The Fear of Falling Apart

3.5

Arielle's POV

{Cerena} Hi Arielle!

{Me} Hey Cerena.

{Cerena} Why the face?

{Me} what face?

{Cerena} The face behind the screen you have on.

Shit, how does she know? Is it because the text held no emotion? Don't all texts hold no emotion? I scoff at myself. I'm an idiot.

{Cerena} Sorry! Did that freak you out? Didn't mean for it to...

I laugh, and open the fridge. I grab a sandwich and heat it up in the microwave. The sun sets outside, and I glance at the door to make sure its locked. It is.

I look down at my phone, and the screen is dark. I press down on the home button, and put my pass-code in.

{Me} Lol, np. Are you like, a fucking mind reader tho??

{Cerena} Lmfao, nah, I wish. I'm studying psychology in college though.

{Me} oi that explains a shitload

{Cerena} Lol, you're funny.

{Me} I get that alot. ;)

{Cerena} Typing...

I wait for her to finish typing, but 10 minutes pass, and she still hasn't said anything. I stare at my phone, and wait for her, but decide to just leave it. I take my sandwich out of the microwave, biting into it. I unlock my phone with my free hand, but she still hasn't finished typing.

I shrug, and finish my sandwich.

{Cerena} I know that we just met and all, but there's some issues going on at home, and I don't know anyone else. Can I maybe, crash at your place? I promise I won't do anything bad.

Crash at my house? Do I trust her enough for this? What if she freaking kills me?

I open up safari, and type in her name. If she did anything major it would be on the internet..right? I clicked on the first link.

It was her Facebook page. Everything under her name was just social media. I decided to let her stay, and if anything happens, oh well.

I text her back quickly, and tell her she can come over.

{Cerena} I swear I won't do anything, thank you so much, I promise you won't regret it.

I smiled warmly. There's something about Cerena. Something special.

She came over 10 minutes later.

"Hey! What are you doing still awake? Don't you have school tomorrow?" She questions, pulling me into a hug.

"It's only 11 mom." I smirk.

Cerena rolls her eyes. "Well damn." I check the door to see that it's locked, and I pull her into my room.

She drops her bag on the ground, and sits on the ground.

"So do you want to tell me what's going on?" I start.

She runs a hand through her curly red hair. "I mean, I guess. I actually have no idea. My parents got into a really big fight, and my mom left. And then... My dad started bring other people home." Cerena ended quietly.

I bit my lip. Shit, I'm not good at comforting people.

"I'm sorry Cerena. You can stay at my house for however long you like." I tell her.
••
"Arielle! Will you go to a party with me?" Katie asked.

I threw my head back, groaning. "Ask Garrett to go with you."

She stomped her feet, "Garrett spends his Fridays and weekends locked up in his room, playing video game. Please will you go?" Kate pouted.

I roll my eyes. "That's how you're supposed to spend your weekend." I retort.

"Please?"

I look at Katie, before sighing. "Fine. Fine, when is this party of yours?"

She squealed, hugging me tightly. "Thanks Arielle!"

I roll my eyes, but don't fight the smile on my lips. "You're lucky I love you."

"I'm bringing a friend." I said to Kate, prying her arms off of me.

She frowns, "Friend?" Katie tilts her head to the side.

I tell her about Cerena. She laughs, and Cerena comes to pick me up.

Katie says she'll meet us at my house after she gets ready.

"Who was that?" Cerena questions, as she closes the front door.

"My bro."

She snorts. "Bro?"

"Yup, bro. Because bros would take bullets for each other." I inform her. I sit on my bed, and Cerena sits on my bean bag. I get up to change into a pair of jean shorts, not really caring if Cerena saw me.

"Why are you letting me stay at your house?" She asked, suddenly.

I looked at her. She had her head down, playing with her pale fingers. "I-I actually don't know. I guess, I get lonely. Besides, you have no where to go, and we're friends. If anything like this happened to me, and I had no where to go, I'd like for someone to help."

She was quiet, and didn't look at me. "I'm gonna go to the guest room." Cerena left me puzzled, and I bent down to pick up my jeans. I threw them in the hamper, and went to the guest room.

I knocked on the door, and she opened it up.

"You're still coming to the party, right?" I leaned against the door frame, undoing my pony tail. I put it in my pocket along with the pin holding my fringe down. I blew at the fringe, patting it back down.

"Yeah. I will."
*
"Hey babe, how are you?" Justin kissed Katie on the cheek, making me gag. This is why she wanted to go?

He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close. She squealed, and I know I should be happy for her, it's just..

When I see couples, I envy them, thinking of me and Nick.

"What's wrong Arielle?" Cerena slurred. I smirked, remembering how Cerena told the two of us not to get to wasted.

Yet here she is, our driver, wasted. I guess we'll just have to stay the night. I was fine with it.

"Have a drink Arielle!" Cerena ordered, her tall figure stumbling over to the drink table. I grabbed a bottle of beer, not trusting the hosts enough to drink out of the red solo cups.

The drink flowed down my throat, making me feel refreshed. Cerena stood there, egging me on.

I need to get wasted.

No, you don't.

Hell yeah I do.

No you don't! You can't control yourself when you're drunk.

Can too. Besides, I've hardly drunken anything. I'll be fine. I'm not even tipsy.

"Arielle! Why are you drinking so much!" A familiar voice yells over the music. My blood ran cold, and my breathing grew uneven.

Think of something else, think of something else! You can't let him get to you. Not at a place like this.

This music is shitty.

I don't even bother to turn around to look at the person, as they yank the bottle out of my hand. People continue to dance in the dark, cramped, humid home.

"Arielle! Listen to me. Don't drink another damn drink. You still have school tomorrow."

I laughed, waving him off. "What's it to you, Nick?"