yellow - grayson dolan | © 2018

Thirty-Seven

Ethan's POV

I stayed up all night watching the one star that twinkled.

Claire.

The thought of her wasn't easy.

I didn't even get to say goodbye.

I couldn't take the pain of missing her everyday anymore.

It was about twelve a.m. and I got onto my phone. I went to my texts and put Lauren and Noah into a group chat.

I wrote out a message into the box and sent it.

Ethan: I love you two so much, but I miss her too much and I can't take the pain anymore. You two know you mean the world to me no matter what, and I'll always watch over you guys with joy. Goodbye.

I then went into my medicine cabinet and got my bottle of anxiety meds.

I went into the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror.

Deep eye bags, sweats, dark, almost black, eyes.

I twisted the cap off the bottle and poured out a handful of pills.

Lauren's POV

"What the fuck, Grayson?" My eyes grew wider as I reread the message in the car. After we got the message from Ethan, we rushed into the car and dropped the kids off at the neighbors and called an ambulance to his apartment.

"Could it be Nicole?" He asked. I didn't tell him the conversation Ethan and I had the other day.

"I need to tell you something Grayson." I looked into my lap.

"What?" He grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

"Remember the other day, when I met E at the park?"

"Yeah."

"Well he was telling me about how he missed Claire and told me that's why he broke up with Nicole." I got quiet.

"Why didn't he tell me?" He sounded angry.

"He just wanted someone who understood what it's like to lose someone you love, I guess."

"God dammit." He gripped the steering wheel tighter. I felt my eyes stinging and I looked out the window.

Please God, if you're there, do not let Ethan have done anything to himself.

When we got to E's apartment complex, we saw the ambulance outside, wheeling someone into the ambulance.

Ethan.

I began sobbing and I jumped out of the car when Grayson slammed on the brakes. I immediately sprinted up to the EMTs.

"Is he okay?" I sobbed.

"Ma'am, I'm afraid that he did overdose but he's only unconscious, not dead." I felt a tiny bit of relief but I was torn up.

***