submerged » l.h {FINISHED}

2.5 » switch it up a bit

Later that week, Kaity found her standing on Neely's porch in front of her best friend's door. Her hand was raised, hovering just inches from the door. She was trying to force herself to knock, knowing it was the right thing to do.

She hadn't talked to Neely since the night they had gone out with everyone - the night her and Michael made out. Kaity knew that her best friend was trying to distance herself. It had happened before in the past when Neely had accidentally made Kaity mad at her by ruining her favorite shirt in the wash.

Neely had steered clear of Kaity for a whole week before Kaity wasn't even mad anymore and had to take matters into her own hands. But this situation was much more than that.

Kaity let out a sigh but finally rapped her knuckles against Neely's door. She stepped back, brushing her hair off her shoulder as she waited for her best friend to open the door. It was moments later that she heard a small noise inside.

Then the locks were clicking open and the door swung open wide. Neely stood in the doorway in a plain white tank top and black soffee shorts. Her hair was tied up on the top of her head, a few wisps falling into her face but she didn't bother to push them out of her eyes.

Kaity could tell that she looked tired, and it wasn't from lack of sleep. It was funny to Kaity, things like this. How Neely could stay so strong through a breakup with Dillon, even after he cheated on her. But once her friendship with Michael was going downhill, she would beat herself up.

"Neely," Kaity finally found herself saying. "Can I come in? I think there's some things we need to talk about," she continued, shifting her weight from one leg to the other. It was one of her many nervous habits.

Neely licked her lips, her eyes falling to the ground in front of Kaity's feet. "If this is about Michael," she started. "I'd rather not talk about it."

She started to close the door, but Kaity didn't let her get far. She grabbed the edge of the door, stopping it from closing. "You can't keep running away from your feelings, Neels," Kaity urged. Her brown eyes locked onto Neely's own earthen ones.

Neely kept her gaze for what felt like an eternity, the small span of time stretching between them before she stepped away from the doorway to let Kaity enter. She stepped through the entryway before shutting the door behind her.

Neely had already wandered away, flinging herself onto her sofa. She curled underneath the blanket, burying her face in a pillow as she started the television again. As Kaity rounded the corner of the couch, she could tell that Neely had been holed up there for a while.

A few Chinese takeout containers littered the coffee table, along with a few water glasses and a box of tissues with balled up tissues littered on the floor beneath her. A stack of movies was sat in front of the television set, some of the DVD's not even in the cases.

Kaity tried to suppress her gasp, she had, never in her whole life, seen her best friend act like this. Kaity sat down on the sofa adjacent to Neely's and reached forward to the remote resting on the edge of the coffee table.

Neely let out a long groan when the screen went black. "Kaity, turn it back on," she said, glaring at her guest from overtop of her pillow, though she didn't look menacing as she thought, she only looked sad - broken.