Life Is Short But Death Is Certain

14. Bottle Full Of Pills Didn't Work Again

"Johnny, where the hell are you? What's taking you so long?" J-Dog called out.

"Dude, it's been like 20 minutes. Do you think we should check on him?" Funny asked.

Danny got up and pressed his ear against the door. No sounds. He knocked without a response.

"Johnny? You in there? Johnny? Guys, he's not responding."

"Fuck. What could he have possibly done, though?" Funny asked calmly, probably still high.

"Lay off the fucking weed and remember how we keep pills in the bathroom!" J-Dog stood up and went to quickly grab a pair of scissors. "Danny! We can use these to open the lock!"

They twisted the lock open with the tips of the scissors, only to see Johnny sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. Danny rushed to shake his body and gently slap his cheeks.

"Wake up! Johnny, wake up!" he yelled. "Wake the fuck up!"

"Uh, Danny...?" J-Dog said. Danny turned around to see him holding an empty bottle of painkillers.

"You think he took those?" Danny asked.

"You don't?" J-Dog rolled his eyes. "It hasn't been long. Can we help him?"

Funny Man walked in behind them. "I'm gonna sound real selfish now, but let's not call 911. We have a shit ton of drugs here in plain sight."

"He's got a pulse, we can handle this." Danny said. "Help me, J. Hold him."

Johnny's body was limp and heavy as they tried to position him better. J-Dog and Funny Man held him in place and Danny opened his mouth.

"Well, here goes nothing." he sighed with his voice shaking from fear. Fear of losing an another friend. Danny shoved his fingers into Johnny's mouth, all the way into his throat.

"Throw up... throw up, you bastard..." Danny groaned. Johnny started gagging and sure enough, threw up all over the toilet. There was a bunch of undigested pills in his vomit, proving their point.

"Put him down... no, don't just throw him, gently!" Danny ordered. "Is he still breathing?"

"Yeah." J-Dog said, looking at Johnny's heaving chest. Danny took some toilet paper, made it damp under the sink and wiped Johnny's face, which also had vomit on it.

"Charlie?" Johnny mumbled quietly.

"Johnny!" J-Dog called. "Johnny, are you awake? Can you hear me?"

"Fuck." Johnny sighed under his breath, his eyes still closed, breathing heavily. The others weren't really sure what they were supposed to do, but Johnny was alive and that was the only thing that mattered. Danny and J-Dog kneeled on his level, Funny standing behind them. Slowly Johnny lifted his head and opened his eyes,  looking around in confusion.

"Dude! Thank god you're okay!" Funny smiled.

Johnny looked at his friends, then buried his head in his hands. The reality hit him. He had failed and would have to explain everything.

"Johnny... no, don't cry, Johnny... come here, man. Come here. Let's go." J-Dog offered his hand. Johnny took it and was walked to the couch. Danny wrapped a blanket around him and they all sat there with him.

"Would you like to explain?" Danny asked softly. "What's going on?"

"My head hurt from the hangover and I tried to take a pill to cure it." Johnny mumbled.

"We found an empty bottle from the bathroom floor." J-Dog pointed out. "You puked tons of them out. I doubt you had such a headache that you thought an entire bottle of pills could cure it."

"Please don't lie to us. You can tell what really happened." Danny said.

"I wanted to be with Charlie. I didn't wanna live with the guilt of knowing I could've possibly saved him."

"He had already made up his mind, trust me, you couldn't have saved him no matter what." Danny comforted him. "He just loved you and wanted to hear your voice once more."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't wanna make you feel so bad." Funny said. "I didn't mean to-"

"Hush. It's okay. It's not your fault." Johnny sighed. "It's not any of you. I just miss him."

"Hey, we know that the guilt is bad. And we all feel a bit guilty of course. But can you promise one thing? Please don't do it. Stay alive for us, okay?" Danny pleaded.

Johnny nodded apathetically.

"We don't want two funerals in a row." J-Dog looked down at his feet. "It could turn into five real soon."

Charlie's funeral. Johnny knew he wanted to attend, Charlie would've wanted him there. Quietly in his head he made a promise. He would live to see it and say his final goodbye. No suicide before the funeral.