Outer Space

Chapter 14 - Save Me

   She was waiting for darkness to consume her. She was waiting for the pain to subside and eventually go away altogether. She was waiting to be set free and escape the world that she felt so trapped in. It was quiet, so quiet. In Jemma's life, nothing was ever quiet. People were always moving and making noise in the process, she would dream of being able to just relax in the quiet.

   Though, the only time she got to experience such a rarity was when she would come here, to the old abandoned train station, and sat with Maddox for hours on end. Sometimes they would talk, but most of the time the two of them would just sit together in silence and relax. They would go to the train station for a mini escape, but this time Jemma came alone. And she isn't just looking for a mini escape, she's looking for a permanent one.

   Things had never felt so still in her life before. It felt good. But as she was waiting for the darkness to consume her she started thinking, that dreadful part of her brain took over and spread memories all around her mind. This time, however, the memories weren't the bad ones.

   Jemma started thinking about Emmie. The naive and innocent girl that always seemed to have a smile permanently plastered on her face. The girl that was constantly in her own little bubble away from all the bad. The girl that had been her best friend for more than two years. The girl that she knew everything about, but the girl that never really knew anything about her.

   Jemma started thinking about Charlie. The person that was there for her through every hardship since they had met. The person who would literally do anything for her. The person who would get drunk with her even though she had work the next day. The person who would hold her when she cried no matter what it was about. The person that would force her to be a normal teenage girl because that's what she deserved to be.

   Jemma began to think about Hannah and even Zach. Hannah had been the one who helped her through countless rough patches. She was the one foster parent that actually seemed to like her. The one foster parent that felt like a real parent to her. And even after no contact for over a year, she was still there to help her. Then there was Zach, who had never even met her before but didn't think twice before stepping up to help her too.

   Jemma couldn't help think about her mother. The women that would always try to protect her. She remembered the countless nights that her father was nowhere to be found and her mother was sobbing herself to sleep in an empty bed. She remembered always trying to help her mother, to make her laugh or smile. She remembered never being successful. She remembered finding her mother on the bathroom floor with a slit cut into each wrist, drenched in blood. She remembered the pain that her mother left behind.

   Maddox was that last name that rang around her head. The boy that loved her when no one else would. The boy that she loved when she was incapable of loving even herself. The boy that grounded her. The boy that saved her too many times to count. The boy that she sobbed over the same way her mother sobbed over her father. She still loved him, she had never stopped missing him.

   It was too late. With her back laying on the pillows that were placed on the ground, her vision began to go dark. She looked up at the lights. The twinkly lights, that she never forgot about. She couldn't do this; she couldn't leave yet. It was too late.

   "Jemma!!" She heard his voice scream before everything disappeared.

..........

   "17-year-old female, Jemma Willis. Voluntary overdose." The EMT said as Jemma was rolled into the hospital.

   Her eyes were open but she looked dazed like she wasn't able to focus on anything. It looked like she wasn't even there. "Narcan was administered but she hasn't responded to anything yet." The EMT continued to talk to the doctors as they rolled her along.

   "Jemma, hey look at me Jem. I'm here, okay, and I'm never leaving you again. I promise okay. I love you. I love you so much Jemma. I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Maddox. He called 911. He rode with her in the ambulance. And he hasn't let go of her hand since he found her surrounded by pills and an empty bottle. Though, Jemma didn't look at him; she didn't react when he squeezed her hand; she looked like she was gone, but she wasn't, not yet.

   "Kid, you can't go back there, you have to stay here." One of the doctors said pushing Maddox's chest causing him to lose his grip on Jemma's hand. He watched as the rest of the doctors continued to roll Jemma past the doors, wishing he could follow. Wishing he could just go back in time and stop all of this from happening, stop himself from ever leaving.

   "Damn it!" He screamed as he aimed his fist at the wall. As his fist connected with the wall he had no time to regret his decision to punch something before the pain took over. He deserved it though, this was his fault. Jemma was here because he could only think of himself.

   "Hey!" He heard that same doctor scream at him. "You're not the only one here, you know." Maddox didn't care about the eyes that were focused on him and his breakdown. He caused this, he could have helped. If he had never left her in the first place, he could have been there to help. The doctor, who noticed that he was about to punch the wall for a second time, grabbed his arm and seemed to pull him somewhere.

   Maddox was way too distracted to notice where he was being led off to and only did he notice when he was forced to sit down on what seemed to be a bed. He looked around at his surroundings, noticing that he was in an exam room.

   "Let me see your hand." The doctor said. Maddox didn't even know the guy's name and he certainly didn't want the guy's help.

   "I'm good." He responded. He was pretty sure that there were tears streaming down his face, but nowadays every time he thought about Jemma that happened. He had grown used to the constant wetness on his face.

   He had gone to the train station because he thought it was the one place that would give him comfort. He thought it was the one place that he would be able to remember that happy times instead of constantly remembering all the pain he caused, not only to Jemma but also himself. But what he got when he arrived was nothing that he expected.

   Jemma was laying down on the pillows like they used to do together. Except, this time he saw an empty pill bottle next to her and a few pills spilled on the ground. When he called her name, instead of getting a startled and angry response he watched the light go out of her eyes and her face turn impossibly pale. Now she was in the hospital and he had no idea if she was still alive. He didn't even know if she wanted to be alive.

...........

I hope you enjoyed. More to come in the next chapter!

What do you think is going to happen to Jemma? How is Maddox going to react?

    -Claire