Pothos and the Neikea

22. Remember: your focus determines your reality.

Rose woke up in the middle of the night. She didn't understand what it was that woke her up. She just suddenly jumped up. It was dark, which was normal. But it wasn't entirely quiet. There was a low, continuous sound, but before she could recognize it, it was interrupted by a sharp sob. Oh, someone was crying. She shifted to let her legs dangle over the edge and narrowed her eyes at the black canvas of her dorm room.

"Rey?" she whispered with a voice heavy from sleep. "Is that you?" Honestly, she would lose her shit if the person crying said no.

The soft sobbing stopped, and for a few seconds, there was silence.

"Yes," the voice admitted. "Sorry for waking you up."

The voice didn't exactly sound like her roommate, but Rose guessed she would be the only one apologizing for silently crying in the dark.

"Oh, sweetie, what happened?" Rose got up and moved towards Rey's bed. "Did the date not go well?" Internally, she applauded herself for remembering Rey's date in the sleepy state that her mind was.

She extended her arms to hug the crying girl, but all she could feel was her pillow. She patted the bed up and down. No one was there.

"Rey? Where are you?"

Her voice was even tinier. "Over here…"

Well, with their dorm room so small, if she wasn't on her bed, there was only one other place she could be: the small desk they had. Rose crawled over there, pushing the chair away and once again extended her arms into the void. This time she touched a human being; what part of one she didn't recognize.

"What are you doing under here, sweetie? Do you want me to turn on the lights?"

There was a sob. "No…"

"Okay…"

Rose shifted so that she could take the ball that Rey had nested in her arms, trying to avoid hitting her head on the desk. Rey started crying once again, this time louder.

"Hey, it's alright… whatever happened will pass. You'll get through this, you are strong."

"I'm not strong," Rey complained. "I'm a fucking idiot, that's what I am."

"No, sweetie, why would you say that?"

"He just used me…"

Rose started stroking her hair, although movement in that refined place was very difficult. "Used you for what?"

The crying girl lifted her head to look at her roommate. Rose realized that she could make out some vague shape of her face and the glistening tears on her cheeks now that her eyes had adjusted to the darkness.

"For sex, I guess. He just wanted someone to pass his time with and then the moment things got a little serious, he made off." There was a little sob. "I just can't believe I gave him everything I had."

"Did he not show up at your date?"

"Not just that…" Rey grabbed the phone that surprisingly hadn't broken when she had thrown it across the street (apparently the cheapest ones can be the more durable ones) and turned it on, the screen lighting up at full brightness.