Me: Where are you?

Me: I have to tell you something omg

She didn’t respond. I was so tired I fell asleep waiting for her.

The call came at three in the morning. “What? Hello?” I answered, barely awake.

“Remy?” Elise sounded like she’d been crying. Elise never cried. Ever.

“Elise?” I rubbed my eyes and swept my hair back, sitting up.

“Can you come get me?” she asked, voice small.

“Just tell me where to go,” I said, already getting out of bed.

“I’m in that strip mall near school,” she said. “Hurry.”

The streets were empty that time of night, giving the town an eerily abandoned feel. Standing in front of the CVS with her arms wrapped around herself, Elise was alone, shivering. I pulled up alongside the curb.

“What happened?” I asked, waiting for her to get in. I didn’t understand where the others had gone, or how she’d ended up there. “Are you hurt?” She looked awful, hair in disarray, eyeliner smeared from crying. It was terrifying seeing her like that.

“I’m fine. But I don’t want to talk about it.” She buckled her seat belt and stared stubbornly forward. “Where’s my car?” She sounded tired but also irritated. Was she upset that I didn’t show up any sooner? It took me a moment to wake up before I sneaked out. Why wouldn’t she just tell me what’d happened?

“It’s parked in front of my house.”

“Okay,” she said, softer this time, and that was when I noticed it.

“You’re drunk.” It was less an accusation and more of a statement.

“Maybe,” she said, closing her eyes. “Please, Rem, let’s just go.”

We remained silent on the drive back. I wished she would just talk to me. I was her best friend. In the ten minutes we spent on the road, I spun through all the things that could’ve happened. She said she wasn’t hurt but she didn’t clarify what that actually meant.

When we arrived at my house, she stumbled inside with me through the basement, careful not to wake anyone.

“Come on,” I said, heading for the stairs, one of her arms slung over my shoulders, half of her weight on me.

“No, can we just stay here?” She collapsed on the sectional, burying her face into a pillow.

“E—”

“Shhh,” she mumbled. “Sleep now. Talk later.” I was worried but I was afraid of upsetting her, so I just filled a glass with water and left it on the coffee table next to her.

I turned off the lights and lay down, dragging a quilt over me. When I was about to fall asleep, she reached out and touched my shoulder.

“Remy?”

My eyes flew open. “Yeah.”

“Nothing, never mind,” she said, falling silent again.

“What is it?” I flipped over to face her. “You know you can tell me anything.” Please, I thought. Please just talk to me.

She swallowed slowly and turned, our eyes meeting in the dark. “You and me, we’re family,” she said. “Right?”