LOVELORN

10|Frustration & tender moments

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

THE WORDS rang in my head. Spiked. Her drink was spiked. The implications of that and what could have happened made me want to throw up. I encouraged her to go, I wasn't there to look after her. My fists clenched in frustration. I so badly wanted to find out who that guy was and fucking kill him.

"Spiked?" I repeated as if I hadn't heard it loud and clear the first time. "Can you give the phone to Zora, please?"

He said something indistinguishable to her before obliging, soon I heard Zora's voice.

"Naya," was all she said, it was all she needed to say.

"Avi's driving you to my place, are you okay? I'm so sorry, Zora."

"Nothing happened, it's fine. I'm just, I don't know," her voice cracked and her words were slurred.

"I know, I know."

In the background, I could hear the engine turn on and soon the distinctive noise of driving. I stayed with Zora on the phone throughout the drive. We didn't say much, but nonethless, we remained on the line until Avi pulled up at our house. Mom and Dad had gone to bed, so I snuck down silently and came down just in time to see Avi, along with Zora, enter. He had an arm around her shoulders and spotted me promptly, as did Zora.

Replacing Avi's arm with mine, I led her upstairs as quietly as I could, shooting him a grateful look before we rounded the corner. Getting Zora up the stairs without making any noise was a hassle, but we managed. When we were back in my room, I let out a breath of relief.

On the edge of my bed, Zora sat down. Her makeup was smudged, hair out of place, and eyes rimmed with tears. They were red and puffy too. I sat down next to her and hugged her with everything I had. She sniffled into my shoulder, body trembling slightly. Rubbing her back, I whispered words of reassurance into her ear, my heart breaking a little every time she sniffled.

Witnessing Zora cry was rare. She didn't get overwhelmed easily and tended to be rather positive most of time, seldom having a reason to cry. It made seeing her like this all the worse. I found myself wishing I could take her burdens and hold them on my shoulders, never wanting to see her sob anything but tears of uncontained joy again.

After a while, she created a bit of distance between us, avoiding my gaze and wiping her eyes. I still held onto her hand, however, trying to spread some comfort through that single touch.

"I'm sorry, it's stupid. I'm crying over something that could have happened. But it didn't and I'm fine and it's so dumb."

My face hardened, riddled with emotions of loathe, guilt, and compassion. My grip on her hand tightened, willing her to understand what I was trying to convey.

"Don't say that, Zora. Don't invalidate your feelings like that. The fact that something could have happened is scary and he made you uncomfortable, that is more than enough of a reason to be upset. Either way, you should never apologize for your emotions. Never."

Her lips twitched up, eyes tired and dejected. "I wish you'd take your own advice, sometimes."

I laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Yeah? Well it's always easier to give rather than follow."