The Tangled Threads of Fate—an isff few-shot, Part One
(Author's Note: I'm not quite sure when all of this takes place in the IS storyline, I'm guessing sometime after "Miss World".)
O time! thou must untangle this, not I;
It is too hard a knot for me to untie!
-Viola, William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Act II, Scene 2
Tommy woke up for work early one morning with a searing headache, which he immediately recognized as a hangover. He recalled having quite a few glasses of wine last night, and as he glanced over at the clock, he noticed he had a new bedmate. This situation would have been typical of him a few years ago, but now not so much. He wondered why he would have done something like this now, when he had finally put his life in order, and was even in love… He suddenly recognized the girl, and with her identity came terror, pure and utter fear at the full realization of what he'd done by sleeping with her.
He slipped out of bed, taking care not to wake his companion, and went straight to his bathroom. He splashed cold water onto his face in a pathetic effort to try and cleanse himself of the wrong he had committed, but he knew that no amount of washing would purify him of his sin. Oh God, why on earth did you do it, Tom? He demanded of himself. Why did you sleep with Sadie? Why? Why did you do that to her? You know she doesn't mean anything to you, but she doesn't know that, she's in love with you, and oh God, last night was probably her first… What is wrong with you? Did you forget all about Jude, the girl you're really in love with? "Jude," he breathed, hardly daring to shape her sacred name with his cursed lips. She'll kill you when she finds out, continued his conscience. "No," he whispered. "I'll do it first." He opened the medicine cabinet and took out a large bottle of Advil that he kept in there, and proceeded to ingest the pills by the handful, using tap water to help him swallow them. When the bottle was empty, he still clutched it in his hand, and a small groan escaped him as he felt the pills travel down his throat. He collapsed onto the floor, preferring to die rather than face himself after making the biggest mistake of his life.
Twenty minutes later, Sadie awoke. She was a little disappointed that Tommy wasn't still in bed with her, but she knew that he was married to his work, and was probably getting ready for it right now. However, as she approached the bathroom, she heard no sound of him showering, or indeed, any sound at all. She stopped and considered the possibility that he had already left for work, but doubted that; firstly, because he simply wouldn't leave her all by herself after they had just had their first night together, and secondly because he knew that she had no transportation to speak of, and it was a long way back to her house. She knocked on the door, but received no reply. She reasoned that he was probably shaving, and didn't want to either stop and open the door for her or say anything and risk cutting himself (shaving was a tricky business). So she opened the door herself, and let out a shriek when she saw the terrible scene inside.
"Oh my God! Tommy? Can you hear me? Tommy, tell me you're okay. Answer me, Tommy! Oh God, what do I do?!"
-
A few blocks down, Kwest actually was getting ready for work at G Major, and was suddenly interrupted by his cell ringing. He immediately guessed it was Tommy, but thought it rather unlike him to call so early in the morning. He subsequently suspected that perhaps Tommy wanted to call in sick, but didn't want to call the label and listen to Jude's angry rants as to why she hadn't called and told her before she was to come in, not to mention Liam's lectures on work ethic. As he answered the phone, however, he heard neither Tommy's sick nor pretending-to-be-sick voice, but Sadie, in a high-pitched, panic-filled tone he had never heard her use before.
"Kwest, I found Tommy in the bathroom with an empty bottle of Advil in his hand. I can't feel his pulse, and I'm not even sure he's breathing. God, Kwest, what should I do?!"
"Stay calm. Have you called the poison control center?"
"No, I don't know the number."
"It's on the back of the bottle. Call them, and tell them the address, and also the nearest intersection. I'm on my way over." She hung up, and as he did the same, he thought to himself, Tommy? No way. I know him. He would never do anything like this. I just can't believe it.
However, any personal disbelief he had was dispelled the moment he arrived at Tommy's apartment, and was welcomed in silently by Sadie, who looked a good deal more than half-frightened to death, and saw Tommy's limp, helpless body in the bathroom. He began to look for a pulse, and after much searching, found a very faint one, and could also see upon close inspection a slight rising and falling of his chest. This was all a great relief to Sadie, and Kwest's own presence an obvious comfort to her, and the two stayed close together, speaking not a word, until the EMTs arrived. Then there was a great deal of commotion, Sadie and Kwest told the paramedics what they knew, and Tommy was lifted onto the stretcher and carried into the ambulance. On their way to the hospital, the chief paramedic told them in a reassuring tone, "Don't worry. He just looks bad right now, but he'll be all right. He'll be as good as new in a few days, a week or two at the most. It's a good thing you didn't wait, and called us right away. I've seen these things before, and if we get them to the hospital quick enough, they always turn out fine." She smiled. "Trust me."
Sadie looked at her. "I want to."
The paramedic reached over, took her hand, and began rubbing it soothingly. Kwest began doing the same with her back. Sadie didn't complain, and for one bittersweet moment, he could feel a connection between them, albeit one through worry and grief for Tommy, who was one of the most important people in the world to both of them.
–
Jude was the next to be called. She had been waiting impatiently for over half an hour for Tommy to arrive, and was getting annoyed, because he had not called to tell her he wouldn't be coming in to work today. For Pete's sakes, Tommy, she thought angrily, if you're not going to be in, then at least call and tell me before I go all the way over to G Major! Suddenly her cell phone rang, but when she took it up and saw the caller ID, it was Sadie, whom she knew had been his date last night, but would not have expected to make his calls for him.
"Hi Sadie. Why didn't Tommy call himself?"
Jude heard her take a deep, irregular breath. "Tommy's in surgery right now."
"…What? Sadie, don't joke with me. I've just been waiting forty-five minutes for him."
"I'm not playing, Jude. I just woke up to see him with an empty bottle of Advil in his hand and he could barely breathe. He's having his stomach pumped right now."
Jude's mouth dropped open involuntarily, but no sound came out.
-
Twenty minutes later, Jude arrived at the hospital, nearly overpaying the taxi-driver in her hurry to get inside. Sadie and Kwest approached her as soon as she got past the main entrance, but when she looked at them, they slowly shook their heads in response to the urgent question in her eyes. Jude glanced downward and remained quiet and thoughtful for a moment, but soon she looked back up at them, her mouth forming the beginnings of various words as if she wished to ask a multitude of questions but didn't know with which to begin.
"…Why did he…?"
"I don't know," answered Sadie.
"Did he write anything to say why he…?"
"No."
"Can you think of anything that would have made him do this?"
"No," replied Kwest. "I still can't believe he did it. He's never done anything like this before."
"Not even on tour?"
"Nothing like this."
"Do you remember him acting strange or anything last night?"
"No, not at all," said Sadie. "I mean, something happened last night that…hadn't happened before, at least for us; but…it's not like it was his first time." She blushed upon saying that, realizing that she had just stated, not in very many words, the goings-on between herself and Tommy last night. At that, both Jude and Kwest made strange, choking noises, and looked down at the floor.
"So, none of us can think of any reason for Tommy to have done what he did?" asked Jude a minute later in a strangled voice. They all shook their heads, and, after a few more moments of hesitation and embarrassment, decided to sit in some of the hospital chairs and wait around for news of the outcome of Tommy's operation.