Social Suicide

E I G H T : Nightfall

SOCIAL SOLITUDE: ARISTELLE
Sunday, October 21 2018
I peeked inside Molly's room to check on her before I left. She had barely gotten any sleep so I was glad it was still the weekend and she didn't have anywhere to be.
I had baseball practice for the next five hours or so, to prepare for our game a week from today.
Mol stirred for a moment before squinting over at me. The bright morning sunlight crept through her thin window curtains. "Elle?"
Sighing, I took a few steps inside. "I had a feeling you weren't sleeping." She scooted over, giving me room to sit and place the wooden slab on the nightstand beside her.
"You made me breakfast in bed?" she breathed, a little taken aback.
"I was up anyway." I shrugged, standing back up. "I was just heading out."
She smiled lazily up at me, still half-asleep. "Thank you."
"I'll be at practice for a few hours. I should be back around one, so text me if you need anything."
"I love you!" she called out to me while I slipped on my shoes, her mouth obviously full.
Chuckling, I grabbed my duffel bag and opened the front door. "Love you!"
The drive was calm. I wasn't playing loud music like I always do.
I knew going to Tyler to talk to him myself would be wrong to do. I loved him and didn't want him to disappear completely from my life. But at the end of the day, Molly was my life and she always would be.
"Hey, you're early."
I turned around, the wind knocking out of me as I stared into warm honey eyes.
I nodded. "Lucian. Hey."
He sat next to me on the bench, both of our duffels between us, while we waited for the rest of the team to get here.
"Do you usually get here first?" I wondered.
"Mostly. I like waking up early."
I scrunched up my nose. "Why?"
He laughed at my expression. "I guess I'm just used to it. I've been playing baseball my whole life."
I hummed, feigning polite interest. "So you plan on making it a career, then?"
"Absolutely. Never thought about anything else. You?"
"I'd rather just play for fun." I shrugged. "I'm in Computer Engineering."
"What are you gonna do with it?"
"Not sure yet. Hopefully start some kind of company with my siblings. They both have degrees in tech, too."
"That'd be nice. Family is always a good investment."
The silence wouldn't be that awkward if I hadn't just found out what went down between him and Molly. I sighed.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. Just tired," I lied, leaning my head back against the fence.
A moment passed and I found him staring at my shirt. I followed his gaze to my shoulder.
"Son of a bitch," I groaned. "Syrup gets fucking everywhere..."
He broke into a fit of laughter, handing me a wet nap from Chimes that they gave out when you ordered ribs. I thanked him and started profusely dabbing at the stain.
"Not a good idea to eat while you're wearing your uniform," the advised lightly, still chuckling.
I rolled my eyes, mumbling to myself, "The one time I make Molly breakfast." I didn't mean for him to hear me. He was quiet for a moment.
"Molly?"
My subconscious smacked me in the face. "Usinov. Roommate and best friend."
"Oh, yeah, I know her. How's she doing?" he asked in a shy voice.
"She's alright. How do you know her?"
Before he could answer, we were interrupted. Kody was walking our way from across the field, with Zander Jackson and Alaric Campbell in tow behind him. They were all laughing about something.
"Hey, you guys! Sorry we're late."
"It's cool. You aren't the only ones." Lucian stood, shaking Zander's hand.
"I know at least Ryan and Evan aren't coming," Ric shared.
Zan's eyes fell on me. "Hi, Ari."
"Hi, Z." I returned his smile.
Zan and I got along the best out of everyone here. After Molly and Elijah, Zander was my closest friend. Which I guess didn't say too much since I didn't have much of a solid social life. A large friend group can be time consuming. I didn't have a lot to spare.
We didn't hang out all the time, but we were very much alike. Aside from baseball, we had the same personality type, we partied together, we both have a lot of tattoos.
I tuned them out after that, leaving them in the cage while I went to home base and practiced my swings.
The rest of our team, minus Ryan Conners and Evan Landon, showed up. We talked some and did a full practice run, like we did every practice.
Most of the guys wanted to leave early and sleep off last night's party. I was grateful. I needed to go grocery shopping and study for my upcoming Microprocessor Systems exam.
When I got back home just past noon, Molly was sleeping. I put the groceries away and sat at my desk for the remainder of the day.
It got dark around six-thirty. I usually started dinner around this time, but I was too beat today. I drifted off in the middle of a film that was playing on cable.
However many hours later, it was pitch black in my bedroom. I could barely focus my eyes enough to see the lights of the city through my window.
I shot up due to the smell of something burning. My bedroom door was closed but I could see smoke coming in through the crack at the bottom.
I rushed out to my kitchen to see Molly waving a dish towel in the air, her back facing me.
"Molly!" I screeched.
She whirled around with a panicked look on her face. I ran to the window in the living room and opened it, turning to the balcony door on my left to do the same.
"What the hell is going on?!" I grabbed Mol's hand, dragging her to the porch. "Get out. You can't be breathing all this in."
She poked her head back in to answer me while I went to find the source. "You made me breakfast, so I wanted to make you dinner."
"You don't cook, Molly!"
She rolled her eyes, taking a few steps back inside. Thankfully, the smoke was starting to die down. I was just glad the fire alarm didn't go off. The neighbors would not be happy with us.
I sighed. "Are you okay? You didn't burn yourself, did you?"
"No. I think I'm fine." She sat down on a barstool with a hand cupped to her throat. I was waiting for the faucet to warm up so I could fill the pot with soapy water when she started to cough.
"What is it?"
"My throat hurts." She kind of sounded hoarse.
I turned off the sink and nodded. "Go put your shoes on. I've got to get my jacket."
"Where are we going?" she requested.
"The hospital."
"That's a little melodramatic, don't you think?"
"Go put your shoes on," I repeated.
She rolled her eyes, but did what she was told.