Breathe Easy

Chapter 13

When we stepped through the door of my apartment, it was so quiet in there you could hear a pen drop. Freya and I were finishing up our ice cream with not a care in the world, I was still feeling indefinitely stoned and this is what we had to come home to: A depressing ass vibe that slapped you in the face as soon as you walked in, and Dinah staring at the black television screen on the couch next to a clueless looking Camila right in the middle of my living room.

Freya ran on in, too oblivious and innocent to realize that something was terribly wrong with my best friend. Dinah doesn't stare at blank television screens. Dinah is never silent, or morose, or tranquil. Those words just don't describe Dinah.

"Okay, I don't mean to be offensive - if I am, sorry - but what the fuck is going on here?" I blurted, puzzled. I casually stood there for about two minutes and finished up my entire ice cream cone before I didn't anything else.

I approached Dinah slowly and kneeled down in front of her on the floor. She looked like she'd been crying. I glanced to Camila, who shrugged and was coming off just as clueless as me. She had her hand in Dinah's hair, like she'd been smoothing over it to comfort her, and combing her fingers through it to soothe her.

Something pooled in the pit of my stomach very subtly. Dinah was hurting and I was getting butthurt over the fact that Camila came to comfort my friend before I could. Or maybe I was feeling jealous over the fact that Camila was showing Dinah attention.

It doesn't matter. Whatever it was that ignited that feeling in me, I was still a bitter bitch for feeling it.

"I wish you two would stop looking at me like that. I'm fine. Have you never seen someone stare in space before in silence? Maybe I just want to some silence," Dinah muttered, finally locking eyes with me.

"But that's not like you, beautiful." I searched her eyes, my hands rubbing her knees comfortingly. "What's up? What's wrong with your pretty self?"

She tried to hinder a smile, but couldn't, and said, "That's not going to work on me, Lauren. Nice one though."

Dinah was referring to the way she tried to comfort me when I was feeling down. She would start showering me with compliments because she knew that was normally all it took to pick me back up at times.

I chuckled inwardly and gave an impish smile. "Works on me. It should work on you too. Hell, when you're sad you tend to forget things. Like me, I forget how incredibly hot I am when I'm upset, so all I need is someone to remind me and then I'm like, 'oh, yeah, I'm fucking sexy. What do I need to be sad for?' It's a good pick me up."

Camila began snickering at her side. She and I exchanged a smile, and she was staring at me like I was unbelievable, covering her mouth just in case now wasn't the time to laugh. The air seemed fragile to her, but she clearly didn't know the strength of me and Dinah's friendship, or our ridiculous yet resilient sense of humor. I could make Dinah laugh no matter what and vice versa.

Dinah glanced at Camila, a smile spreading across her features. "Her ego is almost bigger than her head, isn't it?"

"Yeah, which is bad, because she has a big head," said Camila, before a bunch of giggles came out of her mouth.

I wanted to punch her like she was always punching me, but decided against it. The fact that Dinah was hurting underneath that smile was much more of my concern. "You two can talk shit about me later. Right now I want to know what's wrong Dinah."

"Can we talk about it later? Now that you're here it's easier not to think about it."

A scowl came over my expression of concern. "Is it Siope?" I pried, my voice hardening. "What did he do?"