Via stood outside the house on the porch, the setting sun a distant memory of the passed evening. She hugged herself gently, as no one else was there to hold her. She stared numbly ahead, questioning why she hadn't come back sooner. The night air hovered so heavily over her, she felt that the sun would never be able to break through it and bring the promising morning light of another day.
The setting sun leaked slats of light through the lowered blinds hanging in front of the window. Dust motes floated lazily in the illuminated air, disappearing instantly from sight as they floated into the shadows.
Via murmured gentle, soothing words as she dropped to her knees beside her friend. Keely sniffled as she tried to scoot back further into the corner, in an attempt to disappear completely. Via gently placed a hand on Keely's right shoulder, but she pushed the consoling arm away firmly, though not violently.
Via opened her mouth to say something, but sighed and stopped herself. She brought her head down a few inches to look into her friend's eyes, but Keely lowered her head as she drew her legs up to her chest and hugged them tightly.
She stood across the room, looking at her friend piteously. Keely's trembling hands slowly and gently moved up to cradle her head: her fingers flexed as she pulled at her hair. Via bit at her lip and rubbed her forehead. A heavy lump in her throat lingered as she just stared at the disheveled blonde hair that obscured the anguished face behind it.
Keely briefly glanced up at Via, and, overwrought with dread at the reality of what she had just done, sobbed even louder. Via brought her hands up to her face, then ran her hands up through her hair slowly as she let out a quavering breath.
Via slowly opened her mouth to say something. Keely reached inside herself and found the energy to raise her left hand and wave Via away with an upward flick of her down-turned hand. Via pressed her lips together. Tears threatened to run freely down her face. She shut her eyes and held them fiercely back. When she opened them, Keely had turned away from her, and was once again hugging her legs like a frightened child clutching onto a loving parent. She rested her head on the doorjamb for a brief moment, then shook her head and slowly walked down the stairs and out of the empty house, silent aside from the sobbing coming from the upstairs room.
A sliver of the crescent moon hanged low near the horizon. Aside from it, and the stars, the only lights came from the street lights on the sidewalk and the flashing strobes atop the ambulance, illuminating the emergency responders wheeling her friend out of the house on a stretcher, her arm dangling lazily off the side of the gurney, an oxygen mask affixed snugly to her face.