I'm Right Here

190 8 0

by heyyybrooo

by heyyybrooo

Rich's POV
I hear my phone buzzing frantically on the counter. I ignore it. I know it's Michael. But I can't answer him. I'll only make him sad. My dad won't be home any time soon. He's always out till at least 2am. It's now or never.

Michael's POV
After failed attempts of texting Rich I try calling him. He still doesn't answer. I begin to get anxious. It's almost 11pm. I don't know if I should check on him. He might just be sleeping. But Rich doesn't usually go to bed till his dad gets home. And his dad would never be home this early. I almost just go to bed. But something, I don't know what, tells me to check on him. I don't know if its god, or intuition, or the universe, but something nags at me to see Rich. Logically, I know he's okay. But something inside of me has to actually see him to be sure. I quietly sneak out of the house and drive off.

As I drive, I continue to try and call Rich. He still won't answer. I go fast down my suburban street. The roads are empty. When I get to Rich's house I practically throw myself out of my PT Cruiser. I grab the spare house key Rich keeps hidden in a potted plant by the door. His dad's truck isn't parked on the curb so I know Rich is here alone. When I open the door I call, "Rich"? No answer. The silence makes my heart sink. Panic sets in. I call louder this time, "Rich"? Still nothing. I run down the hallway to his bedroom. He's not sleeping. Now I'm yelling, "Rich, Rich"! I run upstairs. I don't usually go upstairs because it's really just his dad's room, a spare storage room, and his dad's bathroom up there. I run around frantically looking for Rich. I know somethings wrong. I just know it. Then I hear it. It's a kind of quiet shuffling coming from his dad's bathroom. I burst into the bathroom and I'm met with a horrifying sight.

Rich is sitting in the far back corner of the bathroom, shoveling spoon fulls of medication down his throat, and crying. I yell, "What are you doing"? I grab his wrist and try to pull him up. I say, "We have to go to the hospital, we're going to the hospital right now". Rich pulls away from my grip. He cries, "No, No I don't want to". I try to keep my composure but it's hard. I yell, "You're being stupid, come on we have to go". He pulls away from me. In a fit of panic I slap him. I yell, "Goddamn it Rich"! It's not a super hard slap. But it's hard enough to shock him. While he's in his brief state of shock I take the moment to drag him up and out of the bathroom. I let go of his wrist and grab his hand. I try to be more gentle. I help Rich into my PT Cruiser and I drive faster than I've probably ever driven. The nearest hospital is almost 45 minutes away. But I remember where it is. It's where I went when I broke my arm last year.

I roll down the window and say, "Try and make yourself vomit". Rich does as I say. I hear him gagging but I don't take my eyes off the road. Out of the corner of my eye I see Rich starting to doze off. In a state of panic I yell, "Don't fall asleep on me, Rich you've gotta stay awake". Rich says, "I can't throw up anymore, I'm too tired. I say, "I know but you can't sleep right now". We get to the hospital. I park, badly, and jump of out the car. I unbuckle Rich, who is half asleep already. I lift him up and carry him in my arms. I carry him into the emergency room. Rich is quickly taken from me. I start crying when I see the nurses leave with him. I don't know what to do. I take a seat in the waiting room and just worry. I've never liked hospitals. I don't like how cold they always are. I don't like their weird smell. I don't like how the nurses always smile a little too much. I don't like how the doctors don't smile enough. I don't like any of it.
I'm not sitting for even five minutes before a nurse pulls me to the side. I half expect her to tell me Rich is dead. But she doesn't say that, luckily. She says, "I'm going to take you back into the triage room with him because we're having trouble getting him sedated". I don't say anything, I just nod. She says, "We're not really supposed to allow you back here so we have to make this quick". The sight of Rich breaks my heart. When you think of a broken heart you think of a heart split in two. But my heart isn't broken like that. My heart is broken like an antique vase that's been dropped. My heart is shattered. They have Rich pinned down on a table. Rich yells, "Michael, Michael help me"! I rush over to him. There are so many people surrounding him, holding him down. He struggles against their grip, I've never seen him so strong. I lean over him so our faces are touching. I say, "I'm right here baby, I'm right here". But he looks right though me like he can't see me. Between the drugs and the panic his brain can't even register my presence. He screams, "Michael please, I'm so scared"! I frantically run my hands through his hair and whisper, "I'm here baby, I love you". He still can't see me. The nurses pull me away from him and force me out of the room. I can still hear him screaming in fear. I collapse on the floor outside of the room and just cry in the hall.

Another nurse leads me to a different room. She says, "How do we contact his parents"? I don't want to but I give them Rich's dad's phone number. I doubt he'll even care. The rest of the night is a blur of crying and worrying. They tell me Rich will live but I'm still sad. How will anything ever be the same again?