I'd Rather Die Than Be in Love

One Man Drinking Games - The Sequel

I followed my baby brother into the back of the ambulance, a sentence I never thought I would have to say. Mike was following in the car, stopping off to pick up Luke beforehand. Whilst Vic took care of Jake, I was grateful Vic was there. Normally I hated leaving Jake with anyone, for two reasons: I didn't want to be that teenage Mother who left their baby with anyone who would take him. Plus I didn't trust many people to take care of him. But I trusted Vic, good ole' Uncle Vic.

"Is he gonna be okay?" I asked the paramedic.

She shot me a sympathetic smile.

"We really won't know much until we find out what he has taken" She replied.

I felt sick, where did he even get the drugs from? He was fourteen. He wasn't exactly out dealing drugs as far as I knew he was always a good kid. Sure he wasn't perfect, getting into trouble ever now and again but nothing we couldn't handle. How was I going to tell my Dad? Our family had been through so much this past year.

My train of thought was interrupted as we arrived at the hospital. Over the past year I had spent so much time here, I knew the corridors like the back of my hand. I was made to wait outside while the Doctors checked Corey over, I hated hospitals, but I hated them even more when I was alone. I just prayed Mike and Luke would get here soon. 

~

"How is he?" Luke asked, approaching me, with Mike shortly behind. 

"He's asleep, but he'll be okay, thank God" I told the two of them. 

Luke nodded. "What was he even doing with the drugs in the first place?". 

"We don't know the full story, don't jump to any conclusions just yet" Mike said. 

"Did you tell Dad?" I asked. 

"On his way now and Vic also said he was fine to watch Jake for as long as he needed to" Mike replied. 

~

 "He's woken up, you can go in now" The nurse smiled at me. 

My Dad still hadn't arrived as he had got caught in traffic leaving work in a rush. I felt a huge weight of responsibility on my shoulders. I ran in after the nurse, knowing that Mike and Luke were right behind me. I cried out my little brother's name, running and throwing my arms around his shoulders. In return he shot me a sheepish smile. I was so glad to see him and to see that he was okay, yet this strange sense of anger and protection came over me. 

"Are you mad?" I told him pulling away. "Drugs, alcohol - Corey!".

"Yeah dude where did you even get that stuff?" Luke asked. 

"A guy in my grade had an older brother who got it for me" He shrugged. 

"What were you thinking, Corey? Do you even realize how dangerous that was?" I shrieked. 

"I was thinking that I wanted out" He said back, much in the same tone. 

I looked at him, the once celebatory mood of the room had now vanished, leaving an awkward silence in it's presense. I swallowed the lump in my throat, almost scared to ask what he meant by that. But luckily I didn't have to as Luke beat me to it. 

"This family has fallen apart this year, Mom's gone, Dad is spending more and more time at work and you had Jake. Do you even realise how stressful it's been? That on top of school work and my friends, it got too much" He shouted. 

"What are you trying to say, Corey?" I asked, quietly. "That you were trying to kill yourself?". 

"No-I don't know. I just wanted to escape it, just for a little while. A day where I didn't have to deal with school or anything" He replied. 

I felt awful, worse than awful. The worst part was, I hadn't even noticed just how troubled my little brother was until he had ended up in here. It had taken something like this to open my eyes, what did that say about me? I glanced around at Luke, who looked shocked and confused - much the same way I felt. After that, it turned into a screaming match - well as loudly as we could scream in a hospital ward. For once Luke and I were on the same side. 

The argument was settled by Mike, who ushered Luke and I out to the hall. Telling us to give him a few minutes with Corey. I couldn't see how he could help but I was willing to give anything a go. 

**Filler chapter, sorry for late uploads - exams are bonkers at the minute. Once they are done I will update more, but the story is nearly finished now. I hope you guys don't hate this story line too much, idk. But yeah thanks for reading**