I Said Enough // Sashanne

[4] A Promise to Call

          The three friends talked the whole morning and afternoon away, but to them it seemed to go by so fast. Marcy had to go help her family with some errands, so they decided to call it.
          "I'm gonna miss you, Marcyyy!" Anne sobbed, grabbing Sasha's phone and holding it up to her face to get a better look at Marcy.
          "Hey, my phone!" Sasha tried to take it back, but Anne wouldn't let go.
          "Anna-banana, it's fine! I'll talk to you guys tonight if I'm not getting dragged around with my parents. We could have a sleepover, just virtual." Marcy suggested with her always so mood lifting smile.
          "You promise?" Anne asked, still sobbing.
          "Promise." Marcy replied. "Welp, see you guys soon! I promise to text you guys if I can or not. If I can't, we will for sure talk tomorrow!" The three girls said their last goodbyes, which lasted five minutes, and then they hung up.
          "It sucks so much that Marcy had to move away." Anne said, wiping her tears away.
          "Yeah. She could have totally just moved in with you." Sasha jokingly said.
          "What if in the future we all move in together in an apartment or something! We could live together and all pitch in with finances." Anne excitedly suggested.
          "Oh, and we could als-" Sasha was abruptly cut off by her phone ringing. The girls initially thought it was Marcy calling back, but when Sasha looked it was her mother. She answered the phone and Anne looked on with a worried expression.
          "Hey, mom.. Oh, I'm at Anne's house, I texted you that last night.. Yes, dad knows too.. Yes, Anne's parents know and they're fine with it.. What?.. Could I stay for a little longer?.. Please?.. Okay..  I'll be there soon.. Bye.." Sasha hung up the phone and a somber look grew on her face.
          "Sash, it's okay. I'll still be here if you wanna call." Anne comforted. Sasha never really was someone who stayed home. She was always out of both of her houses and out doing something. Anything. Sasha never explicitly told Marcy or Anne, but they both noticed this overtime.
          "Thanks, Anne." Sasha put her hand on her neck and Anne noticed Sasha was.. blushing?
          "Of course, Sash. I'll always be here for you." Anne unexpectedly hugged Sasha tightly, which surprised the other girl and maybe slightly surprised Anne herself. Sasha hugged Anne back and they were there for a moment, taking in each others warmth. It was weird to Anne, but she could really smell Sasha's sweet scent. Anne knew what both of her friends smelled like, but this was different. Sasha's scent seemed to be stronger. Of course, they were closer together, but it seemed sweeter and powerful. Anne enjoyed this.
          They both moved back and got up from the bed. Sasha grabbed her things and headed downstairs with Anne following her behind. Sasha opened the front door and turned back to Anne.
          "Thanks again, Anne. For being such a good friend." Sasha said.
          "Thank you, Sasha. You mean a lot to me." Anne replied.
          "I'll call tonight, okay?" Sasha took a step towards Anne, and hugged her, almost tighter than the last hug they shared just a little bit ago. "And please don't go hard on yourself. I know you're having a hard time too, and you think you need to be strong for us. But Anne, you've had to go through the most out of the three of us, more than what you're telling us. So please don't beat yourself up trying to hide your pain. I love you, Anne." It was quiet and the two girls were holding onto each other. Anne started sniffling and trying to hold in her tears, but she couldn't. She started sobbing while holding on tightly to Sasha. Anne's legs couldn't hold her up anymore and they buckled. Sasha held onto Anne and slowly brought them both to the ground. Sasha rubbed Anne's back while she bawled into her shoulder.

. . .

          Sasha finally made it back to her mom's house. She was at the front of the house and took a long, deep breath. She didn't want to go in, but she had to. Sasha started walking towards the front door and with each foot closer, her steps felt heavy. She made it to the house and opened the front door. Her mom was waiting at the table.
          "Sasha? What took you so long?" Ms. Waybright asked with a stern and hurtful voice.
          "Anne needed help with something." Sasha responded vaguely, trying not to get her mom any more worked up than she is. Ms. Waybright started to tap her fingers on the table.
          "It doesn't matter! I called you to come home asap, but you decided that Anne was more important than me. Sasha Waybright, you are not to go to Anne's house or even contact her until you go back to school and prove you are worthy of my trust!"
          "But, mom!"
          "No, Sasha. End. Of. Discussion. Give me your phone." Sasha stood there, staring at her mom in disbelief. How could her mom disallow her to see her best friend after all that her own daughter had been through. Sasha tossed her phone onto the table and ran off to her room. She closed the door behind her and stood in the middle of her room. She looked down at her hands, and her mind couldn't stop going over those words. End. Of. Discussion. It has been a long time since she's heard those words. Her mother always said this to Sasha and Sasha had no choice but to stop speaking. She didn't want to experience her mother's wrath. And then Sasha used it on other people, her best friends.
          But the worst part was, Sasha wasn't able to talk to Anne. She knew she was going to disobey her mother, but this was going to be a big risk. Sasha needed to stay in contact with Anne for her own sake, but mostly for Anne's sake. Anne was quietly in pain while keeping her friends as happy as she could, but Sasha couldn't allow this to happen. She needed to be there for her best friend, but if she were to be caught, the consequences were going to be brutal. Sasha's mother was known for her extreme actions. Sasha may not ever be allowed to see Anne again.
          Sasha decided it was best to be away from Anne for awhile. Just for a short period of time. It was okay. Marcy and Anne could take care of each other while Sasha let things cool down with her mother. It was for the best. She laid down on her bed and felt empty. She was still wearing the hoodie she borrowed from Anne. Sasha clutched herself and put her face into the yellow hoodie and could smell a trace of Anne. Sasha pretended like Anne was there with her, hugging her while she fell asleep alone.