Emerson Jenkins
Age 13

It was another lonely night at my house. Mom and dad had been gone for about a week now, away on a business trip. I asked my mom where they were going before they left and she said Philadelphia.

I wish I could have gone because I loved Philadelphia.

Then I asked Samira, our headmaid, and she said they went to the Maldives. I didn't want to go there. Wherever that was. Philadelphia was probably better.

My days had been filled with school, homework, and occasionally sneaking out at night if my best friend Eva invited me to a party or to hang out with her friends. We went out last night but I was itching for another escape.

Eva was 14 and I met her at a party that my friend had invited me to. She was tall and had long, red curly hair. Her eyes were a deep shade of blue and she had the prettiest smile I'd ever seen. All the boys liked Eva. Even the ones that were older than us. Way older. But she dated and liked them too.

It made me feel uncomfortable when she made me hang out with boys who were in college or even graduated from college but I did it anyway. I wanted Eva to keep being my friend and not call me a 'prude' which she did a lot. The boys she would surround herself with weren't good though. They always reeked of alcohol or weed. Sometimes they just smelled like they needed a shower.

But Eva didn't seem to mind. She was always laughing at their jokes. Listening to whatever they told her to do. Making fun of me if the other guys started it first. Eventually, she would stop and tell me she was joking. I believed her. She was my friend after all. One of my only real friends.

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out quickly.

Eva: Want to come out again tonight? Kian's roommate is having a party at their place tonight. Booze and lots of weed are promised!

I winced slightly but still replied with a yes. Kian was Eva's boyfriend. He was twenty-one and a junior in college. We had spent most of our time at college parties these days. They gave me anxiety especially since everyone was so much older. Eva made sure I wore lots of makeup that aged me up a bit. She looked older than I did so all that wasn't necessary for her.

Maybe I would just let loose and get drunk tonight. I'm not much of a weed smoker but my cigarettes will do. She texts me saying she's on her way so I change quickly into a tight black mini-skirt and a white tube top that reveals some of my torso. I pair that with some fish-net tights and Converse. My makeup is already done from earlier when I went grocery shopping with Samira but I add some eyeliner to make me look older and pair it with my favorite shade of lipstick: red.

It was a bit chilly outside so I grabbed my oversized leather jacket before climbing out my window, leaving it slightly open for later. I ran towards Kian's familiar black car and hopped in. "Let's get outta here!" Eva giggled when I closed the door.

"Hey, Em," Kian greeted me, as he pulled away from my neighborhood. He had one hand on the wheel and the other on Eva's thigh. She held a cigarette to his mouth while he drove. That may have been romantic if I knew he wasn't way older than her. I had voiced my concerns about that to Eva a long time ago but she ignored them.

She said she knew what she was doing even though lying to a boy about your age is never smart. He thought we were both eighteen and she promised me not to expose that we weren't. For her sake, I kept my mouth shut.

"There's going to be a lot of booze tonight, girls. David was able to get us this good weed too. Shipped in from California this morning," Kian said.

Eva gasped, turning around to face me. "You have to smoke with us tonight, Em. California weed is good weed."

"Preach."

"Yeah, okay," I replied even though I probably wouldn't. Hopefully, she wouldn't remember later. "Can I have one of these beers back here?" I asked Kian. His house was a thirty-minute drive from mine and I wanted to get a slight buzz going.

"Sure thing," he said.

"Ooo, me too. Give me one," Eva added, sticking her hand out. We both drank about three beers before getting to the party. I chugged all of mine but it was obvious I had to have something stronger. Kian promised there was real alcohol at the party.

When we arrived, the place was packed with college students. It was hard to maneuver our way inside and toward the kitchen. David, Kian's roommate, was waiting there with drinks for the three of us. Eva didn't hold back, throwing back shots like there was no tomorrow. Kian didn't say anything, keeping his arm around her the entire time.

"Drink up, Em!" Eva shouted over the loud music. I gave her a smile and chugged some of the bottle in my hand. It was really gross but supposedly David had bought this for me. Ev said it was my favorite. She must have confused me with another friend cause this vodka was disgusting. I preferred Fireball.

