Phoebe was sprawled on the ground in front of me and I didn't know what to do.

The red solo cup that she had been holding had spilled all over her, soaking her clothes. It lay abandoned on the floor next to her. Towering over Phoebe was Eve, who glared down at Pheobe with vengeance in her eyes, fists clenched.

"Fight! There's a fight!" somebody near us screamed out. Amid the chaotic, beating music and the pulsing bodies, very few but those around us heard.

Eve started screaming, but most of what she said could barely be heard in the ruckus. She pointed her finger, tears streaming down her cheeks as Phoebe stared up blankly. Immediately, from a few feet away, Cassidy, Dane, and Jen seemed to notice what was going on and pushed their way through the crowd toward us.

Cassidy threw herself in front of Eve, forcing her to take a step back. Eve shoved at Cassidy and she stumbled a couple of feet. Oh god. I didn't want this to turn into an actual fight. I trusted Cassidy but I knew she wasn't equipped for that sort of thing.

The only way I felt I could help was by getting out of there with Phoebe.

While Cassidy confronted Eve, holding her ground, I grabbed Phoebe's hand and helped her to her feet. We were near the corner of the room and there was clear exit a handful of feet away through a door. I pulled Phoebe along, pushing through the crowd of people as Eve's yells followed us. Then, I shoved through the exit door in spite of the sign telling partygoers not to use it.

Thankfully, no alarms went off, although the cold air stung against my skin like a knife. It'd definitely gotten chillier since we'd entered the party. The wind only made things worse as it prickled my skin.

Phoebe and I ran down the steps of the party and ended up at a parking lot of sorts. There were very few spaces taken. From here, the music from the party was still audible but dulled. Phoebe immediately took a seat on the pavement and put her head in her hands.

She didn't say a word.

"Are you okay? Did she hurt you?" I asked. I wasn't sure how hard Eve had pulled on Phoebe. It had happened so fast and already I was struggling to process it. 

She nodded. "I'm fine. Just a little wet," she mumbled. Her clothes were clearly more than a little wet. A breeze was still ruffling the trees, and Phoebe shivered.

"Okay. We should get back to the apartment. It's way too cold." I held out a hand, offering to help her up. She took it gingerly. She kept looking down at the ground with a dead stare.

I offered her my arm to help her walk, but she didn't take it. I felt a pang in my chest, but continued alongside her. As we walked down the uneven pavement, I was very glad I'd chosen against wearing anything with heels. I would have faceplanted ten times by now if I had.

The walk to the apartment was quicker than I expected. Just as we walked in through the lobby, I heard my phone start buzzing again. Not even thinking, I reached into my pocket and hit the call button assuming it was Cassidy.

"Hey Keira, wanted to know if you were interested...," the voice started, and I immediately hung up.

Phoebe glanced at me. "Cassidy?" she asked. I shook my head no.

Maybe I should have waited around at the party. I trusted that Cassidy would be okay, but...

 But Eve had gotten physically violent with Phoebe before shoving Cassidy. That was a lot. I didn't think that a literal fist fight could break out in such an enclosed space where everyone was watching, but I guess you never really knew.

Cassidy would be okay. At the very least, she had Dane and Jen at her side. If anything bad happened, they both would step in to help. And if Eve tried anything else...there were very clearly many witnesses.

I looked down at my phone again but there were no notifications from Cassidy or her friends. It'd been only five minutes. Cassidy would be looking for us soon. I did have another barrage of texts, though.

Did I really have to change my phone number? Doing so would be an absolute hassle but what other option did I have at this point?

"I don't know why she was so mad when she literally came to the party and did the exact same thing," Phoebe muttered under her breath. She stomped forward and pressed the elevator button. As she waited, she brushed her hair out of her face, making herself more presentable. I guess we both did look a bit weird walking into the apartment completely disheveled, Phoebe with her wet clothes.

"I know," I agreed. I knew that Eve had only brought the other girl as a way to rile Phoebe up. I guess she hadn't been expecting Phoebe to fight back.

That would make a lot of sense based on what little of their relationship that I was aware of.

The elevator dinged and we both stepped inside. I looked over at her. She still seemed irritated but a little less freaked out than she had been a few minutes before. "Will you be alright on your own?" I asked her. I couldn't remember how much she'd had to drink.

She nodded stiffly. "Yes. I'll be fine." Then, she pushed the button for her floor. I pushed mine. The elevator dinged and she swiftly head out, not even looking back at me once.

                                                                     ____________________________

Falling asleep that night had been difficult.

Cassidy texted me about five minutes after I'd walked through the front door of our apartment letting me know she was safe and would be back in a half hour. I showered, got ready for bed, and tried to forget about everything. My thoughts were racing and I just wanted to relax.

Cassidy was okay. Phoebe was okay. Everyone was going to be okay.

But was I okay?

I didn't know.

Part of me felt guilty for what had happened. It had been my idea for Phoebe and I to pretend that we were together. It had been my plan. And it had completely backfired. Rather than simply irritating Eve, it had sent her into an all out rage and had put my friends in danger.

I knew that her actions were not my responsibility. She clearly had some issues. But I still had started all of this. I still felt partially responsible.

And I also felt like Phoebe was mad at me. Maybe I was reading into things far too much, but she hadn't messaged me at all since leaving me in the elevator. Hadn't texted to tell me she was home safe. I'd sent her a quick text just asking if she was okay and she hadn't responded. Did she also blame me for what had happened? Or was she just going through it?

Who knew what the aftermath of this would look like. I guess I should just be glad that the plan had worked out on my end. Nobody had approached me at the party even though I'd only been there for less than a half hour. The messages were still coming in pretty regularly, but I hadn't gotten another call since the one in the lobby. And nobody else had showed up at my door just yet.

I had such low standards for being okay that it was kind of sad.

I tossed and turned for another hour or two, checking my phone periodically to see if there were any updates from Phoebe. None. Nothing at all. Then, I fell into the rabbit hole of checking social media.

Very little was off about my feed - just the general party photos I was used to on a Friday night. Occasionally an ad for a makeup brand or a dress that looked cute but would never last longer than one night out.

And then I got a notification of a follow request.

I didn't even need to think twice about it. I immediately clicked the reject button. But I still saw that a message had been sent to me on the site, one that I had the option of whether or not to interact with.

Just out of curioisity, I decided to click on it.

It was a message from Eve.

"Stop talking to Phoebe. Stop interacting with Phoebe. I am her girlfriend and if she tells you anything differently she is a LIAR," the message read. "Don't bother responding because I don't care what you think of me."

I quickly clicked the reject button. I didn't need to interact with her right now. And it was very clear from her message that she wasn't a fan of telling the truth. I guess she hadn't recognized me from the apartment lobby because if she had, she would have known that I knew what had really gone down. If anyone had seen it, it was me.

I pressed the power down button on my phone, forcing it to shut off completley. I didn't want to deal with texts, calls, or anyone. I didn't need to wake up early, so I didn't care if I didn't have an alarm.

I threw my phone onto the carpet and rolled over, shutting my eyes to fall asleep.