10. Burden

An acrid scent of lingering beer and vomit pierced the air as Bailey slung one of Audrey’s arms over their shoulder. They had frantically searched the entire mall and surrounding facility for the raven haired girl while sharing dozens of half-hearted conversations with her voicemail. Not to forget the lecture they had received from a cluster of senior costumers for running in the corridors.
The very second Bailey’s phone had signaled the arrival of a new message, they did not know whether to be relieved or furious. Those painfully few, hastily tipped out words were far from the explanation they deserved after an hour of unnecessary panic. Truth be told, Audrey still had a reputation for running off at ostensibly haphazard moments. Nevertheless, Bailey had believed that they were more to her than some ignorant classmates she did not owe any justification.
Bailey’s rage truly had peaked when Audrey had called them a few hours later with less of an explanation and more of a request to check a certain location. Furiously, they had stomped through the heavy night fog and climbed a screeching staircase to the top level of a surprisingly well-kept office building. Despite it all, the fight had left them as soon as they laid their eyes on Audrey’s half awake shape leaning against the roof’s railing. Her clothes were partially torn and soaked from both the ongoing rain and spilled bottles littering the surrounding ground. She had groaned and mumbled incomprehensible nonsense as Bailey had tried to heave her into a standing position.
Understanding swiftly that Audrey had no intention of going home, Bailey began dragging her over to Alex’s place for the night. On the way, Audrey kept on touching Bailey’s hair and twirling her fingers through the reddish strands of locks. It became steadily more difficult for Bailey not to blush with their bodies pressed tightly together and Audrey muttering about how ‘cute’ they were. After what felt like an eternity, they arrived at the porch of Alex’s house and Bailey took a moment to scan Audrey over. A small cut on her cheek made them freeze, and they stared at the dried blood as memories of the past came back to haunt them.
‘You look like you’ve seen a ghost,’ Audrey commented. Laughing without humor, Bailey threw their head back and pressed their eyes shut. ‘Last year, I had a friend named Zoe,’ they stated blankly, ‘or at least I thought we were friends…’ With a shaky sigh, Bailey pulled a handkerchief from their back pocket and gently tapped it against Audrey’s cheek. ‘She joined the school exactly a year before you and we quickly got to know each other. We sat together in class and hung out on the weekends. You really remind me of her.’ Finally ringing the doorbell, Bailey helped Audrey up and let her lean against them. ‘Towards the ending of the school year, some…stuff went down, and she decided that living with her dad suited her better,’ they whispered, ‘but it doesn’t matter, let’s get you cleaned up.’
After confirming that Alex’s parents were on a trip for the next day or two, Bailey and Audrey took showers and put some of the clothes on that Alex provided them with. A little later, they were huddled together on the living room’s couch with blankets, snacks and some rom-com playing in the background.
Regardless of the peaceful atmosphere, Bailey stared at Audrey’s cheek and felt an intense feeling of guilt building up in their throat for another ‘friend’ getting hurt on their behalf.