Chapter 3
Taissa couldn’t sleep. She couldn’t do anything. She had spent every minute since the argument thinking about Van, and it had been two days.
She wondered why Van would do that, why she would ever put herself in so much danger for a stupid dare.
Tai sighed, shaking away the thought of Van. She turned on her TV, letting the background noise of ‘The Fresh Price of Bel-air’ fill up the room.
She zoned out on the TV, her mind immediately back on Van, she knew Van went through things she didn’t understand, but this was worse than ever.
When the phone in the corner of her room rang, Tai sprung out of bed faster than ever, scurrying to the phone on instinct that it may be Van.
“Hello?” Tai urged, but was met with a muffled silence. She could hear some kind of scuffle in the background until “Hmphmhaha” A muffled giggle came close to the receiver.
Tai paused “…Van?”
“Howr did youv know?” Van laughed, slurring her sentence
“Are you drunk?” Tai mentally berated herself for the question, already knowing the answer.
“Maybeee” Van sang, “No- I wan talk to my girlfriend-“ “Stop it Van- Ow- You dumbass-“ Tai heard Nat’s distant voice attempting to take the phone.
Tai sighed in relief, knowing she wasn’t alone “Is Nat there?”
Van didn’t say anything, the phone just made a loud THUD noise, right against Nat’s face. “Jesus- Hey Tai, she just showed up on my door.”
“Is she.. Okay?” Tai held her breath. “She’s safe, she’s just.. So fucked up. I don’t know how she made it here.” Nat scoffed, mixed with concern and a sense of pride over Van’s drunken abilities.
“I’m coming over.” Tai said definitively. Nat winced “I don’t know Tai.. It might be too soon. She’s gone back and forth between sobbing about you and laughing about nothing.”
“God..” Tai facepalmed, “I just.. Can you put her back on?”
“Yeah of course.” Nat passed the phone back to Van, mouthing ‘Don’t be an idiot’ to them.
“Tai~” Van sang
“Van, how do you feel?” Tai’s brow furrowed, but she felt a bit lighter just hearing Vans voice.
“Really good. Really.. gone.” Van trailed off into laughter.
“Is gone good?” Tai spoke quietly, trying to be as gentle as possible.
“Gone is deeeeefinetly better than here” Van spoke without any thoughts, letting the truth come out like a waterfall.
Tai decided to take advantage of the opportunity “Yeah? Why is here so bad?”
”Mmm” Van hummed in thought “I donknow I just want to be somewhhere else”
“Where do you want to be?” Tai frowned, wondering if she wasn’t enough for Van.
“Asleep. Gone. Dead-“ Tai cut Van’s list off as she gasped, unable to conceal her gut wrenching shock.
“Van- You don’t-“ Tai took a deep breath, “Van, do you mean it?”
Van got quiet for a moment.
“Van, do you wanna die?”
A sniffle came over the phone, and a quiet, timid voice that sounded nothing like the headstrong Van that usually gave Tai shit spoke in a near whisper, “Yes”
Tai felt hot streams of tears rolling down her face “I’m coming over Van.”
Tai took her moms car, not caring if she got in trouble. Besides, she knew she wouldn’t. She would have a bullshit story made up by the time her mom realized, if she noticed at all.
“Hey Tai, sorry it’s a mess-” At Nat’s house, it was obvious nobody had been home other than Nat for a bit. The kitchen was sparse and the ash marks all over the walls and general cleanliness of the house was definitely concerning in its own right. But Tai looked past all of this as she walked through the front door, she just beelined for Van.
Van, lying in a pool of sweat and tears, was on Natalie’s bedroom floor. Tai got on the floor beside her “Van- V come on baby-”
Van sloppily pushed Tai’s face away, barely touching her. “Don call me baby..” she started laughing “you broke up with me, ‘member?”
”Van I.. We can talk about it tomorrow. Just come with me please.” Tai begged, her eyes welling with tears.
Nat knelt beside Van “You should go with her Van. My mom will be back tomorrow and it won’t be good.”
Tai looked to Nat briefly, seeing her eyes just as glazed over as Van’s, sharing a certain emptiness. She made a note to herself to talk to Nat once she got Van out of this hole.
Van tried to sit up, and immediately toppled sideways “Fuck-” Tai stifled a slight laugh and slipped her arms underneath Van, lifting her up in a princess carry. “Hmm oh no~” Van feigned wining in Tai’s arms but didn’t physically protest.
“Jeez Tai-” Nat stood back. “This isn’t the first time I’m carrying his drunkass.” Tai rolled her eyes, and headed for the car.
She mouthed a thank you to Nat and buckled a sleepily-placid Van into the passenger seat. Nat waved goodbye and disappeared into that empty house.
On the way home Van mostly mumbled, coming in and out of sleep, but one particularly large bump in the road shook her awake. “Are you.. still like.. mad atme”
Tai sighed, “Van I just don’t want you to die.”
“Donworry I can’t” Van smiled as if it was all the funniest joke between them
Tai laughed sorely, keeping her eyes on the road “You can’t die?”
“I tried b’fore- I’m invisible or somethin-“ Van laughed to themself, looking out the window, until the car jerked a bit and they banged their head against the glass with a SMACK.
”Fuck- sorry Van that just- jesus.” Tai corrected the wheel, having been shook into a near crash from Van’s honesty.
Van threw his head back on the seat, looking at the car roof, then closing his eyes “I love you Tai.. If I wannabe here or not it’s not like.. its not you.. promise”
”I just want you here Van.” Tai tensed, holding back her tears.