Behind the Camera - An Andrew Siwicki Story

Chapter Two - What's Really Going On

When Garrett came back inside after Andrew left, the whole gang looked to him expectantly.

"I don't think he was sick," Garrett said. "He seemed upset about something."

At once, they all began contemplating what had been wrong, asking each other what they thought.

"Guys, this is Andrew we're talking about," Shane said. "He'll be okay. We should just give him his space for tonight and check up on him tomorrow."

Morgan and Ryland nodded in agreement, though Garrett continued to worry. Still, they all hung out for the rest of the night without another word about Andrew.

That is until around 1 am when Ryland's phone rang.

"It's Andrew," he told everyone, surprised and concerned. "Hello?" 

Andrew's voice was barely audible, but his loud sniffles and heavy breathing could be heard through the phone. 

"Andrew?!" Ryland said. "What is it? Are you okay?"

His voice came out shaky when they finally heard him. "C-can you..."

"Holy shit," Morgan said, wondering what was going on.

Ryland wondered what could possible be wrong with Andrew. He could hardly speak, for one. In fact, it sounded like he couldn't even breathe. Was he sick? What could Ryland possibly do to help him?

"Andrew, do you want us to come over?" he asked.

He nodded, and the remembered they couldn't see him and felt stupid. "Yeah," he said faintly.

Ryland grabbed the his keys from the counter. "We're on our way now, okay? Just hang tight."

Andrew loosened his grip on the phone, feeling less anxious knowing that his friends were on there way.

Shane, Garrett, Ryland, and Morgan all made there way into the car, each of them worried about their friend.

When they finally arrived, all four of them stepped out of the car.

"Do you think he wants us all to go in?" Ryland asked. "Or should just one of us go?"

"I think we should all go," Garrett said. He did know Andrew the best out of all of them. "Just make sure not to overwhelm him."

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Andrew was sat on his couch when he remembered that his hand and arm was still covered with blood. In fact, he wasn't even sure if the cut had stopped bleeding. Panicking, he stood up to wash the dried blood away. Just then, he heard a knock on the door.

He took a deep breathe, thinking of what to do. He hurriedly pulled his black sleeve down to cover his hands, praying his friends wouldn't notice.

His friends let themselves in, Garrett stepping inside first. They all gave him sympathetic smiles that made Andrew red with embarrassment. He immediately wanted to apologize for making then come and even considered telling them they could leave, but he decided not to speak. 

Andrew stood up to greet them, but was a tiny bit tipsy from the beers he had drank and nearly fell over. He sat back down, hoping nobody had noticed.

"Are you okay?" Shane asked him before realizing that it was a dumb question. "Actually, don't answer that. But tell us what's wrong, Andrew."

Andrew shrugged, struggling to find words and feeling silly with all the attention on him. "I--"

"Holy shit, you're bleeding!" Ryland interrupted. Andrew looked at his hand, and then noticed that his grey sweatpants were stained from where he was resting it. Along with that, blood dripped from his sleeve.