We Fell Apart

Summer of Angela - Part 2

Throughout the time I knew Angela, I watched her change. I watched her mature physically and I watched her cultivate mentally and emotionally. I remember one particular day that might have been the beginnings of the end, it set the tone for the rest of the summer which was going by so slowly. Each day emphasized by the clock. I hadn't heard from Angela in over a week and it wasn't unlike her to just disappear but she'd always let me know where she was.
I thought she'd just needed space.

I turn the volume of my music down as I hear a knock on the door. I'm not eager to untangle myself from the mass of blankets so I listen for the ring, hoping it's my imagination.

The doorbell. With a sigh , I throw the blankets on the floor and throw my phone to one side of my bed, hoping it lands safely. I hadn't been out of the house since I'd gotten home yesterday, soaking wet and depressed.
I run down the stairs as the bell is rung over and over again, frantic at my lack of response. I almost slip when I reach the last stair but manage to catch myself in time. I don't even bother to look through the peephole and check who it is, I just open the door and I'm hit in the face by a rush of wind and humid air. It had been raining non stop.

I feel numb when I see Angela standing on the other side of it, soaking wet.
"Is your mom home?" She asks in a voice that's barely a whisper.
I somehow manage to speak and of all the things I could have said in this moment, I said this: "No," I shook my head "she's away on business. Again." By this point I had a giant lump in my throat.

"Good." she whispers

I stare into her big bambi eyes usually framed by eyelashes thick with mascara. Her beautiful eyes, always alight with laughter were now swollen and red.  Her body and face were dyed blue and red, blue from the cold and red from the brusies that were now forming. Her hair was sopping wet, it was now a jet black and I noticed that at some point, it had been curly. As if for effect, lightning lights up the sky as I take in the rest of her:
She's wearing a loose white dressed that's now see-through and clinging to her body which looked frail. Her signatures bangles are making blue marks on her skin from the pressure as her wrists had small bumps and swells.

"He saw my phone. " She said in way of explanation. She shook her head and then winced "I shouldn't have-" I cut her off by gently pulling her into the house.

"I'm gonna get you cleaned up, okay?" I had tears swimming in my eyes and in that moment I knew I could kill him with my bare hands if I was presented with the opportunity.
**

Angela was lying on my large King sized bed where we'd laid on so many times before. She was shivering uncontrollably and I placed the hot water bottle I'd just reheated on her stomach. Her one eye was swollen shut and her bottom lip was similarly swollen and red. She was covered in a pair of my black sweats and a black tank. After we'd washed the dry blood out of her hair we'd been able to survey the damage and cover her in bandages and plasters were necessary. The entire time I examined her, I tried not to think about the small embryo in her stomach. The wound on her head was tiny and would probably close almost overnight. She was drinking the hot chocolate I'd given her which was doused with vodka and took the sleeping pills I'd found in my mom's bedroom. Probably not something doctors advised but the vodka was minimum and it was something we'd done as fifteen year olds to get the same sensation as being high. Except with much more vodka. I stood by the door and watched her wince as a sip of hot chocolate and vodka passed through her lips and obviously burnt the cut on her lips. The cuts I knew he had caused.

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Angelas POV

I could see her watching me as I drank the hot chocolate and winced. I'd come here because I knew Skylar wasn't going to judge me. She'd changed since last year. She just observed everything now and never spoke on it. She had a reckless air about her like she was willing to do anything. And she seemed older than she was. Not judging as if she'd experienced everything and didn't want to be hypocritical. Besides that, I had no where else to go. Damien would kill me if I went home. Especially if he knew about the baby. About it. And about mom. I almost cried out in terror as the thoughts of the past week rattled in my head. I should have been more careful and I should have stayed home.

"Oh Angie" She sighed and interrupted me from my chain of scary thoughts.

"You look so much like your mother right now," I whispered with small traces of humour evident on my face. I don't expect her to laugh at my joke but I knew, being Skylar that she would crack a smile. She's always been more compassionate than most and can continously read people's emotions and know exactly what they want to happen.

She stared at me and I stared back. She walked over to the bed and sat down gently next to me and put her arms around me and we cried till I was wrung out and fell asleep. Her embrace was warm and her familiar scent made me cry a little bit harder. The entire time she held me, I could feel her shoulders shaking with terrified sobs that broke my heart all over again. What was left of it, anyway.

♡♡♡♥♥♥

"What the fuck is this?" He demanded.

"Devon, dude chill out" Kyle said trying to grab my phone from out of his hands.

"I said what. the. fuck. is. this." he hissed. A sob escaped my lips.

"Devon, baby. Listen to me" I begged.

"I'm not pregnant. It was just a stupid scare. Skylar was just telling me she's glad the test came out negative. "

"You stupid whore!" he thundered and the first slap came as Kyle tried to contain him. It was hard and I felt a sharp stinging pain as his ringed knuckles came into contact with my cheek. "You got pregnant?" He asked with a bitter laugh. I almost cowered in fear as the stench of alcohol stung my nose and the Devon I knew was replaced by this angry-

I woke up sobbing and Skylar had me immediately with her arms around me rocking me back and forth as if she'd been waiting for this onslaught. The reality of what had happened yesterday hit me and a fresh batch of tears came. I was sweating and I was hot and irritable. All I wanted to do was curl up in a ball and wallow in self pity, grief and misery. The weight of everything I'd lost this week was too much to bare and it was enough to want to make me crawl out of my skin. Finally after what seemed like a lifetime my tears stopped coming. I'm not sure if they stopped because of Skylar's soft and soothing voice, breaking at small intervals or if the amount of tears were due to that.

"When we were young, " she says, her voice laced with meaning "they used to tell us that if we love something, we havw to let it go. And it's the most common saying. We hear it almost everyday and it's all" She swallowed as her voice broke before continuing "Bullshit. " She whispers softly "That's all bullshit. You love him and that's why you can't let him go but it's about strength, baby" she says making me look up at her by placing her hand on my chin and making me look up. She looks years beyond her age and I realise how much my mistakes affect my best friend. How much she'd suffered over the past year with everything with Katy and the- "No." She shakes her head reading my mind and interrupting my train of thought. "You're not a burden to me but I can't be strong for you. Let him go." she whispers.

"Let him go."

Let him go.

I had to let him go.