Corbin

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

“I should have died yesterday.” These were the first words out of Corbin’s mouth that morning in the hospital. Crushed, his parent’s finished their visit and left. Corbin scanned the room, his head still spinning slightly because of what he had done and the medication he was on. He ran his tongue across his lips and teeth, tasting dried blood on them. This was most likely from hitting his face when he passed out last night in the kitchen. Shrugging it off and gaining back some clarity, Corbin sat up slowly. This was the first time he noticed he was really alone. His head was no longer in a fog like it was when he expressed his anger toward his mother. Now all that consumed him was guilt, and above that confusion.

Corbin looked down at his stitched up wrist, feeling numb and slightly sick after doing so. The memory of the night before flashed through his mind and he filled the tin bucket set at his bedside. As the nurses came running in to check on him, he blacked out once more.

Corbin spent a week in the hospital, and he had to agree to attend counselling three times a week for the next month or so following. Home was no different, except that he did not have to attend school for a while and could not longer go on runs in the morning. That didn’t matter, he had other ways of dealing with the dreams: painting, meds on a bad night, that sort of thing. Some days Corbin still contemplated dying, but those cases became more and more spread out. He talked with his mother and father every day now. It wasn’t necessarily forgiveness, just a way to kill the guilt of what he had said and done.

Three months later, school began again. Ryan had been suspended and the world had pretty much forgotten about Crazy Corbin and the fight over the summer. Due to missing the last month of school, Corbin was a senior again. Same old routine, with different people. For the first quarter Corbin stayed out of everybody’s way. He had no friends, just went through the motions day in and day out. His depression, though improved, still consumed him. Thing’s would still never all be okay. With this reality, Corbin moved, the walking dead, through life. That is, until he met Jackson Peters, the boy who changed his perspective, and eventually changed his life.