Chris lends a hand

Chris' POV

My name is Chris and I have seen the repercussions that happened when my friend Portia broke up with her lesbian girlfriend Kaitlyn. The rocker came running back into the dorm with tears running down her face. The first thing the brunette did was grab onto Abbie in desperation. I could almost see my frizzy haired friend wince in pain but she put up a brave front for Kaitlyn's sake. Now that I saw how the breakup hurt the girl that Abbie was comforting, I had to see if I could help Portia. Some people might think that this incident would not effect my redheaded friend since she was the one that caused the breakup, but they would be wrong. Portia is one of the kindest people I know and she would never want to hurt anyone.

I went outside to check on my friend and I was not surprised to see her sitting on the ground and crying her eyes out. I knew that I had to be careful no matter what I did since the auburn hair girl had her arms wrapped around her knees. I very timidly sat down next to her and slowly put my right arm around her shoulders. I am sure that Portia knew that I was there, but she did not want to my acknowledge my presence at first. I just sat there patiently and waited for my poor buddy to show any signs of healing. She eventually stopped crying for a split second which was only long enough to look at me and grab me in a hug. Again I waited patiently as I rubbed her back and let her get the back of my shirt wet. When Portia's tears finally began to slow down, I handed her my white handkerchief so she could blow her nose.

"I assume that you know what happened," Portia grumbled while looking at the ground as if she was afraid to look at me.

"I have had enough women talk to me outside to know what it means," I revealed with a quick chuckle.

"Do you think that I am a bad person?" Portia choked out.

"Of course not!" I insisted. "You are a honest person. If you were a bad person, you would not have asked Kaitlyn to step outside so you could break up in private and you would not be crying about it."

"You are a great friend," Portia let me know while blowing her nose.

"I have something that I need to ask you," I requested while rubbing my depressed friend's back.

"What do you want to know?" Portia squeaked as a single tear ran down her face which caused me to wipe it away with my hand.

"Where were you last night?" I had to know. "Everyone was worried about you when you didn't show up and didn't call."

"You wouldn't understand," Portia sighed.

"Why wouldn't I understand?" I lightly insisted.

"I was with a friend," Portia hedged.

"Why wouldn't I understand you needing to be with a friend?" I probed with a confused look on my face. "Do I know this person?"

"Let's just say that you don't know this girl as much as you used to," my friend hinted.

I am not understanding Portia at all. Why doesn't she just tell me who this friend is? What is the big deal? Maybe Portia was with someone that I wouldn't expect. And what does it mean when she said that I don't know this girl as much as I used to. Could Portia be saying that she was with someone that I used to date? I haven't dated that many girls in college. Actually, I have only dated one girl. Oh, my gosh! A proverbial bolt of lightning just hit me in the head. Portia was with Becca? They aren't friends. There was even an incident at the start of the year where they spilled coffee on each other.

"Are you kidding me?" I blurted out a little more loudly than I intended. "Becca?"

"It's a surprise to me as well," Portia agreed.

"This is one story that I would not mind hearing," I pleaded.

"Well... since you asked so nicely, I'll tell you. It started after the fight that I had with Kaitlyn. I was in some bar to get some time to myself and think about things when Becca sat in the seat next to me. I was expecting one of our usual cat fights, but I did not expect what really happened at all. She started sharing her life story with me since I was the only one around. That was when I learned why she had been so mean in the past. Her parents have ignored her and her sister and treated them like they didn't matter. I think Becca has just been hurting people so they wouldn't hurt her."

"Wow, that is deep, Portia!" I interjected. "You are one smart cookie."

"Thanks. Anyway, she told me that her parents recently got a divorce and she needed someone to talk to. I felt honored that she would choose me of all people to confide in. Now that I know that she is not just an average bully, I must say that I am a little confused. What I do know is I want to be her friend and help her. Once we got through talking, she gave me a lift back to the parking lot. I was going to walk home from there, but Becca wouldn't let me walk home in the dark. I had no idea that she cared so much about me. Not only did she insist that I sleep in the sorority house, but she shared her bed with me since there was nowhere else for me to sleep. I was soon spouting off all of my love problems with Becca. Each confession made me madder. That was when I realized that I had to break up with Kaitlyn which caused me to start crying. Not only did my new friend hold me until I stopped crying, but she gave me this teddy bear. I know that I should have called someone, but I was too messed up to think about it."

"Do you know you remind me of?" I asked with a rueful smile.

"Who?" Portia acknowledged.

"Mary Tyler Moore," I laughed. "Portia, you really can turn the whole world on with your smile, even someone as cold as Becca. That is one of the things that I like most about you. When you decide to date again, you will have all kinds of women knocking down your door. If I did not know that you were into girls, I would make a play for you myself."

"I hope that I have not lost my best friend over this," Portia whined.

"I am sure that you two will make up," I consoled my buddy while patting her back.

"I better go back inside and try to patch things up," Portia decided while getting up and brushing herself off.

I could do nothing but watch Portia walk back inside our dorm with a determined look on her face.