Third Person POV
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March 5, 2015
Andrew was going through a really hard time. He was failing almost all of his classes. He studies hard, but he just can't get good grades. He would cry every night from the stress and pressure.
Sure, his mom didn't really care about his grades. She says that 'she'll love us no matter what our grades are.'
But the thing is, he wanted to do it for himself. He wanted to get the good grades. Not only that, but he's also on the basketball and football team. Practices everyday for 2 hours. Andrew would stay up till 1AM, studying. He didn't even like football.
And, he was only 13. He would practice at his brother's high school. That's how big his family were. He literally got on the football and basketball team, when he wasn't even in the school yet.
In school, everyone would act fake to him. Pretending to be his friend because he was rich. Being nice to him because he could get them out of trouble. It was the same for all of his brothers.
Few months later, he stopped caring. His grades became worse. He slacked off at practices. He stayed up till past 1AM, just staring at the wall.
Andrew went onto high school. Brandon would bully Andrew and Alex, and then bully them at home too. It was normal to get beaten up by Brandon or Ethan. They would yell at them, or even start hitting each other.
Andrew started self-harming. He would punch the walls until his hand bled, and when his riggers found out, he told them that he just got into a fight. He would scratch himself with a thumbtack, and tell others that his friend's cat scratched him. Then, he started using razor blades, because that was what took away his pain the most.
One day, Andrew was in the bathroom when no one was home. Alex came earlier than he was supposed to because his study group ended quickly. When Alex came into his room, he heard Andrew crying.
Curious, Alex walked up to the bathroom and opened the door. Alex's eyes widened as he rushed over to Andrew's side. Andrew was sprawled on the floor, blood gushing out of his wrists. Andrew's eyes were empty and dull as he stared back at his brother.
"Are you stupid?" Alex screamed. "Why? Why would you do this?"
Alex didn't know what to do. Panic overwhelmed him as he frantically searched for something. Alex threw off his jacket and wrapped it around where the blood was pouring out. Alex took his phone out and dialed 911 as fast as he could.
"Hello?" Alex asked, panic laced in his voice.
"M-my brother j-just cut himself. T-there's a lot of blood and I-I need an ambulance here! Please hurry up!" Alex said, as he looked at his brother.
"Y-you'll be alright," Alex stammered.
"I'm sorry," Andrew whispered, a tear falling from his eyes.
"You stupid idiot," Alex cried. "Why would you..."
"I'm sorry," Andrew said again.
"You should!" Alex said, crying. "Andrew... why?"
Alex hauled Andrew up, slinging his arm around his shoulders. Alex supported Andrew as they went downstairs. Alex helped Andrew out the door when they heard the sirens.
Paramedics carried Andrew into the ambulance and Alex rode with them, crying. What if he loses his brother? He meant everything to him.
They reached the hospital, and their parents and siblings were all called. Ethan ran up to Alex, fear in his eyes. "What happened?"
Alex was too stunned to speak. Images of Andrew as he lay on the ground, blood pouring out filled his mind. Ethan shook Alex hard. "What happened?"
"I-I found him in t-the bathroom. He was b-bleeding." Alex managed.
Ethan dropped to his chair. "I'm such an idiot. How did I not notice? It's all my fault."
For the first time, Brandon was also worried. His eyebrows were furrowed as he nervously shook his leg.
Their mother was crying, and Daniel tried to calm her down, even though he wasn't any better. Eventually, the doctor came.
"He was cutting, and by the scars, we can tell it wasn't his first time. Did you know any of this was going on?" The doctor asked.
"N-no," Ethan muttered. "Kind of? We knew something was off but..."
"He will be alright," Dr. Brown said, offering a warm smile. "He just lost a lot of blood. I think it would be good to give him a day or two off from school. If you want, I suggest taking Andrew to a therapist to maybe sort things out."
"Thank you, Doctor," Mom said, shaking Dr. Brown's hand.
