Milly filled another glass of - no, the bottle of scotch was empty. She went to the cabinet but that was empty too. Damn. She didn't even have the strength to be properly mad.
This last weak had been brutal, with each incident worse than the last: lost her job; broke up with her boyfriend of 2 years; yelled at the old lady next door. And all of this because of that stupid sext with that tool Luna.
Milly sighed dramatically as she plopped on the couch, several Doritos flakes flying to the coffee table. She sat in her living room with an empty glass and a pounding headache. Right now, she wanted peace and silence. She needed time to think.
Her doorbell rang and the light to her intercom turned green. "We know you're in there Mills! Open up!" Pound, pound, pound. And then another voice. "Your neighbour Mrs. Dobrey says you haven't left your apartment all week!" Pound, pound, pound. And a third. "Open this door, you bitch! Or we'll break it down!"
Pound, pound, pound.
"Ugghhhhh." Milly was drawn to the pounding like a moth to the flime. If there was one thing friends were good for, it was for pounding headaches. "I'm coming you skanks!"
She opened the door. Her friends barged inside as if they were taking a castle under siege. Milly guessed they were afraid she was gonna change her mind and close the door on them. She was glad they came, however. She needed to talk.
"You guys want anything to drink?" Milly asked stepping over the collapsed Sandra. "Unfortunately, I only got water and milk. Like some inmate."
"You got some nerve, bitch." Lissy said, she had already found a seat on the dining table. "I'll take some milk."
"Water is fine for me, Milly." Nina waved from the couch. "This place is filthy... You're eating Doritos?" Nina sounded aghast.
"I'm good, Mills." Sandra sat next to Lis.
Once everyone calmed down, Milly sat next to Nina who took Milly's hands in her own. "You'll find another job." Nina said plainly, her face determined to convince the universe of her decision.
"I don't care about that stupid job!" Milly took her hands back. "It was good that he fired me. I had enough of that creep Johnson!"
"Yes you did!" Sanda fist bumped the air.
"I told you she didn't care about that stupid job!" Lis had already finished her milk, her lip had a white spot. "It's that bitch Luna isn't it?"
Milly didn't reply which let to an enthusiastic "Aha!" from Lissy. But Sandra spoke up first.
"I'm sure she's also nervous about yelling at that sweet old lady next door." Sandra was dabbing Lissy's lip. "She was so nice when she saw us, Milly."
"Please don't talk about Mrs. Dobrey." Milly was covering her ears. "I'm such a bitch for what I said to her..."
"You are." Sandra turned to look at her. "But she doesn't see it that way. She knows you are troubled."
"Is it because of Todd?" Nina asked softly.
"No." Milly was certain. "That wasn't going anywhere. You guys know that. Me and Todd breaking up was always going to happen. The fact that he was clueless only proved to me that it should've happened sooner."
"After so many fake orgasms, I bet." Lissy had lit a cigarette.
"So it's about Luna?" Nina whispered.
Milly nodded, she couldn't look at them. "All my... all my life I've been hiding. And... and the one time I find the courage to act upon my feelings it... it turns into a disaster..."
"You made it a disaster you bitch! Why did you -"
Sandra's "Shhh!" quieted Lis, and Nina took Milly's hand again.
"Luna is a dumb bitch." Nina said, but her words were honey to Lissy's spice. "What she did by showing those messages to your boss is unforgivable."
"I haven't seen her, otherwise we would be having an entirely different kind of conversation about that traitor!"
"This break-down is not you, Mills." Sandra was pleading.
It really wasn't. Some part of her knew this all along - but she liked being a messy puddle, it felt good not to have any obligations and just wallow. So yes, she knew that she was going overboard. But she also knew her friends were right. It was time to stop.
"Thanks guys." Milly whispered. "I know." She sobbed. "Thanks."
The next thing she knew the three of them were around her, hugging her, showering her with love. Milly felt warmth that she naively though lost to her forever. The affirmation was everything she needed.
"I love you so much!" Milly sobbed as she was trying, and failing, to hug all three of them at once.
"Yeah! We know!"
"You're welcome, milly."
"We're here for you."
Sometimes, very rarely, friends were good for clearing headaches as well.
Thanks for reading! 😗
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This was a 5 minute freewrite hosted by @mariannewest.
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