“What? Do you want to cuddle or something?” I snort, reaching for the television remote control.
“I wasn’t thinking that, Amelia. I’ll take the couch.”
Picking a movie, I say, “You do that.”
This is going to be torture.
My phone rings making me jump from the intrusion breaking the silence. Answering quickly as not to wake Elsa-Marie, I don’t catch who’s calling.
“Amelia?”
Clare?
“Yeah?”
I haven’t seen her in months, not since I picked her up from the old train tracks after Tariq left her after a fight. She never called the next day and hasn’t returned a single text.
“I need your help.”
There are no hello’s, no apologies for essentially dropping me out for a guy. Nothing.
“Are you still there?”
“I’m here. What do you need?”
“Tar left me…”
“You’ll have to call a cab, I’ve got an essay to finish, and Elsa-Marie is asleep.”
“Please, I wouldn’t call if I wasn’t desperate.”
“Do you realise you only call when you’re desperate?” I grind out.
“I know, I’m so sorry. Everything is so messed up and I should’ve…”
I sigh. She babbles on with a bunch of excuses, but I don’t want to hear them.
“Where are you?”
“I’m on Crescent Street, out front of the diner. Please, I wouldn’t ask but it’s an emergency.”
“I’m on my way.”
And I plan on either cutting our friendship completely off or getting to the bottom of what’s going with her these days.
She hasn’t even met my daughter yet. Not even a card or anything when she was born. Checking on Elsa, she sleeps peacefully, and I head down to my dad’s office.
“Dad, Elsa is asleep. Can you just watch her for half an hour?”
“Where are you going to at this hour?”
“Clare called, she needs picking up from a diner on Crescent Street. I won’t be long.”
“Okay, drive safely.”
I hate having to leave my daughter, but it doesn’t take me long to drive across the city and find Clare where she said she was.
She jumps in the car, and I can’t believe what I’m seeing. She’s all skin and bones and greasy hair. She looked like shit the last time I saw her, but this is on another level.
