How to Tie a Noose

Chapter Two

Kyler’s POV

I’d been watching her for awhile, didn’t take much to catch the signs; the smiles that didn’t reach her eyes, the long sleeves even when it was hot out. But what really caught my attention, a dead giveaway, was when the fake smiles become broader, and the fake laughs louder… that’s when I knew she had reached her breaking point.

Thinking back, it’s almost disgusting I never even thought to get her help. I just sat back and enjoyed the show of a young girl crumbling.. But I never realized id fall in love with her. It started as a weird sensation I got when I heard her fake laughter, eventually I actually felt concern when I saw her dead eyes… it took me a  while to realize id fallen for her.. I guess it was inevitable. I’d been watching her from a distance for almost a year now; it was bound to happen sometime.

In all honesty, when she didn’t show up to her house at the usual time, my heart dropped. At first I thought maybe she had other plans, and then I realized for the past couple months, Ryou hasn’t gone out with anyone… and she always came home right after school. My heart started racing as I caught on, she was one step ahead of me today. I ran to the place she usually went when she had a bad day, the thick forest behind her house. It didn’t take long to find her; she was swinging on a branch next to a rope with a noose on the end of it. A noose… to think she’d actually do it… my heart skipped a dozen beats as I realized she had stopped her swinging and was now gripping the loop in both hands, I knew if I was going to save her id have to speak now. I stepped out from behind the tree and said in the calmest voice I could muster “so, you really going to do it then?”

Ryou’s POV

I couldn’t walk very far, not with my injured ankle… Kyler, or rather “Kai” as he liked to be called, ended up helping me walk out to the road where I insisted on calling my parents to take me to the doctors rather than him carrying me like he offered. I had to admit, I was kind of upset… I couldn’t really understand why, I mean I had just met this kid, and he seemed pretty weird… I can’t be feeling weird because I like him… this might be the last time I see him, right? The more I thought about it, the more logical that became… In the couple minutes we had spent together, I realized I might have actually fallen for this guy! I shuddered at the thought; I can’t become close with someone now! Not after all the work I’ve put into erasing myself from the world! I started with my friends, making plans and finding a reason to cancel day of; then I would make plans and just not show up. Eventually, I just wouldn’t make the plans. I stopped talking slowly and got rid of my cell phone; it was pretty easy to disappear under the radar.

I can’t ruin all my hard work just for a guy! Especially not a guy I just met! Especially not a guy whose name is it the only thing I know about him! I just have to keep reminding myself I don’t like him; and that’s exactly what I did the whole ride to the hospital. When I finally got there, we got to Emergency and realized the wait would be pretty long, I settled down into an uncomfortable chair with my headphones in, music up, and retreated into my own world.

When the doctor finished looking at my ankle, he proclaimed it badly sprained and I had to wait another two hours before I could get a temporary cast for it. When the cast was finally on, and the doctor finished explaining the “rules of the cast” (no water etc) I found out I could actually walk pretty well with the cast supporting me, so I could continue life as normal; besides the awkward showers and sleep being hard. I got to the car, and my parents chattered continually the whole way home; keeping up a constant stream of questions, “how was your day?” (Mom) “We got a call from school today saying you skipped last period, what’s that about?” (Dad) I tried not to answer any of them, and if I couldn’t get away with silence I’d just stare out the window and shrug my shoulders.