It was Friday night, and Livia, my best friend, was sitting cross-legged on the floor of my room. We were both talking about senseless things, gossiping about our classmates and laughing our heads off for no particular reason, while I was painting my nails and she was braiding my hair. When she suddenly stopped, "Jessie?" she whispered quietly. "Hmm?" I hummed in reply, still focusing on the thin layer of dark red paint, the color of spilled wine, drying on my nails.

"I need to tell you something, but it's bad. Like, really, really bad. You remember that party at Payton's two weeks ago? The one you didn't want to go to?" I turned around to look at her and saw her warm brown eyes filling with tears. I put my hand on her knee and squeezed it softly. "It's okay. What happened?" She opened her mouth to speak but only sobbed. "I saw... I saw Alex," she choked out. Alex. Her good-for-nothing, cheating, lying dirtbag ex. My worry started to intensify.

"What happened?" I wanted to say, but it came out quiet, merely a broken whisper. She understood anyway. "You know what he's like, just so... manipulative." By this point, she was fully crying. "I-I think I'm pregnant." I looked at her, seeing the pain in her eyes. She was so young, still a child herself, only 18. She shouldn't be in this situation. I didn't know how to feel, so I pulled her into a hug. She cried into the fabric of my grey sweater, clinging onto me like I was the oxygen she so desperately needed. The validation that I wouldn't leave.

"Do your parents know?" I asked, stroking her hair reassuringly. She shook her head and sobbed harder, meeting my eyes, I saw her mascara running down her face, mixing with snot and salty tears. Her eyes were red and swollen, and her hair was falling out of her messy bun. "I'm sorry, Jessie," she croaked. I hugged her tightly. "It's not your fault. Don't worry, we'll figure something out. Together. You don't have to do this alone."

"Thank you," she whispered softly, and we stayed like that for a while, crying messes on my bright orange carpet that clashed horribly with my dark purple walls, as if the world was a huge ocean and our friendship was a tiny lifeboat, a little light to cling to forever.