"You can see Andrew in a moment." With that, Dr. Brown walked away.
A few minutes later, a nurse called, "Andrew Smith?"
Alex was the first one to bolt into Andrew's room. There Andrew lay, IV's connected to his arm, machines filling the room. Andrew looked deathly pale and we could see that both his wrists were bandaged.
Alex dropped besides Andrew and grabbed his hands. "You stupid, why didn't you tell me? I could've helped you. Why?"
"I-I didn't want you to worry," Andrew muttered, his eyes fluttering open. His voice was raw and scratchy, but he lightly squeezed Alex's hand.
"Andrew! I was so worried!" Mom exclaimed, running up besides him.
"I'm sorry," Andrew whispered. "I'm sorry I'm like this."
Their mom started crying again, saying, "Don't be sorry. I love you so much."
"Better watch out when you get better," Brandon muttered. "I'll beat the crap out of you."
Andrew managed a weak smile. "I'll be looking forward to that."
"And your sarcasm is still evident," Ethan said, raising his eyebrows.
"Are you okay?" Daniel asked, his eyes full of concern.
"Yeah, Danny," Andrew answered.
Everyone couldn't believe that Andrew was going through all of this. They all blamed theirselves. The next day, Andrew was told he could leave.
Alex wouldn't leave his side. Brandon would always watch him. Ethan went to his room and removed anything he could think of that could hurt them. Daniel would try and make Andrew happy.
They all thought he was going to be okay.
A few months later, Andrew fell back into depression. He couldn't seem to get away from it. Voices would drag him down, controlling him. Andrew couldn't take it anymore. Everything became too hard—he wanted to end his life.
Andrew ran up the stairs and went out to the roof. The cold breeze made his eyes sting, but he pushed forwards, walking to the edge. He was shivering, tears running down his face. He looked over the edge and stared at the floor 100ft away.
I'm sorry, he thought.
He climbed onto the edge and took a deep breath. He leaned fowards, and just as he was about to fall, he heard someone shout his name.
"Andrew!"
Andrew didn't even have time to turn around because an arm wrapped around his waist, pulling him off the ledge. Andrew landed on top of someone.
"You idiot!" Ethan shouted, tears welling in his eyes.
Andrew got up, but dropped onto his knees. Ethan hugged him tightly, as Andrew cried. "I want to die. I want to kill myself."
"Shut up," Ethan mumbled. "Please don't say that."
"I'm sorry."
Ethan helped Andrew up, and together, they walked back down.
"Andrew!" Alex screamed, running up to him. "Andrew..."
Andrew stared at his family who looked more concerned than he ever had seen them. He never realized how much they cared. He felt a wave of regret and guilt rushing through him.
"I thought I would go crazy!" Alex shouted, hitting Andrew's shoulder. "What's gonna happen to me if you...you die?"
Andrew stared at his brother and at his mom. She was crying, and Ethan was trying to help her calm down. Brandon was looking at Andrew with confusion and sadness. Daniel was on the couch, staring at the floor.
"If you die, who's going to be by my side forever? If you die, who's going to make me laugh? If you die, who's going to tell me the lamest joke? Y-you can't leave me!" Alex cried, not caring that everyone was watching.
Andrew didn't know how much it would pain others if he tried to kill himself. He regretted it. The only words he could mutter was, "I'm sorry."
A week passed, and Andrew went to a therapist the doctor suggested. At first, he hated it. He hated talking about his feelings with a stranger. Later, he started getting more comfortable. Sometimes, he did start getting depressed again, but he got better.
October 20, 2018
Andrew stood in front of the mirror, smiling.
I'm happy, he thought.
And yes, he was.
***
Hello readers! It's Grace~
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! This chapter was about Andrew, and the next chapter will be about... *drum rolls* Alex!
I'm sorry if you want to get to the story, I promise it's coming soon! But for now, the next chapters gonna be about Alex's past and his struggles.
Thank you for reading!
Q: How's the book so far?
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