The alcohol seemed to work because an hour later, my mind was foggy and all over the place. I skipped dinner so it didn't take long to get drunk tonight. The time on my phone read one a.m. meaning it was getting way too late. I was on the couch by myself now having lost Eva a while ago. She was probably smoking with Kian and David and I wanted no part of that so I stayed put.

The party was still in full effect but my mind couldn't quite grasp what was happening around me. My head was spinning. Everything was spinning. I liked the feeling of being drunk honestly. But being drunk alone kind of sucked. The girl next to me was trying to talk to me but I didn't hear a word of what she had to say.

It was something about her boyfriend cheating on her tonight and how she just wanted to go home. Whatever. I didn't care and I didn't know her. Plus, boys were stupid. Why was she surprised she got cheated on? No boy would ever be happy with just one woman. My dad sure wasn't. That's why he was always looking at pictures of women on his phone. Gross.

While she kept blabbering, my eyes shifted to the kitchen where David and Kian sat together, laughing with two girls. My brows furrowed together. Where was Eva? I scanned the whole room but she wasn't anywhere. Crap. Now I have to go look for her. Maybe she's asleep in Kian's room. That was the first place that I checked but his room and bathroom were empty.

I made rounds around the house but she was nowhere to be found. My skin felt hot from the alcohol but my heart began to race at a quick pace. Where could she have gone? She didn't leave without me, did she? I stepped out onto the front lawn, the cold air hitting my face, sobering me up more. My feet came to a halt at a girl passed out on the front lawn. But not just any girl.

It was Eva.

Her curly hair was messy, covering her face, and it was dirty from the muddy ground. She was lying down in an awkward position. My heart started to beat even faster as I dove next to her, moving her hair away to get a better look at her. "Ev!" I yelled. Her eyes were shut and it didn't even look like she was breathing. "Fuck," I mumbled, shaking her shoulders.

"Ev! Wake up!" I said, shaking myself now from fear and also the cold air outside. My friend didn't budge and I grabbed her face slapping it lightly. "C'mon, Ev," I practically begged. Tears started to stream down my face quickly. "Eva! Please," I cried, shaking her shoulders faster but she wouldn't budge.

I ran inside and grabbed some water from the tap. No one even noticed or cared that I seemed frantic. Kian was nowhere to be found either. I dumped the water on Ev's face and she flinched slightly. "Oh, thank God, Ev!" I choked out a sob at her small reaction to the water. She was still alive. "Ev," I whispered, shaking her again.

Her eyes moved behind closed eyelids but she wasn't opening them up. I had to get her out of here. Grabbing my phone from the pocket of my leather jacket, I called us a car and took her back to my place. Not caring if I got caught, I went through the front doors and took her to the guest full bathroom downstairs. Turning on the cold water while she sat on the ground.

It fell on her and she slowly started to become more coherent again. Yes, please, be alive. "Em?" she said hoarsely. I bent down and moved her wet hair from her face.

"Yes, it's me. We're at my house and you're spending the night," I told her in a soothing tone.

"Kian," she mumbled. The sound of his name made my blood boil. Fuck him. He let her get like this and then didn't even take care of her afterward. What kind of boyfriend does that?

I let her sit in the water for a little bit longer and when she got out, she threw up in the toilet bowl. Her vomit was gross and it almost made me hurl too, but I sucked it up and let my friend release all that waste. We made it upstairs and I took off her clothes, letting her use some of my pajamas. She laid down in my bed and I made sure to keep my trashcan close just in case she felt sick.

My body was still shaking with fear. I thought she was dead. Her body had looked so lifeless and not there. Even now as she laid down next to me and soft snores slipped through her, I was scared to leave her. Eva wouldn't remember anything in the morning and she would keep doing this every night. Her behavior was starting to worry me but anything I said wouldn't change anything.

It's not like I could tell her parents either. They were two deadbeats. Kind of like mine but hers were worse. Eva's parents didn't have any money so they couldn't send her to rehab. She was just going to keep living like this. I had to stick beside her and help her though. I was going to keep Ev alive if it was the last thing I did.

She was my best friend.
Who else was going to be there for me if not her?