This Is Not the End

Max’s POV

Six weeks had passed since the funeral and Elise seemed to be falling apart. She started becoming reckless and I was starting to get worried. She started drinking, and hanging out with a girl named Ava. I had met her a few times, and I didn’t like her at all. She was an addict and was very obnoxious. But Elise loved her and treated her like a sister. They were inseparable. They went out every night to parties and they would come back in the early hours of the morning. And each time, Elise was plastered.

I was sitting in Elise’s living room, waiting for her to come back home from another party. Chip was whining at the door, obviously feeling as anxious as I did. It was six in the morning. She and Ava left at nine. Elise wasn’t answering my calls either.

Suddenly, the door swung open and I saw Ava’s tattooed leg stepping through the door, followed by a highly intoxicated Elise. They were giggling obnoxiously and holding each other as though they were going to fall apart if they let go. Elise spotted me sitting on the couch and she laughed even louder.

“Max, hey Max, guess what?” she slurred.

“What?” I said, rolling my eyes.

“I got a tattoo!” She said laughing loudly, Ava joined her.

“Yeah, it’s so cute! Show him! Show him!” Ava said, stumbling backwards from Elise and falling into the wall. She hit the floor laughing. “Oopsie…” she giggled.

I stood up, feeling my temper rise. “You got a tattoo?”

“Yeah!” Elise said, stumbling toward me. “Look, see?” She lifted up her shirt, revealing a medium sized red heart on her left hip. There were stars and smaller hearts around it, going up her side, and vanishing around her back. It wasn’t poorly done, to my surprise. The ink was old and the skin looked like it had healed.

“Do you like it?” Elise asked.

“Were you drunk when you had this done?” I asked.

Elise swayed on the spotted and giggled. “Nooo that would be bad, I was buzzed.” She clamped her hand over her mouth and snickered. I looked in her eyes. They were glassy and bloodshot. She was high on something.

“What did you take?” I demanded.

“I didn’t take anything! I’m just drunk… that’s all. Right Ava?” Elise slurred.

“Drunk as a skunk,” Ava giggled, still on the floor against the wall.

“Bullshit, you’re high. I’ll talk to you in the morning about it. Right now, it’s time for Ava to go.” I said, placing my arm around Elise to steady her.

“Ava…no going. She’s staying here!” Elise slurred, her head lolling back.

“Fine, fine. But she’s leaving first thing when you wake up.” I said, picking her up. I carried her to her room and put her on the bed. I took off her shoes, necklace, earrings, bracelets, and rings and tucked her in. I went back into the living room and walked over to Ava. I picked her up and tossed her on the bed in the guest room. I didn’t take the time to take her shoes and other things off; I just turned out the light and went back to the living room.

I took out my cell phone and called Ronnie.

“What?” he said when he picked up.

“I need to talk to Jacky, and I don’t have his number.” I said.

“Dude, it’s fucking seven in the morning!” Ronnie exclaimed.

“I know, but it’s about Elise. I’m worried about her. She’s been partying a lot, and now I think she’s on drugs.” I explained calmly.

“Oh shit. And what would Jacky have to do with it? He hasn’t spoken to her since the funeral. And he’s been getting worried himself.” he said.

“What do you mean ‘since the funeral’? I told him to stay away from her.” I told him.

“He called her after it was over, then he took her out for a drink. He told me that she met some girl named Ava, and hasn’t heard from her since the morning after when he left the apartment.” Ronnie told me.

“You mean he’s the reason she met this girl? She’s a nightmare! I don’t like her.” I said angrily.

“Jacky didn’t do anything wrong. He was there with her that night, because she wanted him to. And the Ava thing, that was all on Elise, bro, so don’t blame Jacky.” he said.

“I’m just really worried. She came home a while ago completely hammered and possibly high on something.” I said as I lit a cigarette.

“How was she acting?” Ronnie asked.

“Ditsy, like everything was funny. Her friend fell into the wall and hit her head, and she laughed.” I said.

“It was probably just weed. If you start seeing track marks on her forearms, then you need to get alarmed.” He said.

“You don’t understand, Ronnie. This isn’t like Elise. She would never stumble home drunk at six a.m. Nor would she get a tattoo while fucked up.” I said.

“Just watch out for her. Why don’t you get someone to follow her the next time she goes out? See where she’s going, what she’s doing.” Ronnie suggested.

I blew smoke into the air. “I should do that one day. I just don’t want her to think I’m trying to stop her from living her life.” I said.

“And you don’t think that keeping Jacky away from her is doing just that?”

“That’s different.” I sighed.

“Whatever bro. They’re going to see each other, despite what you say.” Ronnie said.

“I should get some sleep. Thanks for the advice, man.” I said.

“Alright, bye.” Ronnie hung up. I set my phone on the table and put out my cigarette. I didn’t know what to do. Elise was falling apart at the seams. I lay down on the couch and closed my eyes.

A loud banging noise jolted me awake. I hadn’t realized that I had fallen asleep in the first place. I sat up and went to Elise’s room. I knocked.

“Ellie, are you okay?” I called. The door flew open and Elise stumbled out, looking like a hot mess.

“I’m fine. Fucking keep your voice down, will ya?” She mumbled, walking down the hall. I followed her into the living room. I watched her take a cigarette out of my pack and light it. I leaned over, and snatched them away from her.

“Where are yours?” I asked her.

“I don’t know… I lost them.” She said, inhaling smoke and blowing it back into the air. She leaned forward, gripping the side of her head.

“That’s what you get for staying out all night drinking with that lousy excuse of a friend.” I smirked.

“Ava is a good person! She helped me after mom’s funeral. She’s the best friend I ever had.” Elise said.

“What happened to Jacky? Did you forget about him?” I asked her.

Elise took another hit off her cigarette. “You don’t want me near him.” She said.

“That doesn’t mean you haven’t been seeing him still. He’s worried about you.” I said.

“Why? I’m not doing anything bad. I’m just going out and enjoying myself.” She said, blowing smoke into the air. “What’s the big issue?”

“The issue is that you’re eighteen! And right now, you’re throwing your life away!” I said frantically, throwing my hands up in the air.

“Fuck off, you act like you didn’t party when you were my age.” She said, snuffing out her cigarette. She had me there. I was exactly the way she was at that age. She just didn’t understand, though. I cared about her, and I didn’t want to see her fall down this path.

“Elise, listen to me. You need to be careful!” I said, sitting down beside her and taking her hands.

Elise threw my hands away from her and stood up. “Just fuck off, Max! I don’t need you breathing down my neck about things that just aren’t your business. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Ava and I are going to the tattoo shop to get new ink work done.” She said as she walked to the back room to get her friend.

I sighed as I watched Elise leave the house with Ava. This girl was going to be the death of me.