Falling
an excerpt

My cell chirped again. I looked at it. I didn’t recognise the number. I looked at Evie.
“Jesus – answer it already, Miss Popular!” she groaned through a mouthful of pretzels, reclining in the armchair.
I flipped it open and answered.
“Is that Jessica?” a little voice said. It was vaguely familiar.
“Yeah,” I answered, slowly.
“This is Joni,” she said, quietly. It took me a moment.
“Oh! Hey. Joni. This is a surprise.”
“I know, I’m sorry to bother you. I didn’t know who else to go to.”
“That’s okay. What is it?”
“I...I just...” her voice sounded muffled, and I was straining to hear. I realised belatedly that she was crying.
“Joni,” I said, trying to sound sympathetic, not something that comes naturally to me. “It’s okay. Just tell me what’s wrong.”
“Can I come and see you?” she blurted out. I was so surprised I didn’t answer right away, which she took as a no. “Oh, it’s okay, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have phoned. I just – never mind, I’m sorry, I just can’t really talk here, I’m sorry...”
“No, no,” I interrupted, “it’s okay, Joni, really, I was just surprised, that’s all. Do you want to come here or do you want to meet up somewhere in town? Where are you?” There was a long pause.
“Uh, actually? I’m outside your house,” she sniffed. I blinked a couple of times.
“Excuse me?”
“I’ve been here for about an hour. I wasn’t sure what to do. But I’m freezing.”
I looked at Evie, who was draped over the armchair her head hanging upside down with boredom. She was no help.
“Okay, sure. Hold on.” I paused for a moment. “Uh – are you with anyone?”
“No,” she sniffed again, her voice shaky. I made my way to the front door, and looked through the peep hole. Jesus Christ. There she was, sitting on the wall out front, dressed in a padded white coat with a furry hood up around her head, phone clamped to her ear by a fluffy white glove. She had her back to me. I looked around as much as the peephole would allow, then quietly opened the door. I peered out through the cold blast of air. Noone there.
“Okay,” I said. “Hurry up.” She turned around, and took the phone from her ear. She stood up and made her way quickly up the path. Her face was pale and her eyes red. She squeezed past me and I closed the door behind her. She stood there, looking at me.
“Go on through,” I shoved her in the direction of the living room. She went through hesitantly, wrapping her arms around herself. I walked in behind her. Evie was still draped over the chair, but she lifted her head up as we came in.
“Hey,” she said, only vaguely surprised.
“This is Joni,” I told her, maneuvring Joni into a chair.
“Does she want some wine?” Evie asked.
“I think she might need something hot,” I said. “She’s been sat outside for the last hour, the crazy girl.” Evie looked a little more surprised then, but sprang into action and went to the kitchen. I heard some rummaging, and the coffee machine kicking in. She came back through.
“Did I miss anything?” she asked, a little breathless.
“You were gone about two seconds,” I told her. We both looked at Joni, who was still swaddled in her coat, sitting hunched in the chair.
“Joni, do you want to take off your coat?” I asked, leaning down to speak to her. I wasn’t liking this much. The poor girl was clearly upset, and I was pretty sure it had something to do with me. And now she was coming to me for help. Not my speciality, helping people. Normally, I created a need for help.
She slowly unzipped her coat and wriggled out of it, then took off her gloves and shoved them in the pockets. She assumed her hunched position again, with her arms wrapped around her. Evie and I stood looking at her again. Joni looked up at me and then at Evie, then back at me. I turned to Evie.
“Were you making coffee?” I said pointedly. She rolled her eyes.
“Okay, okay, I’m going,” she held her hands up. “But I still want to know everything,” she muttered. She turned back as she left the room. “I’m Jessica’s best friend, you know,” she said haughtily, for no apparent reason. Still, I was a little touched by her drunken declaration. I brushed it off and turned back to Joni, squatting down to face her.
“Joni, what are you doing here? Why did you call?” I asked.
“Sam gave me your number. She said I should call you.” The other waitress.
“I thought you already told me everything you wanted to,” I pushed. “At the diner, earlier.”
“That was before,” she said flatly. She was proving to be hard work.
“Before what?” I prompted. “What’s happened?”