Greenwood Bay

3 | Good Mourning

"Wasn't that the girl's party you were at on Friday?"

"Did she seem off to you?!"

"Oh, Dakota. I'm so, so sorry!"

Her mother's words bounced around her head but didn't register. Instead, Dakota turned for her father but he had already left the room, the sound of the garage door slamming echoing throughout the hall. It was his standard ritual in moments of high stress; go fix something in the garage. Frustration boiled within her - she needed space to breathe, to escape the suffocating concern of her mother. With a swift motion, Dakota sprinted upstairs as fast as she could, into her bedroom and locked the door. Her chest heaved up and down, brows furrowed, cheeks wet. Dakota fell on the bed and tugged her phone out its charger, fingers trembling as she dialled Emily's number. Emily picked up instantly.

"Emily, are you okay?' The words fell out her mouth.

"Absolutely not, are you?" Her voice replied much more softly than normal.

"Absolutely not,"

They sat in silence for a minute but it was the biggest comfort either of them needed. Dakota stared at the still-closed blinds as the deep blue turned lighter, before being mixed with shades of orange.

"I don't know what to do. Can I come over?"

"D, I'd love nothing more than for you to come over but they've blocked off the road. We've been told we're not allowed to leave,"

Of course. Dakota, you idiot.

"Hold on, someones at my door," Emily said, followed by sounds of shuffling, "Oh, it's Michelle. Dakota, I've got to go,"

She hung up. For a moment, Dakota was jealous she didn't live in the dorms and could just head over to her friends whenever she wanted before remembering the situation and scolding herself for being so selfish.

*  *  *

Without a word, Michelle collapsed onto Emily's bed in a fit of sobs. Emily patted her back, unsure of what to do all while Violet stared at them with wide eyes. Although Emily and Samantha's relationship had been pretty clear - they hated each other - Michelle and Emily's on the other hand was complicated. If you asked either of them if they were friends, they'd laugh and say no. Except they would hang out occasionally, usually to get ready together for parties as they both lived in the dorms. Did they make fun of each other in public? Yes. Did they like each other? Probably not, and yet they always seemed to find a way back to each other. Frenemies, most likely.

"I'm so sorry, Michelle, I can't imagine how you feel right now," Michelle said sincerely. Sure, she hated Samantha but everything had changed now. If you asked her now, she probably would say she didn't really hate Samantha. The fact the girl had... killed herself seemed impossible. She had never seen anyone so in love with themself and so in love with life. Perhaps if she had been nicer to Sam, or at least tried to get along, things might be different. She wouldn't be locked inside her dorm with a dead body less than 200 meters away. And now, with Michelle sobbing her little heart out beside her, Emily felt as though by helping Michelle she was somehow helping Samantha.

"I just can't believe it! Like... how could she do that?! To me, to everyone..."

She collapsed again, burying her face in Emily's pillow and likely getting snot everywhere. From across the room, Violet watched with wide eyes before getting up and leaving the room with her homework in hand, to go sit in the foyer or something. It was her way of being kind and giving them space even if it wasn't much. Emily gave Michelle a hug and she sobbed into her shoulder. What she really want to do was ask her about Friday, if she had seen anything out of the ordinary; if Samantha had said anything to her. There was just so many questions and not enough answers.