Talk to Me

Act 2!

    Almost a year has gone by now since Forest met Eloise and they are absolutely best friends. At least once every two weeks they have a girls night. Forest also has tried her best to keep in touch with Tosha.

   Rumors were going around that everyone was getting fired today, and Forest was terrified. This job that she has loved for years now might be swept out from under her.

   Once she arrives at work all her fears become a reality. She checks her email seeing the mass email saying everyone is being laid off and defy was going under. A mix of anger and sadness runs through every vein in Forest's body.

    She sees the texts of everyone finding out the news and the looks on her coworkers faces. Once everyone sees the message, chaos ensues. People are running around smashing things and throwing props. Computers are being smashed and drinks are being poured.

     Forest is still in a bit of shock, just sitting at her desk staring at the message on her computer screen. However, when the shock subsides, all that's left is the rage. She swipes everything off her desk, smashing her computer to the floor. She's never been a big drinker but she does grab one of the beers that are currently being handed around.

   Even though this is one of the worst days of all of their lives, it seems like a party right now. Everyone was yelling and the music blasting loudly through the whole office. No one was acting like they were at work, hell, they really had no where to work now.

   Finally, it starts to settle down and Forest decides she is going to grab some of the props before leaving. She grabs a couple of the games and one of the cowboy hats before heading back out to her car. She just needed something to remember this.

   Now that she's in a silent car, the rage subsides and all that's left is the sadness. She feels the tears begin the fall as she calls her new best friend. As the tears blur her eyes, she hits Eloise's contact, facetiming her.

   Eloise answers the phone with a happy smile and a bubbly "Hey!" before seeing the sadness on Forest's face. Her expression immediately turns to concern.

    Forests sniffles slightly, wiping her nose with a napkin she found in her car before answering. "Has Damien not called you yet?" She says through her sniffles.

   The worry on Eloise's face is evident as she is scared for her friend and brother. "What? No, what happened?"

    Forest wipes her eyes once before continuing, "We all got fired." Forest says her voice breaking more and more with each word.

    Shock immediately comes to Eloise's face at this news. She pauses for a second not sure how to respond or comfort her friend. "Every single one of you?"

    Forest wipes her eyes again, diverting her eyes from the phone playing with the hem of her shirt "Yeah." she says meekly, her voice sounding broken showing all of the emotions of her heart.

    Even through her shock, Eloise tries to comfort her friend. She tells her that it's all going to be alright and that if Ian and Anthony ran it once, Ian can figure out how to run it again. Once Forest stops crying Eloise says she's going to call her brother and see if he wants to go to Forest house all together.

   Forest sits in her car, staring at the steering wheel for a couple minutes. She takes a long deep breath, thinking back on all of the good and bad memories this job has given her. The tears never stopped, she didn't think they ever would.

   The drive home was quiet, the only sound coming from her as she continued to sob loudly, tears blurring her vision the entire way home.

     After about 30 minutes, Forest gets a text from Eloise saying she and Damien were on their way to her house with snacks and ice cream. Forest sits on her couch, her cat curled up in her lap as she waits for her friends.

   Forest has no idea how they are supposed to feel. They have a mix of confusion, sadness, and rage. She's had this job since 2015 and now everything is changing. Would she keep her job? Would she have to find something else to do?

    As Forest starts to get stuck in her thoughts, she hears a light knock on the door getting up to answer it and seeing two of her best friends. Eloise quickly tackles her in a hug, holding her tightly, whispering a quiet "It'll all be okay, I promise" before releasing her. Once Eloise releases her from the hug, Forest meets Damien's eyes, him having the same sad expression as Forest does.

    Forest grasps his arm tightly and pulls him into a hug they both needed. A little voice deep in her mind was telling her not to, but she ignored it. After releasing Damien from the tight embrace, she welcomes them both into her house.

   They all stayed up watching movies and eating snacks. Binx seemed to love the two siblings which surprised Forest because he's usually not friendly to strangers.

    After hours of hanging out making jokes, sharing memories, and watching movies they all ended up falling asleep in the living room, Eloise on the floor where she was watching movies and Damien and Forest on the couch together.