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Ring, ring, ring.
Thump. Thump. Thump.All I can hear is the beating of my frantic heart and the persistent rings sounding through the phone.
“Hello?” a soft voice answers.
“M-Maisie..” I croak, her name coming out broken between my cries.
“Phoebe?” she replies, clearly confused.
“Maisie,” I rasp, only able to manage one word at a time through my panic.
“What’s going on? Are you okay?” she asks, sounding panicked herself.
“N-no, I’m not okay,” I whimper, so fucking relieved she picked up. Just hearing a familiar voice is helping to calm me down.
“Where are you? What happened?”
“Our apartment. Maisie, it was awful,” I cry.
“Phoebe, what happened?” she pushes.
“K-Knox… My uncle, Oh my God… There was yelling and blood. Maisie, I don’t know what to do,” I reply, not even sure if she can understand me through my broken cries.
“What do you mean there was blood? Are you okay?” Her voice is rushed now, insistent on me answering her.
“Blood and broken glass… I’ve lost everyone, Maisie. I have no one,” I add, walking to the couch. I don’t trust my unsteady limbs to support me right now. I curl up on the coach, tucking the phone beneath my ear.
“Pheebs, are you okay? Are you hurt?” she asks again.
“N-no, I’m not hurt,” I manage to respond.
“Listen to me, you haven't lost everyone. You have me, Phoebe. You have me. Stay at the apartment, I’ll be there soon. The drive is only a couple of hours away my house.”
“Y-you, you don’t have to…” I trail off, my teeth chattering from the anxiety surging through my body.
“Yes, I do. You’re my friend, Phoebe. This is what friends do. I know you would do the same for me. I’m sorry about what I said when I was angry. I’m going to pack my bags and get right in my car. I’ll call you once I’m on the road and we can talk on my drive. I’ll call you in about 15 minutes, okay?”
“Okay,” I whisper. “Thank you.”
* * *
“Phoebe,wake up. It’s me, Maisie. Pheebs?” I hear my name on repeat as someone lightly shakes my shoulders.
Slowly opening my eyes, I squint and take in my surroundings. Maisie is kneeling in front of me, her face scrunched together in concern. When my eyes drift over her shoulder, I take in our living room that looks like a tornado barreled through it. Little pieces of glass are littered across the floor and small droplets of dried blood speckle the area below the television. Our flat screen is hanging off the wall by a few wires, dangling halfway between the mount and the floor, which I’m sure is a major fire hazard. I rub my aching head with my hand and pull myself up into a sitting position. I must have fallen asleep after Maisie and I hung up. The combination of crying my eyes out and anxiety must have depleted me to the point of exhaustion.
“Thank God you’re okay.” Maisie lets out a deep exhale. “I tried calling you like a million times once I got in my car. You scared the shit out of me. You were so out of it when you called, I could barely make out what you were saying. I had no idea what could’ve happened. My mind spiraled the entire drive here.” She plops down on the couch beside me and rubs my arms in a comforting gesture.
“I’m sorry. I don’t even remember falling asleep,” I sniffle.
“Phoebe, what the hell happened in here?” Maisie asks, trailing her gaze around the living room.
I spend the next hour telling Maisie everything, and I meaneverything. I started from the day Knox took me home after practice and didn’t leave out a single detail. We shared a few tears when I told her about the traumatic event between Knox and Corbin. She reached across the couch and held me as cries rocked my body for the hundredth time today. My face feels swollen and puffy from all the crying. This is definitely not how I imagined this weekend going.
“I already miss him so much, Maisie, and it’s only been a few hours. I feel like I was in fight or flight mode, and my only option was to break things off. I didn’t know what to do. I just panicked,” I confess.
Now that I’ve had time to gather my thoughts, the regret is starting to creep in for pushing Knox away so suddenly. I did what I’ve always been so fearful of him doing. I abandoned him.
“Anyone in your shoes would have panicked. Are you having second thoughts about ending things?” she asks.
