"Eliah?"

Eliah jumped. She was startled by the voice. It was coming from her phone.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hi," her boyfriend said. "How are you doing?"

"Fine," she answered. "Great, actually."

"Good," he said. "I'm glad to hear that."

"I'm sorry if I worried you last night," she said. "I drank too much."

"Don't worry about it," he replied. "You're allowed to have fun every now and then."

"I know," she said. "It's just that I never drink that much."

"It's okay," he said. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Thanks," Eliah said.

"Anyway, I was wondering if you could pick me up today," he said. "We're going to a concert."

"Okay," she said. "I'll be there in a minute."

"Thank you," he replied. "See you soon."

Eliah hung up. She sat down on her bed and stared at the wall. She was nervous. She was scared.

She took a deep breath. Then she picked up her phone and called her best friend.

"Hey, Anne," she said. "Do you have a few minutes?"

"Sure," Anne replied. "What's wrong?"

"Can you come over?" Eliah asked. "I need your help."

"Where are you?" Anne asked. "Is everything okay?"

"I'm at my house," Eliah explained. "And I'm really upset."

"Okay," Anne said. "I'll be right there."

Anne arrived within twenty minutes. When she saw how pale Eliah was, she knew something was terribly wrong.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"No," Eliah confessed. "I'm not. I think I'm dying."

"What do you mean?" Anne asked. "Did you take too many pills again? Ugh, you drank so much, you can't do this to yourself, Eliah please."

"I don't know what to do," she sobbed. "I feel so sick. My stomach hurts so badly. I feel like I might throw up any second."

"Okay, calm down," Anne said. "We'll get you to the hospital."

"No!" Eliah exclaimed. "No, I don't want to go to the hospital. I don't want to see anyone. Not even you."

"You have to trust me," Anne insisted. "You need medical attention."

"I don't care," Eliah snapped. "Nothing matters anymore. Nothing makes sense. Everything is meaningless. What's the point of living when everyone hates me?"

"Calm down, honey," Anne said. "You're scaring me."

"You should be scared," she whispered. "Because I'm about to kill myself."

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"No, you aren't," Anne said. "Look, I'll drive you to the hospital. You can explain things to them. Maybe they can help."

"I don't want to go," Eliah said. "I don't want to see anybody. I don't want to talk to anyone. I don't want to live another day. I don't want to exist."

"I know it's hard," her friend said. "But you have to try. Please. For me."

"For you?" she asked. "Why would you care? Why do you care about me?"

"Because I love you," she said. "You're my best friend. I can't imagine life without you."

"That's a lie," Eliah said. "That's not true. You don't love me. You only pretend to love me. You don't really love me. You only like me because I'm so useless. That's why you keep me around. Because I make you look good. You use me as an accessory."

"I don't want you to die, Eliah," she said. "Please. Don't hurt yourself."

Anne walked to Eliah and hugged her tightly.

"It's okay," she said. "Everything will be okay. We'll figure this out together. Okay?"

"No," Eliah said. "It won't. It can't."

She began crying again.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean that. I was just angry. I was upset. Please, don't hate me Anne. Please."

"You're not going to die," Anne promised. "I promise you that. Now, let's get you to the hospital before you pass out or vomit everywhere."

Eliah deliberated over her words and said nothing. She stared at her friend. She was confused. She was frightened. She wanted to believe her. But she wasn't sure.

"Let's go," she said finally. "I'll go with you. Thank you Anne, you are such a great friend. I love you."

"Okay," Anne said. "Okay."

"You know, I'm meeting someone today," Eliah said. "My boyfriend *****. He's always so sweet and kind. He takes care of me. He loves me. We are going to the concert together. Will he be mad if I'm late? Is he going to be angry?"

"... No, he wouldn't be angry," Anne assured her. "I'm sure he won't mind."

"Thanks," she sighed. "Thank you so much."

"No problem," her friend said. "I'll drive you to the hospital. And then we'll go to the concert together in a few days. Okay?"

"Okay," Eliah agreed. "Thanks."

Anne helped her dress and combed her hair. She led Eliah to the car. They drove to the hospital in silence.

***