Inevitable

Avoidance

I needed to find Jane. I knew she could make me feel better. I shouldn't have chugged two beers so quickly. Being drunk was not helping my situation. If anything, it was making me more emotional. I was not going to cry again. I had done too much of that this week. I could fix things. If Jess apologized for what she said, I would find a way to forgive her. And Liam would get over this. He would meet someone else and we could laugh about this whole thing. I had to stay positive.
I stumbled my way into the main room again. I spotted Jane on the side with Bill. I was relieved there was no sign of Jess or Melissa. I couldn't take anymore. Jane saw me and ran over to where I was standing. We moved into the hallway so we could talk.

"Em, thank god! Where have you been? Jess came in and looked furious. She grabbed Nick and stormed out. Melissa went after her. Did you guys get into a fight?"

I could feel tears choking me. I took a deep breath to try to calm myself before I told Jane what happened. After I told her everything that Jess and I had said to each other, she pulled me in for a hug.

"I'm so sorry Em. That was so mean of her to say. And it's not true. You know that right? She just says messed up things when she gets mad. You've never stuck up for yourself with her and I think she couldn't handle it. Hopefully she wakes up tomorrow feeling horrible and apologizes."

"I hope you are right. I feel horrible about all of it. And stupid me decided to tell Liam I just wanted to be friends. He didn't take it well. This night is turning into a disaster. I told Henry I would wait for him to finish and I would go get something to eat with him. If you guys don't want to stick around that long, you don't have to."

"I'm not leaving you here alone. It seems like you've had a lot to drink. You're kind of slurring your words." We both laughed at that. I knew she would make me feel better. I gave her another hug and thanked her for being the best friend a girl could ask for. What would I have done if she wasn't here for me tonight?
We decided to go back in and see the rest of the show. That was the reason we were there in the first place. I decided to stay towards the back this time. Henry didn't need to see me drunk dancing. After a while, I forgot everything and just lost myself in the music. Henry was singing all my favorite songs and I had my best friend by my side. Everything was going to be ok.
Too quickly, they were playing Closing Time and people were starting to leave. I felt a tiny bit more sober. When the song finished, the lights came back on and everyone groaned at the sudden brightness. I saw Henry scan the small crowd that was left and smile when he spotted me on the side. I told Jane that she didn't need to wait around anymore. She pulled her phone out to order an Uber to take her and Bill back to his place.

"It's going to take a little while so we can wait with you. Em, I'm going to stay at Bill's tonight if that's okay?"

"Of course it's okay! I'm so happy for you Jane. Bill seems like a good guy."

We hugged again for the millionth time tonight. My friend deserved all the happiness in the world. I pulled out my phone and was shocked to see that it was almost 2am. It was a long night that went by fast if that made any sense. After everyone cleared out of the room, we found an old leather couch that was pushed into a corner of the room. I was too exhausted to even worry about what had happened on that couch over the course of the night. I just needed to get off my feet.
I watched as Henry packed up his guitar and helped break down the rest of the equipment. He kept glancing over at me and I didn't care that he caught me staring at him. Jane and Bill made their way outside after a while to catch their ride. I said goodbye and promised to text her when I got home. After they left, Henry walked over and plopped down next to me. He put his arm around me and looked at me with an amused expression on his face.

"You're drunk, aren't you?"

"How can you tell?"

"Because you have this goofy smile on your face and your eyes are glassy. It's adorable."

"I decided to drink my problems away. It didn't work that well though. But watching you made me feel better."

"What problems? Did something happen with Jess?"

I laid my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. I didn't want to tell him what Jess said. I was afraid he would be furious and confront her about it. I did not need things to get any worse than they already were.

"I don't want to talk about it. I'm happy right now because I'm with you and I don't want to ruin it. I'll deal with it tomorrow."

He kissed my forehead and said, "Okay, you're off the hook for now but you are telling me tomorrow. I need to go load up the equipment. I'm not leaving you here by yourself. Here are my car keys. Follow me out and I'll show you where I parked. You can wait in my car."

"Okay. I need help getting up. I think this couch is a million years old." He stood and grabbed my hands to pull me up. I almost lost my balance and he grabbed my waist to catch me. I could get used to him taking care of me.

"Can you walk or do I need to carry you?" He was laughing at me now. Part of me really wanted him to carry me but that might be a little embarrassing.

"I'm fine. I'm not that bad. You just pulled me up too fast."

"Yeah that was it." He was laughing even harder at me now. I swatted his arm in fake outrage. I followed him out the back door to a small parking lot in back of the frat house. He walked me over to his car and opened the door so I could get in. Before he left, he told me to lock the door. I did as I was instructed and pulled out my phone to see if anyone had texted me. I had one message from Jess.

"I'm sorry for what I said. It was out of line. But I can't sit by and watch you get your heart broken. I don't think I can be friends with you as long as you are with Henry. I love you Em and I just want what's best for you."