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“Roni…”

“I love you and I'm telling you all this because I'm afraid of losing you. My past isn't pretty and…”

“Hey, stop right there.” I interrupted her. “We all have pieces of our history that aren’t pretty. You do, I do, our friends do.But that doesn’t make it any less amazing. We are made up of our smiles and our tears, or all the days in between.” Her brown eyes were still streaming tears when I finished: “I love you for everything that you are. And I want you to know that you can always be vulnerable with me, because that’s why I’m your girlfriend. So that you can share your craziest ideas, your lamest jokes, and your deepest pains.”

A sense of calm came over me. There were tears, yes, but there was an immensity of peace.

“You’re everything I’ve ever wanted.” I declared with love. “You’re understanding, and I want to be that for you, too.”

Veronica gave me a pained smile and wrapped her arms around me. We were still crying, but knowing that my heart lay exposed next to hers, spilled across the bed between us, felt like seeing the sun break through the clouds after a long storm.

It had been four days since Emily's incident and that was the day she was scheduled to be discharged from the hospital. We went to see her again at the hospital, but because of everything that had happened, her family thought it best for her to return home before the holidays.

Karlee, for some reason, agreed to this and even gave us the last few days off, which, it had to be said, was very welcome. There was still a week left until the holidays and I knew that the next Monday the coach would want to make up for the rest we were having. However, for now, my only concern was to welcome Emily into our room so she could get her things.

Troian and I had sorted things out after the police had searched the room for more possible drugs. I heard they had found something in Em’s room, but that was it. I wasn’t sureif she would be held accountable for this, considering the overdose, but I hoped not. I knew her actions would have enough consequences, and I hoped she had learned something from everything that happened.

“Do you think Karlee will really replace her?” Troian asked, throwing herself on the couch after arranging the pillows.

“Probably. Not only because it was bad, but Emily really needs to recover.”

“Yeah, you're right... I didn't... I didn't want things to turn out this way.”

“Neither did I, T.” I was being honest, but also realistic.

It was a horrible situation, that was the truth. Still, like any other moment in life, it needed to be faced head on Emily had made a mistake, and I felt bad for her, but every action has its consequences. Not being able to compete would be the least of my friend's concerns.

We both finished everything and Troian even watered her plants. In the end, we still spent an hour waiting for Emily to arrive. And when the blonde walked through the door, with Logan's help, I didn't really know what to think.

She was visibly thinner. Her skin was still returning to its normal tone, and her breathing was slightly more labored than usual. We both tried to smile at her, but it was a little hard to do so after all.

Emily thanked Logan for his help, and the boy left our room with his head down. I thought deep down we all knew this was going to be some kind of end of the road for whatever it was those two were having.

Our roommate sat down on the couch first, leaving room for each of us to sit on either side of her.

“How are you feeling?” Troian asked her.

“Terrible…” Em seemed very sincere and sad. “I wish I could go back in time. I'm so sorry, I let you guys down, I failed the team and I'm sure I'll never be able to make up for what I did. Poor Sidney…” A few tears filled Em's eyes. “She didn't deserve to find me in that deplorable state.”

On this point, we all agreed.

Troian grabbed one of her hands, which still had a micropore where the hospital access point probably was before.

“What are you going to do now?”

The mood wasn't very light, but the question made all our assumptions real, because the answers we got were somewhat sad.

“I'm going back to Florida. My parents are arriving here today, but we're already boarding the next flight, I don't have much time...”

“What did Karlee say?” I dared to ask her.

“That she’s happy I’m okay, but that she’s disappointed about what happened.” I nodded, that was typical of Karlee. She was a coach, but we all knew she was also a very present mother figure in all of our lives. Being away from family often required creating new bonds and having a team like that was special because it made things a little easier. “I feel disappointed for leaving everyone in the lurch with basically three months until the competition. I’m so sorry.”

“Emily, it's okay…” Troian declared. And she was right, this remorse would only cause more pain for all of us.

“But I'm really sorry, and I need you to know that.”

Tears overwhelmed Em and us as well. The situation was too delicate. And saying goodbye to a friend, whether momentarily or forever, was painful. Emily had become part of my routine, and my life I loved how sweet she was when it came to romance and how deeply she immersed herself in her studies. Her commitment to training was equally admirable; it was a shame that everything had to fall apart because of bad choices.