The Girl Next Door

~41~

"All I want is you, so what you tryna do?"

Onika Maraj

"Robyn?" I ask, my eyes growing wide at the sight.

She's clad in only a white shirt and shorts, which is clinging to her skin because of the rain. Her hair is matted to her forehead and her bottom lip is quivering. Her eyes are bloodshot and I can tell it's not from the weed.

My heart swells up at the sight. Her face is paler than usual and seems to have aged in the past 24 hours. Her eyes have black rings around them and bags underneath them. Sleeplessness and nightmares are written all over her face.

Suddenly, Robyn steps forward, making me take a step back. And to my surprise, she collapses in my arms.

"Ah!" I scream," Roman!"

"What?!" Roman yells upstairs.

I struggle to hold up all of Robyn's dead weight plus the weight of her wet clothes. I take a couple of steps back, letting out a groan.

I can hear Roman coming down the stairs and she gasps,"is that Robyn?!"

Not giving her an answer, I proceed to bring Robyn into the house. Roman rushes past me and shut the door as I set Robyn on the floor.

I kneel beside Robyn and stare at her, my eyes burning.

"Where's mama?" I ask.

"She left last night."

I sniffle and bring my ear to Robyn's mouth. A steady stream of air is coming from her and I can hear a light snore.

"I think she's asleep," I tell Roman.

"Asleep?! We need to call 911. She looks sick and passed out!" Roman exclaims.

"No. Listen," I demand. We're quiet for a moment, listening to Robyn's heavy, steady breathing.

"She's asleep," I repeat," if she was passed out, her breathing would be uneven. This is what she sounds like when she's asleep."

"Wow," Roman breathes out, kneeling beside me," well. Lets get her out of these clothes before she gets sick."

I nod and lift her up by her arms. Robyn doesn't do so much as budge as Roman takes off her wet shirt. She drops the shirt to the floor with a wet smack and she speaks.

"I'll get her some of my stuff. Take her to the living room and set her by the fire."

With a tiny grunt, I pick up half her body and proceed to drag her into the living room.

Why didn't Roman do this? She knows I'm small. And Robyn is heavy as fuck...

Again, she doesn't do so much as twitch as I set her on the carpeted floor by the fireplace. It's already lit, nice and warm, so I drag her close enough to it and let her body heat up for a moment, considering she was out in the cold rain.

I guess I'll fix her something hot for when she wakes up.

I stand up and walk into the kitchen. I walk to the pantry and pick out some peppermint spice tea. I then find a kettle and fill it with cold water before setting it on the stove and turning it on high.

I set the box of tea on the counter and walk back into the living room. Roman is just coming down the stairs with a cover and a bundle of her old soccer clothes. I take them from her and kneel beside Robyn again.

I shake Robyn, hopefully trying to wake her up. Her body is still cold under my hand but her eyes flutter open.

She looks quite surprised to see me, an automatic glow coming to her face and her green eyes lighting immensely. Her bottom lip begins quivering and her body rocks as she begins shivering.