even if he falls.

i'm right here.

*MARK POV*

"Sick job on the recording again, man," Travis says as he lead us out to his driveway.

"Thank you, pleasure recording with you," I said as I got the kids things loaded. "Still super psyched that we got it all done so ahead of schedule."

"Me too, brother," he said as he pulled me into one of those bro-hug things.

We said our final goodbyes and I hopped into the front seat of the black SUV. I started the engine and waved Travis off as I turned around in his gigantic driveway. Travis headed back inside and I let the GPS guide me to the highway. The kids were plugged into the DVD player, watching Rugrats and Rocket Power and Hey Arnold. I put in a Love and Rockets tape and got on the highway.

I hadn't told Tom that I was coming home early. I figured I'd surprise him. The last time I heard from him he was sick with a cold so I hope this makes him feel a bit better.

The traffic was decent. Not too many people out. I seemed to be day dreaming for a good portion of it. Tom hasn't returned my calls and it would be a lie to say it hasn't worried me.

Time seemed to fly by as we made it home in record time. I got the kids unloaded and I headed inside. They were both excited to see him too.

I unlocked the door and looked around. There was no sign of him but his car was still in the driveway.

"Tom," I called out, "Babe we're home!"

Still nothing.

"Guys go play in the living room for a little bit okay? Daddys gotta go check on something real quick."

They nodded and I rushed upstairs. He's probably just sleeping, right? He's sick, sleep is good for sick people. He's fine, he's fine.

I repeated that until I got to our bedroom door. My hands grabbed the doorknob shakily. I closed my eyes, prepping myself for the relief that would be seeing my sleeping husband on the bed, snuggled tight in his blankets.

But that relief never came.

I opened the door and my jaw went slack. I was faced with nothing but an empty unmade bed and shattered glass on the floor.

I jumped on the bed and grabbed at the sheets, pulling them up into my chest as if it was the last thing I had left of him.

As the center of the sheets changed I noticed a piece of paper fall out of the bed. I grabbed it quickly. It gave me hope. I grabbed it gently but quickly like it would fall apart in my hands.

I was faced with Tom's messy scrawl. A small paragraph lay out on front of me. It was even messier and shaker than his usual writing.

He's gone.

I sprinted to the bathroom and was met with a bottle of jack on the floor. I reached behind the toilet and the blade was still stuck to it. I brought it out in front of me. Tape stuck to one side of it. The other was covered in a rusty dry blood.

I threw it in the trash and quickly dialed Anne's number. She picked up on the 2nd ring.

"Anne it's Mark I need you to get over here and watch the kids for a few hours please this is an emergency," I said as I rushed my speech.

"Woah woah, little brother, what's going on?"

"I can't now just please," I said as my voice began to crack.

"I'll be there in 10. Stay safe. Explain to me when you get home. I'm in the car now."

"Thank you I love you."