Explosive

39 || Crashing Down

~Shout out to Omaranay for being such an awesome human being. Check them out. They be cool. XD

Waking up the next day, I feel like I'm on a cloud. Sitting up on my bed, I run my fingers across my lips, reliving the memories of last night. Pulling on a cardigan, I float down the stairs.

It's awfully quiet for a Saturday afternoon. The blinds are all closed shut, plunging the room into a heavy darkness. When I tug them open, someone clears their throat behind me.

My aunt is sitting at the bar, a steaming cup of coffee in front of her. There are bags under her eyes. "You came home late last night," she whispers, wrapping her hands around the cup.

A defeated woman is sitting before me, an empty shell of the person she was before. I didn't want to hide this from her.

Sighing, I slide into a chair beside her. "Yeah. I was with Blake." She smiles and nods. Judging by her reaction, she doesn't seem to mind me spending time with Blake.

"He's a good boy. A little rough around the edges but good." She pushes a plate of croissants in my direction. They're a little dry, nothing like what Smith sells but I'm starving. "He has always been there for Josh."

At the mention of his name, her shoulders slouch while her mouth turns into a frown. She's worried about her son who seems to be breaking apart before her. He didn't go to the dance yesterday and was fast asleep when I got home last night.

A part of me feels guilty for not being there for him more. Placing a hand on my aunt's arm, I lean over and try to meet her eyes. "I really think he should speak with someone about all of this," I say.

Instead of protesting, she simply nods. "I tried talking to him last night but he's not listening to me. He claims that I'm on Peter's side." Hearing my uncle's name makes me wince. Ever since the fight, he hadn't stepped foot inside the house. My aunt turns to look at me with bloodshot eyes. "Can you try speaking to him? Please."

Josh confided in me in the past. Perhaps he will open up to me again. "You have to talk to him. He trusts you," she pleads, gripping onto my arms. "My boy is falling apart and I can't seem to do anything about."

"Okay. I promise that I will talk to him," I say, placing my hands on her cheeks. Her striking resemblance to my mom isn't lost on me. Seeing her like this is ripping my heart into shreds.

I give her shoulders a final squeeze before heading up the stairs. The twins are still asleep despite it being past noon. Breathing in, I knock lightly on Josh's door. I really hope he doesn't turn me away.

A couple of minutes pass but he doesn't open the door. "Josh, can you please open up? I wanted to talk to you about something."

No response. I try the doorknob but it's locked. Frowning, I step back and consider my options.

Last week, the twins managed to lock themselves in their rooms. My aunt tugged a set of keys out from a vase in the hallway and easily opened the door.

As expected, there are four sets of keys in the vase. I grab them and realize that one of them has a basketball sticker on it. Without giving it a second thought, I put the key into the knob and push the door open. It might be an invasion of privacy but Josh isn't a light sleeper.

Something doesn't feel right.

I call out into the darkened room. The humidity hits me immediately, along with the smell of vomit. My hands shake as I reach out for the light switch.

Sprawled across the floor is my cousin, wearing nothing but a pair of basketball shorts. He's lying flat on his stomach with his arms spread out. "Josh!" I yell, rushing to his side. "Josh, can you hear me?" I say, tapping his shoulder.

My gut twists when I realize how cold he is. When I bring my fingers to his neck, I feel his faint heartbeat. Breathing a sigh of relief, I shout for my aunt. "Aunt Jane. I need your help!"

She's beside me in seconds, her wide eyes taking in the awful sight before her. She was probably hanging out at the top of the stairs, waiting for me to talk to her son. We work together to put Josh in the recovery position. Then, we call an ambulance.

Just like that, I come crashing down.

***

My aunt is a wreck. Tears run down her cheeks as her body shakes. After multiple attempts at trying to console her, I had taken to pacing across the length of the hallway.

Drug overdose. That's what the doctors told us. They found multiple substances in his blood.

A heavy feeling has settled in my chest since they told us that. I knew about Josh messing around with weed and ecstasy. But they found things in his system that I didn't even know he had access to.

"Audrey," someone mumbles behind me. Blake and the others are standing there with pale faces and tears in their eyes.

In an instant, Blake has his arms wrapped around me. "It will be okay," he whispers into my hair. Something tells me that he's trying to convince himself of that more than me. We rock back and forth as Cynthia sits down beside my aunt.

"We should have talked to him before." Tears that I had been holding spill from my eyes. I couldn't hide from Blake. "If we had said something to him, he would be okay right now."

"It's not your fault, sweetheart. Everything will be okay, I promise," he says, kissing my forehead before looking at me. His eyes are bloodshot. "Josh's an ass but he's also the strongest person I know. He will get through this."

|| Author's Note ||

This was a heavy chapter. If you or someone you know is currently experiencing thoughts about suicide, please don't hesitate to reach out to someone.

Stay strong and beautiful.