Fragile Hearts

“Kasey!”

Kasey jolts straight up from her bed, hearing Tess’s shrill shriek echoing throughout the tiny apartment. Kasey’s stomach immediately drops, not having heard that tone since Tess’s fiancé left her.

So she literally stumbles from her bed, racing into her friend’s own bedroom.

“Wha-? What is it?” She asks, still slightly disorientated.

“Phone,” Tess shoves the device into Kasey’s face.

For a second, Kasey is pissed. “Seriously? I thought you were dying or something.”

Tess shrugs; curling back into the bed once the phone has been handed off.

Kasey huffs in annoyance, but every negative emotion washes away when she hears the voice on the other end of the phone.

“Kasey Ferris?”

“Michelle?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry for calling this late but it’s urgent. Brian- Brian isn’t feeling well right now and I was hoping you could just check on him in the morning?”

Kasey rubs her eyes, suddenly awake. “Yeah, sure. Is he okay?”

“Fine, I think. Just a bit much to drink.” Michelle continues to relay Brian’s address when Kasey has retrieved a pen and paper.

Kasey can tell there is something else by the way Michelle’s voice wavers, but she doesn’t push.

“Yeah, of course. I’ll be there in the morning.”

“Thanks so much, Kase.”

“No problem.”

The girls hang up, and Kasey looks up to see Tess peeking with one eye at her over the covers.

“What was so important to call at three in the morning?” Kasey’s friend grumbles.

“It’s Brian.”

Tess shifts. “Is it bad? Is he hurt?”

Kasey bites down on her bottom lip. “I don’t know. I’m going over in the morning.”

Despite how tired she was when Tess woke her up, Kasey knows she won’t be able to get back to bed now.

With all the excitement, Tex gets up, yawning and stretching before jumping over Tess to greet Kasey with a big meow.

“I’m making coffee,” Kasey says offhandedly as she lets Tex lead her out of the room.

“What?” Tess grumbles again. “Kase, it’s three in the morning. Three. Go back to bed.”

Kasey makes the coffee, plays with Tex, grabs the directions to Brian’s house and calls to change her shift at work so she can check on Brian before Tess shuffles groggily into the kitchen.

Naturally, the first few words out of her mouth are: “I hate you, Kase.”

“What?”

“You know the smell of coffee wakes me up. And this apartment has thin walls.”

Kasey shrugs. “I’m sorry?”

Tess glares. “No you’re not. And don’t even give me that bullshit by saying I’d be up at four anyway. Today’s my day off.”

Kasey looks over at the pin-up calendar on the fridge, calculating the days. It’s Wednesday. “So it is,” she agrees.

“I’m taking the last of your Cheerios then.” Tess rolls her eyes, moving to the cabinets.

Four more hours pass by slowly, since Kasey won’t allow herself to be at Brian’s any earlier than eight without it being a bit ridiculous.

She can feel her friend’s eyes on her as she grabs the car keys.

“I guess you’re taking the car?”

“Only for a bit, Tess. Promise.” And Kasey is out the door, car keys and address in hand.

It was a shame the two girls had to share Tess’s almost-clunker, but Kasey wasn’t ready to make such a big purchase for herself.

A little under a half hour passes when Kasey finally manages to find Brian’s house. After knocking a few times with no answer, she finds that the door is unlocked.

Kasey gulps, feeling extremely creepy and stalker-ish as she makes the decision to go inside unannounced.

“Brian?”

Again, no answer as Kasey catches the remains of a phone in her peripheral vision. She frowns, walking over to pick it up. With the open floor plan, she finally spots Brian, slumped against the counter in a drunken sleep.

The kitchen is a mess, and she cleans up the broken glass and phone parts before making her way over to Brian.

She leans down, moving a strand of dark hair away from his face. “Brian?”

He groans out in pain before opening his eyes slowly to meet hers.

“Kasey?” He croaks. “What’re you doin’ here?”

Kasey tips her head, tucking a strand of her own dark hair away. “Michelle called me last night. Or early this morning I should say. Said you needed some observation. She was right.”

Brian groans again, trying to get up. “I’m so sorry. Shit, I shouldn’t have-”

Kasey places a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, it’s fine. I already cleaned up. Go take a shower or something and I’ll cook some breakfast. It’ll make you feel better.”

“I don’t deserve you.”

“I’m not yours,” Kasey says, trying to hide the bittersweet smile as Brian gets up, stumbling away to what Kasey could presume is the bathroom.

A meager scrambled eggs and bacon waits Brian when he’s finished showering.

“Thanks,” he mutters. “You really didn’t have to.”

“You make it kind of hard not to when you’re half passed out on the floor and vulnerable,” Kasey jokes, handing him his plate.

“Yeah, I guess,” Brian agrees half-heartedly, digging in.

“I would have made something more hangover appropriate,” Kasey confesses, watching his expression carefully to gage whether he likes her cooking or not. Even though she tells herself that it’s sort of hard to mess up eggs and bacon. “But the fridge was pretty empty.”

“This is perfect, don’t worry about it.”

“It’s only scrambled eggs and bacon,” Kasey giggles.

“Yeah, well, you’re telling this to a guy that can’t really cook anything but toast.”

“Okay, what was the hardest thing you’ve ever made?” Kasey challenges playfully.

“Soufflés,” Brian replies with a smirk, earning an approving nod. “But it went horribly wrong. Apparently, you don’t add eggs.”

Kasey laughs out loud. “No, soufflés don’t call for eggs.”

The rest of their breakfast is eaten in silence, and before she knows it, Kasey is checking the time.

“Well, I should get going,” she says, putting her plate in the sink. Time always flew when she was around Brian. “I need to get to work soon and-“

“I could drive,” Brian is quick to offer. “I mean, you’ve already done too much shit for me as it is, it’s the least I can do.”

“But I have to take Tess’s car back to the apartment.”

“I can do that after I drop you off. I’m sure she won’t mind.”

Kasey bites her lip. Tess wouldn’t, not after finding out it was Brian when he came to the door. She would probably prefer Brian to Kasey.

“Fine,” Kasey sighs, relinquishing the keys.

“Thanks, and- I was talking to Jimmy yesterday, do you think we could display our affections publicly a bit more?”

“Of course,” Kasey laughs. “As long as it doesn’t lead anywhere,” she says even though she finds herself disagreeing a bit.

Brian offers another relieved smile. “Thanks again. Seriously. You’re too good to me.”

I know, Kasey thinks to herself with a frown as she follows him outside the house. I know…