Effy stormed downstairs, her arms crossed over her chest, and an angry look in her eyes.
"Effy, please. Quiet." Her mother spoke so calmly, like she didn't care of the news they'd just been told.
Effy dropped her weight into the kitchen chair and crossed her legs. She sat facing, not her mother, but the window outside, where the birds were flying around, happy as can be.
Effy's mom sighed and sipped her tea. "I'm very sorry. I knew I couldn't trust that horrid man." She muttered, more to herself than her daughter.
The young girl sat, quiet, still, barely breathing. She could hardly believe she had just gotten a call about her boyfriend being in the hospital. She could barely believe just a few short hours away she was sitting in a hospital and now her boyfriend is in there, dying, and she can't do anything about it. Her mother didn't want her going back there, she was frightened. Each of them frightened of what would happen to the man that made all their problems worse.
"You know, maybe it wouldn't—"
"I want to see him." Effy muttered.
Anthea paused. She was taken off guard by this simple request from her daughter. "Sorry?"
"I want to see my fucking boyfriend, mom. Is that so hard to understand?" Effy asked, near tears. She remained looking out the window, anything to keep her from looking at her mother right now.
Anthea was crazy over Freddie, crazy for the fact Effy finally had a boyfriend that truly loved her, took care of her, and helped her stay out of trouble. There was one thing she didn't like, though – the fact Effy was now all about Freddie and nothing else in the world mattered. Effy's grades started slipping, she was gone almost every night, and it even drove her into cutting herself. The doctor that treated her only made it worse. He told her to stay away from him, that boys were no good, which drove Effy into another suicidal rage.
After a few more minutes of silence, Effy stood up, and started to walk out of the kitchen. Anthea spoke up at that moment, making Effy stop in her tracks.
"No, not until he gets out. We are not going up to that horrid place ever again."
Effy simply rolled her eyes and walked upstairs, slamming her door behind her.
Tears came to her eyes as she reached under her pillow and pulled out a photo of the man of her dreams. He was so happy in the photo, looking up at her with his eyes sparkling, his smile bigger than ever, and with a look on his face that screamed 'I'm in love.'
She stared at the picture for nearly an hour, thinking of all the times they've had together, the good and the bad. Dr. Foster had told her to push bad memories away, that it would help her get better, but it only made her worse. She remembered all the bad things now, every single memory she wished she could forget once more still lingered. But even though she had those, there were the good memories as well.
It wasn't until a knock came at her door did she finally put the photo down and wipe her eyes dry. After a shaky 'come in' she flipped her hair over her shoulder and watched her friends Emily and Pandora walk in.
"Hey, Eff. Feeling any better?" Pandora asked, messing with her blonde, frizzy hair.
Effy smiled up at them. "Better, yeah."
Emily sat on the bed carefully. She cleared her throat before she finally said anything. "We just wanted to check up on you. After… well…" She trailed off. Emily had been very careful not to mention Freddie or the doctor. She figured it would trigger something in Effy, perhaps she had been right.
Effy looked down at her hands, twisting them, snapping her fingers, biting on her nails, until she had the courage to look up at Emily. "I'm fine, really. Just wish I could see my boyfriend, is all."
"That's something we can understand." Pandora nodded, not realizing what she was saying as she looked down at the picture on the nightstand. Even though she and Freddie hadn't been real close, she felt depressed. Her bestfriend's boyfriend was dying, and she knew it was killing Effy, as well.
Effy sighed, looking back at her hands and twisting them around again. She stood up and walked over to her window, looking out into the warm, sunny day. She could see a couple walking a little further down the sidewalk. They were holding hands and laughing at something. It almost broke Effy's heart as she turned her head to her blank wall, which used to be covered with pictures of bands until her mother cleaned it up.
"Oh, we met someone today. An American. She's knew to our school and asked us to show her around." Emily spoke up, trying to sound cheerful.
"Yeah! She seemed nice enough. I mean, she had that sort of 'I don't give a damn' thing going on." Pandora continued. "I asked her if she wanted to come to the party tonight, said she'd love to."
