Chapter 1
Short quick taps on my window wake me up out of my light sleep. I reach up and turn on my lamp and see him crouching outside my window, at 11:00 at night in the pouring rain. I really shouldn't be letting him after all we broke up weeks ago but I can't leave him out there either. I open the window and he finally comes inside, and for the first time I realize he's trembling. "Hey what's wrong"I ask gently pulling him into a hug, "My brother overdosed, I just came from the hospital, I didn't know where else to go"he says. I can tell he's trying to hold it together,to be strong because that's all he's ever known as I gently guide him to my bed. I pull the covers down so he can get inside and then I go get a towel so he can dry off. He gets dried off and then crawls under the covers with his shirt off and finally starts to really break down. "shh Jess, it'll be ok, do you mind telling me what happened tonight"I ask quietly, "No, I just got a call after practice tonight from my uncle, and I was told to come to the hospital and nothing else, I arrived and found out he overdosed on pain pills this evening, I stayed for awhile but I couldn't take it anymore so I came here"he says shakily, "shh, k, you want to stay here Jesse"I ask.
"Yeah, nobody's going to be home anyways"He says, "k,that's fine"I say wrapping my arm around him. I don't know what to say to him or what to do to help other than just being there for him and trying to comfort him. He curls into my side as I rub his back gently, and eventually the sobbing subsides and he falls asleep. I watch him sleep for awhile because honestly i'm worried about him, I might not be dating him anymore but right now he needs me. I eventually fall asleep,not knowing what tomorrow will bring and if he'll be able to handle another family tragedy so soon after the first one.