TRIGGER WARNING!!!
~~~
Jade
The entire Tower Bridge was roped off. Only people within law enforcement were allowed on the bridge. Everybody else was banned. There were police cars and police officers everywhere. An ambulance was here as well, obviously in case the poor man jumped.
Curious people stood gathered in huge crowds all around the bridge. Some of them chanted "jump" while others filmed the entire thing. What a bunch of idiots. I had to fight the urge to walk up to them and whoop their asses. With a life on the line, I needed to remain calm and keep my priorities straight. Karma would take care of them anyway. Just wait and see. They'd get what they deserved.
Noticing our arrival, Leo "The Teddybear" Collins dropped everything he was doing and jogged up to me and a pretty shaken up Jesy.
"What do we got, Collins?" I asked firmly, my professional side rising to the surface.
"Timothy Parker, 42. He has a long history with mental health issues and was once a patient at Cygnet Hospital Wyke" officer Collins explained.
"Does his family know where he is?" I asked.
"His wife, son and two daughters are here, actually" he said.
"Where exactly are they?" I asked.
"In officer Bushnell's car. She's trying to keep them calm" he said simply.
"Okay, thank you so much."
Knowing more about the man, I walked up to him. He held onto the railing with both his hands as his gaze pointed down. His chest heaved as he struggled to control his breathing. I could tell he was hesitant. A person who was 100% sure he wanted to die would've jumped a long time ago, not wait and draw attention - undesired or desired - to himself.
"Hello Timothy, I am officer Jade Thirlwall, you wanted to speak to me" I began softly.
"That's correct, officer" he said politely.
"How come you want to talk to me?" I asked curiously.
"You're a celebrity" he smiled.
"A celebrity?" I asked, confused.
"You did arrest a serial killer and put him behind bars" he stated.
"Oh...I didn't know doing me job made me a celebrity" I chuckled.
"Now you arrested one of the most dangerous killers in the world. That should be reason enough for people to respect you, and think highly of you" he said matter-of-factly.
"True, but he's on the loose. Not much to admire now, eh?"
Just the thought of Sam walking freely, planning his next move, as I stood here trying to save a man from killing himself, made me feel sick to my stomach. I wanted to throw up. Someone as dangerous as Sam wasn't supposed to be walking on our streets. He was supposed to be locked up in a cell until his dying day.
As much as I'd like to spend all my time on tracking Sam down, I knew I had to pretend he was still locked up. He was a distraction and if I thought about him now, I wouldn't be able to save this man. I needed to keep my cool, focus on why I came here in the first place, for the sake of his life.
"Can you tell me what's going on, Timothy? Why do you want to jump?" I asked calmly.
"The demons inside my head want me to put an end to the suffering. They say all the pain will go away if I jump" he said.
"You shouldn't listen to them. You need to shut them out" I said.
"I can't, I've tried but...they always come back. They refuse to leave me alone!" He yelled, distraught.
"Calm down, sir" I told him.
"Don't tell me what to do!"
Anger flashed in his eyes. His sudden outburst caused the crowds to scream "jump" even louder. For the love of God. Somebody had to shut them up. They weren't helping. In fact, they only encouraged him to make a decision that will affect his loved ones, and not in a good way.
I've seen what losing a loved one to suicide does to people. I've seen the aftermath, and it's not pretty. My dear best friend Jesy was living proof of that. She lost Jake to suicide last October, seven months ago, and she's just as broken today as she was the night we found him.
"Timothy, please, hear me out" I pleaded.
"Nothing you say will sound okay, officer, nor is it going to convince me to step down. I've already made up my mind" he said determinedly.
"Just listen to me, please."
I couldn't let him listen to the demons in his head. I couldn't let him think they were right, that the best for him would be to jump to his death. Those demons knew nothing. All they did was feeding him lies.
"Timothy, I have been in your position, I know exactly what's going through your mind. A few years ago, when I was fifteen, I wanted to die. I had mental health issues. I suffered from severe depression. On top of that, I dealt with an eating disorder. And I was bullied in school. I went through 4,5 years of bullying. Everyday was a walk through hell. The girls in me class dragged me into the bathroom and hit me. When I told the teachers, they told me to stop seeking for attention and just deal with it. The people that was supposed to help me, turned their backs. They pretended like everything was okay, like their students were angels sent from up above. Nobody listened to me, nobody heard me cries for help. Eventually I began hurting myself. I scratched myself in the face, I buried me nails into the skin and scratched. It hurt like hell, but it shut me demons out for a while. I tried to kill myself multiple times. Me brother stopped me twice. Me attempt would've succeeded if he hadn't been home. But one day I was home alone. Me mam and brother wouldn't be home for hours, meaning I had plenty of time to do what I had planned to. I had had a really crappy day at school and I had given up on life completely, I didn't see a point to continue to live when you were as hated as I was. So I took me mam's sleeping pills from her medicine cabinet in the kitchen and poured them into me hand. The demons inside me head shouted at me to take them. But I didn't."
"Why didn't you?" Timothy asked carefully.
