When I woke up the next morning Kyle was gone. The only thing left was a bloody stain on the carpet. Laughing to myself about last night I got dressed. Harriet was eating Cheerios down in the kitchen.
"Did you have a bad dream"
"What"
She looked like I was the stupidest human being ever.
"I heard screaming coming from your room"
"Oh yeah, I had a dream where I was being tortured"
"Well you better not watch any movies on Halloween"
"What?"
"Halloween's in two days"
"Wow, I totally forgot"
The bus pulled up, so I didn't have time to chat. Kyle wasn't on the bus, he must've taken a day off or his Dad saw the nose. Kyle's Dad was really strict, like military strict. Kyle always came to my house because his Dad scared the bejeeburs out of the both of us. I opened up my phone and saw that slaughterhousenineandthreequarters was online.
Lakeessuck: hi
slaughterhousenineandthreequarters: Wua
Lakerssuck: my yesterday was crazy what about you.
slaughterhousenineandthreequarters: I bought Never Let Me Go.
Lakerssuck: wow, my story will never compare to yours
slaughterhousenineandthreequarters: ha ha, your soooo funny.
Lakerssuck: sarcasm really doesn't work on IMs
slaughterhousenineandthreequarters: what's your story
Lakerssuck: So Kyle had two girlfriends in 1 day. He choked you and the other PIERCED HIS NOISE
slaughterhousenineandthreequarters:😂 LOL really.
I sent her a picture of Kyle bleeding from last night.
slaughterhousenineandthreequarters: LOL
Kyle came into school late halfway through class. He had a paper bag over his head with two circles for eyes. He handed a note to Mr O'Hara, our biology teacher. He scanned it quickly.
"Send your father my regards, but this is the last time you can come to school in this attire"
Kyle nodded shamefully and took his seat. Boys took turn writing things on the bag.
Weird
Ginger
Skunksy
Go back to the biscuit tin u gingernut
I went to the bathroom during lunch and heard something metal hitting a toilet bowl. Then a loud thump, it sounded a bit like somebody falling. The cubicle was locked so I kicked down the door. Kyle was lying on the ground. I looked in the toilet bowl. There was a bloody razor floating in the water. I picked up him up and ran to the office.
"Call 911"
The secretary didn't miss a beat, she picked up the phone and asked for an ambulance. It arrived five minutes later. They asked me to go to the hospital with him. During the ride I didn't lift my eyes up from the floor. I couldn't bear to look at Kyle. He was always full or energy. He was like a big puppy. Big puppies didn't get sad like this.
The hospital waiting room was horrible. The air was so sterile, it choked me. Kyle's parents had gone into his hospital room. I was welcome to see him before he went into surgery, but I couldn't. Did that make me a bad friend? Instead I rang Shay.
"Can you come?"
"What?, Where are you?"
"I'm in waiting room 4 in St. Bernard's"
"I am, but Kyle's not"
She paused for a moment.
"I'll be there in five minutes"
She stuck to her word and five minutes later she was there. She had two coffees with her. She handed me one.
"Thought you might need to calm down"
"So you got me coffee"
"It's decaf"
"Thanks"
"So, why are we in the suicide ward"
"I found Kyle passed out in the bathroom with razors in the toilet bowl"
"I know how that feels"
I hated when people tried to relate to you when something bad happens with their similar, but nowhere near as bad problems. So I was pretty harsh with Shay.
"How?"
"My brother committed suicide five years ago. My mom sent me up to tell him lunch was ready, I found him passed out"
Her voice cracked.
"He was blue in the face, I thought he was playing a trick, I tried to wake him up I did it for fifteen minutes. Finally I went down and told my parents. He was rushed to hospital. I sat in that chair"
She pointed a a chair right in the corner. Almost out sight.
"He'd taken a bunch of different pills, he always seemed happy, but then he did this. But the worst thing us that I killed him, I stayed up there when I should have gone down"
"It's not your fault"
"Yeah it is"
"No it isn't, you were eleven. No eleven year old knows what to do"
"Tell that to my parents"
"What?"
"They don't talk to me, or each other. My mothers become a religious fanatic. And my father stays in his office all day"
"It's not your fault"
I leaned in and kissed her. She kissed back. After we broke apart, we ran into a janitors closet. She pulled of my blazer and tie. She made me forget about Kyle. About the AOS. About the fact that my best friend is on critical condition. I felt like I was happy. Like I was never truly happy until now. Because I wasn't.
