An Unexpected Girl

chapter twenty one

In Iris's mind, it felt like forever before Adi arrived.

Iris was too out of it to give Adi her specific address but had managed to share her location. Iris had no idea where she was anymore and felt herself slipping away the more time that passed. Iris had no idea how many milligrams of marijuana she had ingested, but given the fact that she had eaten multiple pieces of cake and her current state, she knew it was a lot. It was taking everything in Iris to cling to the last few pieces of reality around her.

Iris was breathing manually by the time Adi appeared in front of her.

Adi stooped down in front of Iris who was seated on the sidewalk, cradling herself.

"Iris, what's wrong?" Although Adi asked calmly, there was a slight edge in her voice, which Iris instantly recognized as fear.

"Adi," Iris managed to choke out, reaching her arms out.

Adi didn't waste a moment in reciprocating Iris' actions so her arms were cradled around her, holding Iris close to her chest.

Iris knew that she probably would die of embarrassment and sheer cringe the following day, but not right then. It was the last thing on her mind right then, and all she could feel was her heartbeat which seemed like it was going way too fast.

"I didn't know," Iris choked out again, "I thought it was regular cake so I ate a lot of it. I wouldn't have if I knew, I already have terrible anxiety."

Adi nodded her head in understanding, quickly grasping what it was that Iris was trying to communicate with her. She tightened her grip around Iris, who clung onto her for fear that the red-haired girl wasn't really here and it was just a figment of her marijuana-high brain.

"I'm so scared. I feel like I'm going to die," Iris said, crying into Adi's shoulder, "this is all too much. I think I need to go to the hospital...I-I'm going to die."

"You're not going to die," Adi said, her voice was gentle and it seemed to caress Iris' mind, "can I take you back to mine?"

Iris nodded quickly. She didn't care where she went right then, just as long as she was away from here. Just as long as she was with Adi, it felt the red-haired girl was the only thing keeping her tethered to this world at the moment.

"Can you stand up?" Adi asked once again, her tone was warm and made Iris feel fuzzy inside.

"No," Iris said, "if I stand up I'm going to fall through the floor."

Adi nodded in understanding. She knew Iris was high out of her mind right then, and the fears she was having were irrational, but she understood her.

"Can I carry you then?" Adi asked.

Iris nodded her head clutching her arms tightly around Adi's kneck.

Whether or not Iris' tight grip caused her discomfort, Adi didn't show or comment on it. Instead, she gently picked up Iris in her arms and carried her over to her car which she had parked close by.

Iris didn't want to let go of Adi, not even after the red-haired girl had placed her in the passenger seat of the car and buckled her in. It wasn't till Adi promised to hold her hand throughout the ride that Iris finally released her from her death grip.

Hurriedly, Adi got into the driver's seat and immediately started the car. She reached over, lacing her fingers with Iris' as she drove. Iris clutched onto her free hand with both of her hands, with no intention of letting go.

They arrived outside Adi's apartment, and once again, Adi had to reassure Iris that she would be touching her soon. They spent another 10 minutes in the car which Adi spent telling Iris that she was real, and wasn't just a hallucination. Adi's voice was warm and gentle throughout and felt like a melody in Iris' head.

When Iris finally let go of her hand, Adi rushed to the passenger side of the car, helping Iris out. The dark-eyed girl had stopped crying, and now dried-up tears stained her cheeks. However, Adi could still see how high she was from the red tint of her eyes, and her wide paranoia-filled eyes.

Adi wasted no time in unbuckling Iris' seatbelt and carrying her once again, into her apartment. She took Iris into her bedroom, where she placed her on a plush chair before rummaging through her drawers to produce sweatpants and a shirt.

"I have more comfortable clothes for you to change into, then you can try sleeping the high off," Adi suggested, laying out the clothes in front of Iris.

Iris nodded and began undressing. Adi quickly turned around, occupying herself with arranging the clothes she had hurriedly picked through in her drawer, in order to give Iris some privacy.

"Adi, I need help," Iris said. Her voice was muffled and Iris turned around to see that she had managed to put on the sweatpants, but had gotten stuck with the shirt.

Adi walked back over to Iris and gently helped her get into the shirt. It was a bit oversized on her, seeing as Iris was smaller than she was.

"Get into bed, okay? I'm gonna get you some water," Adi instructed.

Iris nodded, and Adi left her bedroom to retrieve a bottle of water and Gatorade from her kitchen fridge.

It seemed that Iris had regained some control of her motor functions, and was slowly coming down from the high. But Adi knew the comedown itself would be a bitch to Iris, especially the following day.

By the time she returned to the bedroom, Iris had gotten into her bed and was seated upright, staring at her hands.

"How are you feeling?" Adi asked, placing the bottle of water and Gatorade on her bedside table.

"My hands look funny," Iris responded, "they look like they're different sizes."

A small smile crept upon Adi's face.

"Here, I got you some water and Gatorade for electrolytes. Drink some of this then go to sleep."

"I'm scared to go to sleep," Iris said, looking at Adi with wide eyes, "I'm scared that I won't wake up."

For a moment Adi looked at the girl in front of her. For the first time, it felt like Adi was seeing the real Iris. Iris wasn't trying to put up a tough front like she usually did. Instead, she was scared and vulnerable and was open about it.

A sharp jolt of anger passed through Adi then. It felt wrong for her to see Iris like this, especially when she knew that the factors were out of Iris' control. She loved and wanted Iris to be open with her, but not like that.

"You will wake up, I promise," Adi said. She gently took hold of Iris' hand, "what can I do to help?"

For a moment Iris just looked at her.

"Can you stay with me?" Iris asked quietly. Not only was she fearing that if she went to sleep she wouldn't wake up, but that Adi wouldn't be there anymore when she woke up. She didn't want that.

This was ironic seeing as Iris was quite literally lying in Adi's bed in Adi's apartment right then. Nevertheless, Adi nodded her head in agreement before readjusting so that she was laying next to Iris in bed.

Iris still clutched tightly onto her hand, but Adi didn't mind this. Not in the slightest.

Sleep finally came. It hit Iris first and she was taken under. Adi stayed awake for a little while longer, watching how Iris' eyelids fluttered slightly as she slept before she finally drifted off to sleep as well.