pay check." Abby Said In a singsong voice.

The last thing Janelle wanted to do was spend Abby's money. She had enough clothes already as it was, considering she still had the clothes that were hand-me-downs, which had been given to her when her older sister downsized her apartment.

Janelle shook her head. "It's alright, I don't mind staying here." She Said.

Abby sighed. "That's no fun, though." She Said. "It's your day off, let's do something."

Janelle stood, making her way into the kitchen. "Can I get you some coffee?" She Asked Abby.

Abby stood, putting her hands on her hips in a childlike manner. "Janelle." She whined. "You've had a shitty week, and I want you to have a good day off."

"I am having a good day off." She shrugged, pulling a coffee mug out of the cupboard above the stove. Honestly, any day off was a good day off.

"I refuse to let you spend the day here like this." Abby Said, walking over to Janelle. She took the coffee mug from her, placing it on the counter, before grabbing her arm, beginning to pull her over to the front door.

"What are you doing?" Janelle Asked, slightly annoyed with Abby's childish behaviour. But then again, that was Abby. She had always acted like this.

"We're at least going for a walk." Abby Said.

"I don't have shoes on." Janelle Stated.

"Then put some on, Dumbass." Abby jokingly rolled her eyes, causing Janelle to chuckle a little.

One thing she loved about their friendship was that they could call each other names and not really take it personally. Though Abby could be childish at times, she brought her happiness, especially in the times she felt lonely. She was a bit of sunshine in the darkness for Janelle, and she really was a great person to be around.

Janelle slipped on a pair of flip-flops she had by the door, as Abby opened the door. They both stepped out, making their way out of the apartment building.

"Do I look alright?" Janelle Asked Abby, realising that she hadn't even brushed her hair after waking up.

"You look fine." Abby Said as they began to walk down the sidewalk, the wind blowing her short hair in her face. She reached up a hand to brush it away, looking up ahead of her. "Besides, you don't need to impress anyone."

"I do if I'm going out in public." Janelle Said, looking up at the bright blue sky, Squinting a little.

"Nobody's gonna care if your hair is a little messy."

Janelle gave her a look, and she quickly waved her hands.

"Not that it is!" She Said. "It's just that no one would care if it was. You look beautiful."

Janelle smiled, looking down a little and brushing her hair behind her ear. "Thank you."

"So, tell me," Abby Said, looking around a little. "Have you met anyone?"

"Anyone?" Janelle Asked, raising an eyebrow at her friend. "Yeah, a lot of jerks at the restaurant."

Abby slapped Janelle's arm. "You know what I mean!" She laughed. "Any guys? Any cute guys?"

Abby had always been on Janelle's case about finding a guy. She was already engaged, and perhaps she felt bad that Janelle wasn't even dating yet.

Janelle changed the subject. "How's Kenneth?" She Asked.

Kenneth was Abby's fiancé. Janelle had only met him twice, but he seemed like a good guy.

Abby sighed. "Ken's fine." She Said. "I asked you a question."

"Yes, I've come across men. I'm around them all day, honestly." Janelle Said, looking down at her flip-flopped feet. "Most of them are jerks."

"Most of them?" Abby Asked, smirking at Janelle.

"You annoy me, you know." Janelle gave her friend a look, before shaking her head. "There was a guy yesterday. A girl stood him up or something. I fell on the ground and kind of...broke down in front of him. It was really embarrassing."

"What did he do?" Abby Asked.

Janelle thought for a moment, realising that maybe it wasn't as embarrassing as she had initially thought.

"He...comforted me.." She Said, before smiling little.

Abby smiled widely. "That's sweet." She Said. "Did you get his number?"

Janelle shook his head. "I'm not looking for guy's numbers."

"You should be." Abby Said. "You always complain about being lonely."

"I wasn't just going to ask for his number after crying in front of him." Janelle sighed. "That would be stupid."

Abby Bit her lip. "You're right.." She Said. "Well, Maybe you'll run into him again?"

"In the big city of LA, I highly doubt it."

Abby stopped as they came up on a coffee shop, grabbing Janelle's arm.

"Wanna stop for coffee?" She Asked.

Janelle fixed her hair a little, looking up at the coffee shop sign. "Why not?"