Don't Give Up On Me

Chapter 19

The next morning I decide to go for a run, so I go outside to stretch.

"Wait up!" Laine shouts from outside the bathroom window.

"What do you need?" He shuts the window and runs outside.

"I'm coming with you."

"That's rare; don't you like running at night better?"

"Yeah to avoid getting darker, but Thea is going home in a few hours, and I need to clear my head before I deal with that crazy."

"Are you going to see her?"

"No, her parents asked for no visitors until her welcome back party Saturday."

"What? They're throwing her a welcome back party before she leaves for the sober house?"

"Yeah so you better spend time with her as much as possible on Saturday because after that she is going to hate you." We start off running down the street Laine and I have our earphones in listening to music. Thea is going to be pissed off on Sunday when she finds out about the sober house. It's a relief knowing I won't have to see it go down. After our run Laine and I decide to go swimming, we need some serious relaxation time before Thea enters the real world again. Just then Laine gets a phone call and I get a text message. Laine jumps out of the pool hands me my phone and answers his.

"Hey, what's up?" He covers the mic on his phone and whispers to me it's Tatyana and then goes back to the call. The text I receive is from Thea asking if I'm home, but I'm not sure if I want to ignore it and continue swimming or reply. It's not that I don't like Thea anymore, but I can't help feeling like I'm trapped dealing with her issues instead of having fun like every other sixteen year-old kid. I wanna go on late night drives with my friends, go on hikes, and go on spontaneous road trips. I don't want to sit at home worrying about my best friend's drug addiction, as selfish as it sounds I didn't sign up for all of this. Laine hangs up the phone and tells me that Thea got in her car and drove off, and Tatyana was asking if we've seen her.

"You don't think she would drive here right?" I ask him with a curious look on my face.

"I don't think so, why?"

"Thea sent me a text asking me if I was home." My phone rings and we both look at it like there's a killer calling on the other line.

"Hello?"

"Are you home? Because I need to talk to you."

"Where are you Thea?"

"I'm outside your house."

"Hold on I'm coming." I hang up my phone and get out of the pool.

"Thea is here." I look at Laine who is waiting for a response.

"I'll be in my room."

"She's your best friend to you know."

"Yeah, but you love her more and she's crazy."

"She's not crazy she's just confused."

"She's a drug addict and drugs make you crazy."

"Shut up, go to your room I'll tell you what she says." I walk outside past my driveway and meet Thea by her car. She unlocks the doors and I get in the passenger seat. I get a text from...

Laine: I wouldn't have done that she's probably driving under the influence.

I ignore it and ask Thea what she's doing here. She stays quiet for a couple of minutes and stares outside like she's thinking about something.