"Me best friend and girlfriend, Perrie. She didn't know about the bullying or me eating disorder, or depression. She was clueless. Mostly because I didn't tell her and because I always denied it when she said I was depressed and should ask for professional help...Either way, she was the light in me darkness, the voice that spoke louder than the demons. She helped me pull through. And just look at me now. I'm still here. Thanks to her. Thanks to Perrie" I said softly.
"It's a cute story you got there, but I don't have a "Perrie" in my life to rescue me and take me to the bright side" Timothy said.
"What about your wife? Your children?" I asked.
"They can't help me..." he trailed off as he looked longingly at the river flowing underneath us.
I sighed. This talk was all too familiar. I had heard it so many times before, those exact words, "they can't help me". Once upon a time, I spoke those words too.
"Timothy, I understand you've had issues with your mental health before. I know how difficult it is to not feel alright mentally. I know how easy it is to listen to your demons, to believe in the lies they're telling you and think they know best. But they don't know best. And you shouldn't listen to them, you shouldn't let them take control over your thoughts, over your life. Because if you let them, you will lose the battle" I said.
"It's too late, ma'am. They have won already" he laughed.
It was a bitter laugh. There were no trace of joy in it whatsoever. From hearing that kind of laugh before in similar situations, I realized he had given up completely. He would jump. He had made up his mind.
But I didn't allow him to take the leap. I wouldn't let him leave his family behind. Not without a fight. And I didn't care if it took me all night to convince him. I would rescue this man. Nothing or no one would be able to stop me.
"You have a family, a wife and three children, and I'm pretty sure they love you to pieces. How do you think they will feel if you jump today? They won't be happy, they won't jump around and sing happy songs. Your death would destroy them, tear them apart piece by piece. Their lives won't be the same if they lose you, Timothy" I continued, hoped he would change his mind.
"Their lives will be better off without me. I'm not good enough. I'm a waste of space, who only makes the wrong goddamn decisions all the time. I'm sick and tired of the life I'm living, I don't want to be here anymore. I want to die! Death is a hell of a lot better. Who the fuck wants to be alive when Hell has come to Earth? Huh? There is nothing left for me anyways. Why can't you just accept that and let me put an end to my fucking suffering?!" He shouted.
"Suicide's not the answer, Timothy. It's never the answer. There is help to get, all you have to do is step down and let me help you" I said softly.
"Nobody can help me. I'm beyond rescue."
With that being said, he let go of the railing. Before he fell into River Thames, I wrapped my arms around him and held him back. He's not dying today! Nobody's dying on my watch.
Timothy shouted all kinds of curse words at me as he tried to break free from my grip. Thank God for the adrenaline rushing through my veins. Without it, I wouldn't have the super strength I had now.
"Dad!"
Timothy relaxed immediately by the sound of his son's cry for his father. He gripped the railing and looked over his shoulder. Tears welled up in his eyes when he saw his son approaching. I did not let go of my grip of him.
"Noah?!" He exclaimed, close to his breaking point.
"I'm here, dad."
Noah, as Timothy's son's name was, put his hand on his dad's shoulder. Observing the boy, I saw the similarities between father and son. They were the spitting image of each other.
"Dad, please, don't do this, don't jump. You can't leave mum, Abby and Bonnie behind. They need you. With me leaving for college after the summer, mum is going to need all the help she can get. She can't take care of Abby and Bonnie alone. And they can't grow up without a father. Neither can I. If you jump, dad, then who's supposed to teach me how to tie a tie? Who's going to crack ridiculous dad jokes when we have friends over? Who's going to fix my car when it breaks down? Who's going to walk Abby and Bonnie down the aisle? You can't do this to us. We need you, dad. And we are willing to do anything so you can get the help you need. We love you. I love you. So please, step down. Step down and come home with us. Please, dad, come home with us."
Tears trickled down Noah's cheeks as he begged his father not to leave. Timothy looked at his son under complete silence. The silence was heavy, unbearable. The chantings from the crowds had finally stopped, so Tower Bridge was now filled with an eerie silence.
"Okay, Noah, okay" Timothy finally spoke.
He stepped down. Tears streamed down his face as he engulfed his son in a hug. Turning around, I saw the rest of his family stand with Lauren, relieved he didn't jump. Knowing he needed his family more than ever now, I gave Lauren a sign she could let his wife and daughters come. The three of them ran faster than The Flash when she let them off.
"Daddy!" His daughters Abby and Bonnie shouted.
"Girls!"
Timothy opened up his arms for the remaining family members. The kids and his wife clung onto him as they cried. He cried too.
I watched them with tears streaming down my face. It was impossible to hold myself together in a moment like this.
His wife, mrs Parker, looked over her husband's shoulder and mouthed "thank you" to me. I nodded as an answer. She flashed me a smile, then she returned to pepper her husband with kisses.
"Good job, Jadey."
Jesy put her arm around my waist and pulled me close. Judging by the smile on her face, she was proud. I was proud of myself too. I saved a man, for Christ's sake! That's pretty, freaking amazing, and not something you do everyday.
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😈😈😈
xxMxx