Adolescence

Chapter 4

The sight Mitch walked into was enough to make a grown man cry. His heart hurt for the girl, who was sitting in the middle of her room, her makeup running down her face. The way he looked at her, a broken look, he knew he didn't have to say anything. He sat down next to her and held her in his arms for as ever long as she needed. His shirt became soaked and stained with her cries as she led on to him as if her life depended on it. The resentment Collins had been feeling towards her best friend drifted away at this moment. She just knew that she needed him and no one else.

The pair must have sat on Collins' bedroom floor for hours. Neither of them said a word. Neither of them even knew what to say. The silence was broken when Collins spoke up.

"I'm sorry," She whispered, lifting her head up from Mitch's chest.

"Hey, you have nothing to apologize for," He responded in reassurance.

That was all Collins needed to hear before they went back to the comfortable silence.

Collins was happy that Jack never got jealous of how close she was to Mitch. He was understanding that they needed people besides each other. Jack has Taylor and Collins has Mitch. It was a dynamic that always worked between the two. The only person who ever questioned these relationships was Eleanor. Eleanor Heflin, better yet known as Ellie. Ellie was Collins' college roommate before she moved in with Jack. Ellie was supportive in every situation, but she always had strong opinions. She had a strong opinion about the age difference between her and Jack, she had a strong opinion about how close Jack was with everyone he wrote songs for, and she had a strong opinion on the hold he had over her once roommate, but she would never voice these opinions to the girl. Collins was finally happy. To Ellie, Collins seemed stable. It seemed as if everything was going to work out and she couldn't be the one to ruin that happiness. Ellie was a different type of person for Collins. Jack was the love of her life, Mitch was her voice of reason, and Ellie kept her sane. Mostly because Ellie knew how to force her friend to have a good time and let herself go. She knew how to distract. So when Collins walked into the old apartment they used to share Ellie was filled with surprise at the girl's state. Her makeup was running down her face and her hair was a mess, but the tears were all dried.

"I need a shot," The disheveled girl stated as she went straight to the cabinets only to find half a handle of Absolut.

That'll do. She thought to herself as she raised the bottle to her lips. Ellie raised an eyebrow in shock before only responding with, "oh, so we're going out tonight?"

Collins looked at her and with an obvious tone said, "this is college isn't it,"

Ellie knew the girl wasn't one to drink her feelings away, but to get Collins to suggest going out was rare and Ellie knew she just needed a distraction. But first, she had work to do.

The girls spent the next hour dressing up in the clothes they knew would only be acceptable for the bar, and emptying the bottle Collins had found in the cabinet. Collins' long brown hair draped over the short, strapless black dress that Ellie had picked out. Her confidence was at a 10 as she felt the alcohol begin to take over.

The bar was packed with college students and tourists, who assumed you would meet celebrities at any random bar in Los Angeles. The shots were going fast and Collins' problems broke away one by one with each shot she took. The beat from the music caused a ringing in her ears, and the dance floor left blisters on her feet. Every decision she made sounded like she was going to regret it in the morning, but she saw it as the small price to pay to not have to feel anything for a few hours.

Ellie watched her friend with caution scared that a breakdown would come at any moment, but soon realized she was wrong. Collins was dancing and talking to every person she saw. She was offering to buy everyone drinks, which Ellie did put a stop to, knowing that Collins did not have the funds for that, and laughing as if everything anyone said was the funniest joke in the world.

"Ellie...thank you for everything," Collins said, her words slurring together as she threw her arm around her friend. Ellie let out a small chuckle, knowing the speech that usually came from a drunk collins.

"You're welcome," Ellie responded.

"You, Elle Belle, are my best friend," Collins began before she was interrupted.

"And you are drunk," Ellie told her, "Jack's on his way to pick you up."

This was how their nights out usually ended. Ellie would stay back and find a boy to take her home, while Jack would pick up Collins' once she decided she had one too many. It was a foolproof plan. The girls sat outside of the bar waiting for the older boy to come to pick up Collins. She could barely keep her eyes open at this point and there was still the faint outline of a smile on her face as she rested her head on Ellie's shoulder.

Her rest was cut short as she felt Jack leaning down to pick her up. He wrapped her arms around his neck and said thank you to Ellie as he made his way towards his car. The girl looked so vulnerable in his arms, he was scared that if he held her too hard she would break. She was mumbling drunk thoughts as she sat down in the car and Jack couldn't help but roll his eyes and laugh. How he loved her when she was at her worst, Collins had no idea, but she knew that he did and that was enough for her.