"Party?" Effy asked.
"Yeah. Didn't Katie text you? We're having a party at Emily's and Naomi's. All of us."
Effy shook her head, still not looking at them. "No. I'm not going."
"Why not?" Emily asked.
"I don't feel like it. It feels… wrong."
"Cook won't be there." Pandora tried. "He's with his mum, remember?"
Effy chuckled to herself and moved back to her bed. "Right. I might be late."
Pandora and Emily grinned as they hugged Effy and walked out.
Effy stood on the doorstep, taking a hit off her cigarette, and looking at the door as if she expected it to open itself. When it didn't, she huffed and pushing it open, letting the loud music fill her hears, and thicker smoke fill her eyes.
"Eff!" JJ ran over and hugged the tiny girl. "Welcome! Glad you came." He grinned.
Effy smirked over at him. "Wouldn't miss it." She walked into the kitchen were Naomi was fixing glasses of rum or grabbing beer. "I thought this was a small party!"
Naomi looked up then around. More kids were here than just the normal gang. She shrugged. "Sorry, word got out. Rum?" She asked, holding up the bottle. She was clearly already out of it.
Effy shook her head then continued into the living room where several people were trying to play Just Dance, drunk. JJ and some girl Effy didn't know were up. She had blonde hair and pink tips up in a ponytail. JJ kept giving her flirty looks, with her returning.
The music suddenly changed and JJ and the pink tips girl started dancing along with the two characters on the tv. Effy watched them before sitting down next to Thomas and Katie.
"Who's she?"
Katie answered in her know-it-all voice. "Lara. She's JJ's new girl." She giggled.
"How long?" Effy asked, her brows furrowing together.
Katie shrugged her shoulders and cheered when JJ got a golden move. "Not sure. We only met her tonight. Emily's known, but didn't think to tell anybody. She thought it would be over by now."
"Looks like it's still going." Effy murmured.
Throughout the night, Effy couldn't enjoy herself too much. She had some drugs, drank, basically everything she shouldn't be doing anymore, but it wasn't enough. Something was missing.
It wasn't until midnight when Effy met this new friend of Pandora's and Emily's, when they each walked over, barely able to walk, but clearly able to yell.
Effy looked over as they called her name. They were pulling a girl with them, a girl of about Effy's height and with long, brunette hair. They stopped in front of her, giggling and whatnot.
"Eff! Hey, Eff! This is Aria." Emily giggled, pointing to the little girl behind her and taking a drink from her cup.
Effy waved her hand through the air, greeting the girl. Aria did almost the same thing. Each had her arms crossed as if they were uncomfortable.
Katie walked over in her sluttiest outfit and turned to Effy. "So, have you gone to see him?" She asked, clearly annoyed, as she should be.
Katie was Freddy's ex. She fell head-over-heels for him when they dated, and she thought he felt the same about her, but she was wrong. Fred was in love with Effy, and forever would be, and that killed Katie. She tried acting happy for the both of them but she found it hard, almost unbearable to watch them.
Effy shook her head, watching the floor under her, as if it were doing some sort of dance she couldn't make out. "No, not at all. Mum won't let me."
"Has that ever stopped you before?" Emily asked, suddenly acting all serious. "Eff, you've snuck around all your life. How could you not just go see him?"
She had a point. It wasn't like Effy to follow rules her mother set. Normally she would have already seen him, snuck out, or even just lied about her whereabouts.
"You're right. I'll go tonight." Effy shrugged.
Pandora, Emily, and Katie each looked at each other. "Tonight?" They asked together.
"Yeah, tonight. As in I am leaving the party and going to see him."
"See whom?" Aria asked. Her voice was soft, yet you could feel the dangerous vibe.
"Her boyfriend." Katie snapped, rolling her eyes and walking off. "Fine, go see him."
Aria gave the other three girls a confused look.
"I-I'm coming with!" Pandora stuttered over her words as she stepped towards Effy.
"No, I'm going alone." Effy started walking towards the door, on a mission.