Here's the next part. Thanks for the reviews, keep them coming lol!
Chapter four – The Blame Game
Danny paced the hospital corridor. He didn't know what to do or what to think. Why would his best friend take an overdose? Was he really that depressed? And why hadn't he noticed? What kind of a friend was he? Jordan was sitting down staring at the floor. Harriet had told her what had happened and she had come to the hospital to be with Danny. She didn't want him to be alone. She knew how close they were. She had often joked with Danny about Matt being competition. Their relationship did scare her sometimes, but they were like brothers. If Matt died, she didn't know how Danny would cope. He would probably blame himself for not automatically realising that something was wrong. And what about Harriet? There was no doubt in Jordan's mind that Harriet still loved Matt. At the moment she was dating Luke Scott, but she knew that Harriet loved Matt more than anyone else in the world, but they argued too much. Harriet had been badly hurt in the past by what Matt had said and done and Jordan knew that this was probably killing her inside.
However, Jordan was blissfully unaware of the pain that Harriet was really feeling right now. The pain of thinking that it was all her fault that Matt was fighting for his life in hospital. The pain of loving him and not being able to be with him. The pain of blaming herself for screwing everything up. Why did she put him through all this? Sure, they had had their share of problems, but she knew that he loved her. Why was she with Luke? She knew why. It was because with him, it was safe and easy.
Harriet sat in her dressing room deep in thought. She had snapped at everyone who had come in to see if she was alright so now they were keeping their distance. She wanted to be left alone, to deal with what was happening in her own way, just like when her mother had died. Her phone had rung a number of times. Every time, Harriet quickly picked it up in case it was Danny or Jordan, but every time she was bitterly disappointed as she saw Luke's name flash on the screen. She was avoiding him. She was in a messed up place right now and didn't know what to do. She didn't love Luke, that much she was sure of. She loved Matt, she just wished that she had realised how much she loved him before all this had happened. She needed to talk to Luke, he deserved to know what was happening but she couldn't bring herself to pick up and phone. He was a very intelligent man, she was sure that he would have worked out that she was avoiding him by now.
Harriet checked to make sure her dressing room door was closed before pulling up her sleeve and studying her arm. She could just about make out the faded scars from years earlier underneath all the new cuts. It had taken a lot for her to be able to stop self-harming and to let others help her, why was she doing this to herself again? She knew why. It was because she deserved it, because all this was happening because of her, it was her fault. She just wanted the pain to stop. She opened her drawer and took out the blade that was hidden inside…
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Danny walked out of Matt's room. Jordan was sitting outside, her eyes closed, her chest moving rhythmically up and down. Danny smiled down at her. He couldn't believe how much he loved her. And now, she was having a baby. He wasn't the father, but the baby's father didn't want anything to do with the child and Danny knew that he would care for and love that baby as much as his own.
He gently shook Jordan awake. "Sweetie, why don't you go home?"
"Huh…No, I'm fine. I'll stay here with you," she murmured closing her eyes once more.
"Jordan, you've got the baby to think about. We want her to be healthy, she needs her rest too! Just go home, I'll ring you if I hear anything."
"Why don't you go home and get some rest?" asked Jordan, although she already knew what the answer was going to be.
"I can't," Danny replied. "Not until I know that he's going to be alright."
"Ok, fine. But make sure you ring me if there's any change. I'm going to stop by the studio on my way home and just check on Harriet."
"Why would Harriet care about Matt?" Danny had seen how hurt Matt was when Harriet had started dating Luke. Harriet probably wasn't even thinking about Matt right now. And if she was, she didn't deserve to be upset about him. If Matt had tried to end his life, it was probably Harriet's fault anyway.
"Danny, I don't care what you say, Harriet still loves him and she really cares about him. She didn't mean to hurt him. And anyway, she's my best friend, I have to make sure that she's ok." Jordan replied, standing up and giving Danny a kiss.
"Fine, you're right, I'm sorry. She's a member of my staff so I suppose I should be fair, even though my best friend is in hospital because of her."
"You don't know that!" Jordan told him. "The doctor hasn't told you anything about Matt's condition yet, and the paramedic only guessed that it was an overdose. And even if it was, how do you know that Matt did it on purpose? It could have been an accident."
Danny sighed in defeat. He knew that Jordan was right and that he couldn't jump to conclusions.
"Ring me later, and give Matt a kiss from me!" Jordan said jokingly.
"Erm…No!" Danny laughed as he watched his gorgeous girlfriend walk down the corridor and out of sight.
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Harriet stared at her arm. What had she done? And why had she done it? Her arm was bleeding badly and she wasn't quite sure what to do. There was a knock at the door.
"Who is it?"
"It's Jordan."
If it had been anyone else, Harriet would have told them to go away, but she was desperate to know if Matt was ok.
"Hold on sec," Harriet shouted grabbing a towel and gently wrapping it around her arm before pulling her sleeve back down. Her arm looked very big with the towel wrapped round it too, so she grabbed her biggest, baggiest jacket and put that on too. She then opened the door and gave Jordan her biggest fake smile.
"Hi Jordan. How's things? How's Matt?"
"Well, we haven't heard anything yet. Danny's still at the hospital with him…erm…What's with the huge jacket?"
"I'm cold," Harriet lied. The truth was she was boiling hot.
"But…it's summer…and it's 80 degrees outside."
"Really? It feels like winter to me!"
"Are you coming down with something?" Jordan asked, concerned. "Let me feel your forehead." She pressed her hand against Harriet's forehead. "You're burning up! I don't think you should be here, you're obviously unwell and have a temperature."
"I'm fine," said Harriet rolling her eyes.
"Do you want me to call Luke?" asked Jordan. Harriet shook her head. Luke was the last person she wanted to see right now.
"Well, come on. I'm not taking no for an answer. I'm taking you home, but I promise to ring you if I hear anything about Matt," said Jordan, grabbing hold of Harriet's arm. Harriet winced. "What's wrong?" asked Jordan, noticing.
"N… nothing," Harriet stuttered, but Jordan grabbed hold of Harriet's arm and rolled her sleeve up. She saw the towel stained with blood.
"What's happened?" gasped Jordan in shock as she unwrapped the towel and saw the full extent of Harriet's injuries. Harriet looked down at the floor not saying anything.
"Harri…Tell me what's happened?" Jordan insisted, but still Harriet stayed silent. Tears lined the corners of Harriet's eyes threatening to fall. Harriet knew that Jordan had worked it out but she still couldn't bring herself to tell her the truth.
"Come on, Harri, I think we need to talk," said Jordan putting her hand on Harriet's shoulder and gently easing her towards the couch.
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Danny downed what felt like his thousandth cup of coffee. He had been at the hospital for nearly a whole day now. All he had heard was that Matt had definitely taken an overdose. He had been in to see him, but he was under heavy sedation. He had heard doctors say that they were worried for his safety. So many questions were going through Danny's head. Why would Matt do this instead of coming to him? Why didn't he know what was going on? Did Matt really hate being alive so much that he felt the need to end his own life? Danny sighed and headed towards the café to get yet another cup of coffee.
"Mr Tripp?"
Danny turned around and saw a doctor facing him. "Can I have a word with you?"
TBC
I'm not really sure what happens when someone takes an overdose having never been in that situation before (thankfully) so I'm sorry if this isn't very realistic but never mind, it's only fiction anyway! Thanks for reading and I hope you're enjoying the story. Let me know what you think!