my best friend's friend // cody ko - noel miller

chapter thirteen

it had been three days since the fight in the restaurant had erupted. cody was somewhat over it, yet he was still mad at faelecia. he focused all his attention on creating content, like he always did.

noel was still devastated, saddened at the fact that he wasn't even her first choice, but his best friend was. he was starting to go on with his day without having to worry. still, in the back of his mind, he thought about her. everything that made him smile, he'd think about. it was still frustrating to him, but a little bit of distance wouldn't kill him, right?

faelecia, on the other hand, was doing terrible. she spiralled so hard that she somehow was still spiralling. she laid on the bathroom floor, pale and emptied stomach. there was bile mixed with vomit in the toilet, and a little around the seat from not making it in time. eruptions of hunger churned in her stomach, but she ignored them. it had been three days since she eaten and almost twenty four hours since she had water. she missed three days of work, which her boss probably called her about. her phone was broken, so nothing would get through and everything probably went straight to voice mail. she wasn't even surprised that no one came in to check on her. although she didn't know three days have passed. she spent all her time on the bathroom floor, just staring at the roof. she was completely blanked out, nothing could disrupt her.

meanwhile, at noels apartment, he received a phone call. he expected it to be faelecia, but was surprised when her name wasn't on the calling screen. he picked up, confused.

"hello?" he answered, waiting for the unknown caller to speak.

"hello, is this uhh... noel miller?" the man asked. he was still very unfamiliar to noel.

"yes, this is him. what can i do for you?" he asked, still very confused.

"i'm calling because faelecia hasn't been showing up to work for the past three days. we've tried contacting her but she's not answering our calls or her texts, and as her emergency contact, we thought we should let you know." noel sighed and looked around his room. he's been lonely the last days.

"yeah, i'll check in on her and see what's going on. thanks for letting me know." they both hung up the phone and noel grabbed his spare keys to her house. he groaned now that he had to go there. but faelecia's boss was right, she wasn't using her phone. noel hasn't received any texts from her. now that he thought about it, he was kind of worried. but he knew it was just her being irresponsible and refusing to go into work. noel tried calling faelecia, just to see if she would answer her phone. there were no rings, the phone went straight to voicemail.

when he showed up to her apartment complex, he saw that her car was there, so he knew she was probably at home. he got into the building and took the elevator up to her room, knocking on the door. when nobody answered, noel grew frustrated.

"faelecia!" he pounded his fist on the door, still, getting no response. he grabbed his key and unlocked the door. the house was a mess, and he was so shocked to see it like this. usually faelecia was so clean, which meant her apartment was never ever dirty. there was an uneaten hungry man ok the counter that was starting to rot. panicking, he looked through all the rooms until he reached the bathroom. he tried twisting the knob but it was locked. then he started freaking out.

"are you here?! your work called me and told me you hadn't gone for your shift in three days. now i have to come here and babysit you?! for fucks sake!" noel rolled his eyes. he continued to try and open the door but there was no opening it.

"faelecia!" he slammed his hands on the door. she heard him clearly, but didn't act. she was too zoned and blanked out.

"faelecia! are you in there?!" noel shouted, rattling with the door knob. he looked behind him and saw her phone smashed on the ground.