The door closes behind Florence only to open a few seconds later. A part of me hopes it’s her but instead, Benji enters.
‘What happened? Why’s Florence crying?’ he asks.
‘Wow, no ‘how are you, Elija?’,’ I mutter.
‘I can see you’re well enough. Now, what happened?’ he repeats. Well, this is just great. Really helping my headache.
‘Shouldn’t you be at school?’ I ask.
‘Not missing more than I usually do. Stop avoiding my question. Why did your girlfriend, who stayed with your unconscious ass all night, just run past me like her ass was on fire?’
When he puts it like that, I feel even worse.
‘We had an argument. I’ll call her later. Hopefully, she’ll be ready to talk then,’ I say bitterly. Okay, it’s time for me to stop whining.
‘Okay, feel like there’s a story there but I’m taking the hint now. Here, snuck you in some food since I wasn’t sure what they feed you here,’ Benji says, smiling sheepishly. When he hands me a whole Subway sandwich, I burst out laughing.
‘Thanks, man. I really needed that,’ I tell him before taking the first bite. Oh, hell yes. Might be the concussion or the fact that I haven’t eaten anything since lunch yesterday but damn this shit tastes good.
Benji and I hang out a bit, mostly him telling me what happened after I fell last night. Joe ran, that rat. Not that anyone cared or really noticed since they were too busy freaking out over me.
I knew they loved me.
He also tells me that Miley won’t be seeing her former friend again. Not after witnessing us stand up for Florence and her last night. Guess she finally decided she’s had enough.
Good for her, no one should be treated that way. Especially by a friend. I like the idea of our group expanding a bit too, that way Florence will have some girls to talk to.
Of course, we need to make up first for that. I’m not too worried though, things have a way of working themselves out.
At about four pm, my parents come back so Benji can leave. I’ve told them I don’t need a babysitter at all times but they don’t care, saying they want to make sure I don’t get lonely. Really, lonely? I’d be more than fine with some alone time and a break from all the talking.
‘Where’s Florence? I brought her some of my clothes in case she wants to change. They won’t fit, of course, but I thought I’d offer it either way,’ my mother says after taking a look around my room. I chew on my bottom lip, feeling guiltier by the second. I tried calling the girl twenty minutes ago but she didn’t pick up. She’s probably still mad, so I’ll give her some more time and try again later.
‘She left,’ I tell my parents. That gets their attention.
‘Going where?’ my dad asks slowly. I shrug.
‘Don’t know. Home, I guess.’ My mom and dad share a look, making my nerves act up all over again. What is it I don’t know?
‘Sweetie, are you sure?’ my mom asks slowly.
‘Where else would she go?’ Honestly, what is happening?
‘Anywhere else? I’ll ask Kai if she turned up at our place,’ my dad mutters.
‘What? Why? Can someone please tell me what you’re going on about?’ I finally snap.
‘Didn’t you two talk about last night?’ my mom asks, her eyes sad.
‘She told me you were all worried about me, that’s it. What happened last night?’
‘Oh, well if she didn’t say anything, maybe we shouldn’t.’
‘Mom, please,’ I say but it’s my dad who replies.
‘I’m sure it’s fine, Amelia. Elija, Florene’s mother came to our place right before Jamie told us about you. She and Florence had an argument and things kind of… escalated,’ he says. Her mother came to our place? That’s the last thing I would have guessed. How did she even know where to go?
‘Escalated how?’ I ask, a sick feeling gathering in my stomach. My parents share another look, making my blood boil. ‘Just tell me!’ I snap.
‘Well, I’m sure some things came out wrong and then her mother kind of… slapped her,’ my dad says through gritted teeth. Meanwhile, my jaw’s hanging open. Florence’s own mother raised a hand against her? My mind’s going in a spiral.
Did that happen before?
What happened after?
Finally; where the hell is my girl now? I sure as fuck hope it’s not somewhere within a mile of her parents but at the same time, I don’t know where else she’d go.
I grab my phone and send a message into the guys’ group chat, asking if anyone knows where she is and if they can reach her. Then I try to call her myself. She doesn’t pick up.
‘Elija, where did she say she was going?’ my mom asks, probably noticing my sudden panic. God, I’m such an idiot for losing my calm with Florence like that. Last night must’ve been so horrible for her and I sent her away when she had nowhere to go.
‘She didn’t say anything. We had an argument and I just told her to leave but I didn’t know,’ I tell her. I don’t care that she sees the pathetic tears welling in my eyes. I feel like shit.
‘Oh, Elija, I’m sure it’s fine. She’s a smart girl. She probably went to a friend’s place. Or maybe she went home to work things out with her parents,’ my dad tries to reassure me. It really doesn’t help though. Especially when messages from my friends start rolling in, telling me they can’t reach her either.
‘You don’t understand. She gets overwhelmed and has these really bad panic attacks. She’s tired and didn’t even eat anything.’ I try to get to my feet but my mom holds me down.
‘Slow down, Honey. You can’t leave yet. How about this, we take care of finding Florence and keep you posted?’ she says.
‘And what, you want me to lie around here uselessly? She was crying when she left!’ I try to reason with her but her grip on me only tightens.
‘Elija, calm down. You’re injured, you’re staying here,’ she orders, leaving no room for argument. There’s something calming about it. She seems collected, making my frantic mind switch back a few gears to think logically. My mom’s right, I’m sure Florence is fine.
