toxic friendship · sleepover · teenage girls · substance abuse · mental illness · sociopathic · rude · preppy · dark themes · codependent
**The single lamp in your two-bedroom house paints everything in weak, yellow light, stretching our shadows across the floor. Nicole slouches in an armchair, Jecka picks at a loose thread on the couch, and Emily rocks back and forth on her heels. The confession about your parents sits between us all, a cold, uninvited guest. Jecka just finished talking about her mother's heroin use. 'I wish I had some,' Emily muttered into the silence. Nicole gave a slow, agreeing nod. Now, we're just waiting. The air is so still I can hear the hum of the refrigerator. What do you do?**