Ø9

house was empty when she came home.

She automatically moved to the living room, throwing her bag in a random direction. She stood in the middle of the room, struggling to control her breathing.

She and Alex weren't a thing anymore. Were they ever really a thing?

Of course they were! There was no way it was one sided! The way he acted towards her, the way he treated her...and last night, the way he held her? Like the world would swallow her whole and he just wanted to keep her with him. But he had just told her she was wrong, that she had no idea how he felt.

The tears that had been building up all night finally fell. Her quiet sobs soon turned loud and hard to handle, her entire body shaking. She felt herself curl into her self, bending over to hug her stomach.

Alex was gone. She left him, and she didn't think she could do this without him. He made the bad go away and made her truly only notice the good. She always tried to be bright and positive, opting to see the good in everyone. But with Alex? She truly never saw the bad.

But Alex hurt her, and refused to admit that he felt actually real feelings about her! Made her feel as though, the entire time, she was just another girl he wanted to chase around and then throw away once he got what he wanted.

Eleanora couldn't register the door opening and closing, and she definitely didn't register George and Meredith's panicked and concerned voices.

She only noticed them when she felt someone try to lead her to the couch. She let out a small scream at their touch, shaking her head as her sobs continued. Finally, strong arms lifted her up and carried her to the couch.

Once there, she turned towards the back of the couch, pulling her knees into her chest. Both of her friends sat near her, Meredith in front of her, sitting on the couch and George on the floor beside it.

They tried everything they could to calm her down, to make some sense of what was going on. None of it seemed to worked. They had to wait it out, let her cry herself out of tears and force the static away by herself.

When she formed some control, she looked at her friends. Her voice was broken, causing Meredith to grip her hand even harder and George to flinch. He didn't like hearing his best friend like that, and he had only just now heard it. He soon coined it as one of the worst things he could ever hear or experience.

"Alex...Alex was sleeping with her while we were..." she trailed off, sniffling.

"Together?" Meredith finished.

Eleanora shook her head. "We weren't together. Not exclusively, he made that very clear. But he was sleeping with her while he was trying to sleep with me. A-and he said..."

"What'd he say?" George asked, his voice harsh. Eleanora tore her gaze from Meredith to look at George. She let out another small sob, squeezing her eyes shut.

"He said that I was wrong about how he felt, and that he didn't do relationships. He all but said I was just some random girl he slept with!"

George got up on his knees and pulled her into him, letting her cry into his shoulder. He shushed her, squeezing her tightly.

Meredith cleared her throat, standing up. She, herself, looked tired and heartbroken, which she was. George knew that, and gave her a slightly apologetic look.

"Don't look at me like that." Meredith stated. "She needs to be held and coddled more than me. I just need alcohol, which I will now be getting."

Eleanora sniffled, not moving from George's shoulder. "Why does Meredith need alcohol?"

"Meredith's boyfriend has a wife, who is now here. In Seattle." Meredith answered, feeling her own heart break a bit more.

Eleanora turned her body and head to look at Meredith, her eyes wide. "Oh my god."

"Yeah," Meredith replied, nodding her head. "Oh my god."

George stood up slightly to settle on the couch, Eleanora moving with him to grip onto his arm. Softer, more silent sobs racked through her, mostly just aftershocks. Meredith quickly made her way to the kitchen, undoubtedly heading straight for the cupboard where they kept the tequila.

"Let's all drink some tonight, yeah? You two definitely deserve it, and I'll definitely need it." George said softly to Eleanora, laying his head on hers.

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