The Value of a Life

Chapter 21 The Blues

A/N: Sorry I was away for so long. If you care for the explanation, it is at the end. Also, sorry this chapter is a little short.

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"Honestly, I had to stop reading for a few minutes before I could work up the courage to continue once I realised where this was headed. The best writers can make you emotionally attached to a character and agree with their decisions even though you think they are wrong. You, good sir, have done this to me and I have thoroughly enjoyed reading up to this point and I am waiting for the next chapter eagerly." –Guest

(Third Person POV)

(January 5th, 2015)

Lily stormed away from her sister, who was left standing in the hallway, frozen in shock. Kate wasn't entirely sure what just happened. It seemed like a dream but felt so real. She couldn't have actually said that to Humphrey, could she? No, that would be impossible.

She did remember it vividly though. There was an image burned into her eyes. She could see a look of such horror on Humphrey's face that she could swear showed something breaking inside him. She could also feel a lingering pressure on her shoulders. Finally, she looked down at her right hand. There it was, undeniable proof. The second knuckle of her fist was bruised and throbbing. It all really happened. She couldn't deny it any longer. She really said those horrible things and struck the face she had known for most of her life.

Kate's stomach felt like it twisted and turned over. She couldn't believe herself. She might have actually been the biggest bitch on the planet. God, he was sick and she yelled at him like it was his fault. How could she try to blame him for being depressed?

She finally regained the presence of mind to realize that she was still standing alone in the hallway. Lily's heavy, retreating footsteps could be heard a ways away. Kate started after her. She really needed someone like her right then. She caught up to her shortly after they both exited the building. They walked side by side, but the younger of the two refused to look at her sister. She pointedly stared at the sidewalk as they trekked home, scowling absently.

Kate didn't like the silence between them. She couldn't handle it. After everything that just transpired, silence felt so wrong. She felt like screaming her lungs out into the wind until her throat was so raw it bled. She felt like yelling, and sobbing, and begging for forgiveness, all at the same time; so silence…that just wasn't an option.

However, she had no idea what to say. She didn't know where to start. She didn't know if she could even go back to speaking normally after how she spoke to Humphrey. Humphrey…she'd start there. She was concerned about him, so she imagined Lily would be too.

"Do you think he's…" she started, but the other girl cut her off.

"Shut up" Lily gruffly commanded, grinding her teeth together in frustration. She still refused to look at her sister.

"What?" Kate asked, confused by the sudden outburst. Lily never talked to her like that. She couldn't even remember the last time she had seen her sister be legitimately angry with her.

"I said shut up!" She repeated through clenched teeth. Her fists balled of their own volition at her sides. She crossed her arms over her chest and sped up to escape the other girl.

Kate huffed indignantly. What the hell was that about? She wasn't just going to quietly be ignored. She trotted up to meet the girl again with her eyebrows knitted together angrily.

"What's your problem?" she hissed. In an instant, Lily halted her gait and forcibly stopped Kate with her hand.

"What's my problem?! What's your problem, Kate?" she returned, pointing her thin, dagger-like finger into her sister's shoulder.

"Hey…" Kate began, only to be interrupted again.

"No, don't you 'hey' me. And don't you dare ask about Humphrey! After that stunt you pulled, he should hate you. I know I would." The white-haired girl shouted. She had never wanted to hit her sister as much as she did right then, but she didn't. Still, she was going to make her opinions well known.

Kate faltered in her stance. Lily was right and she absolutely deserved what she was hearing, but it hurt. It hurt a lot. She didn't have anyone on her side in this, not even her own family. Hell, she wasn't even on her own side. She hated herself for what she said too. But she had hoped for some kind of comfort from Lily. She didn't have anywhere else to turn for it. She'd been alienating all her friends in favor of her boyfriend, who she can't even stand anymore, and now her sister is giving her a literal cold shoulder. The brisk air stung her eyes and she wished that was the only reason her vision was blurring.

After a moment of silence, she murmured, barely above a whisper "I'm sorry…". She didn't really know who she was talking to. She just stared into the concrete of the sidewalk.

Lily was still disappointed or angry or something in between at her sister, but she could see the toll the ordeal had taken on her. She looked so defeated and genuinely regretful. Lily couldn't just let this go, but she also couldn't be angry while she saw Kate like that. The younger sister's expression visibly softened, though it still held some disdain.

"Don't tell me that. Say it to him." She suggested, trying not to sound as scornful.

At the change in tone, Kate looked up. She held back a sniffle. "Do you think he'd even let me?" she asked. She hated how weak and pitiful she was, but she felt just as small as she sounded.

Lily sighed and looked away from her sister's eyes. That was a loaded question. She didn't know how to answer. Truthfully, she couldn't. There was no way for her to tell what was going through Humphrey's mind. He had never been one to hold a grudge, but this was different. Humphrey is an incredible person, but could anyone really forgive what Kate said?

"I…I don't know." She admitted, as though it were crushing news. It very well might have been. Lily didn't know how she could after everything Kate did, but she felt sorry for her. The whole situation was a mess and no one came out of it on top. Kate looked like she understood what she heard, but she certainly wasn't happily about it. Still, she nodded. Lily realized that Humphrey was not the only one Kate's words had hurt. She inflicted emotional wounds on herself as well. "Come on. Let's get home." Lily said, turning and beginning to continue along their route.

Kate fell into step with her. She was still quiet, though. Out of the corner of her eye, Lily swore she saw her wipe her eyes. That was the final straw. Lily couldn't stand seeing her sister be so miserable. It was getting old. Without saying a word, she hooked her arm around Kate's elbow. She didn't look up at her, though. The gesture was all she was getting from her. It did seem to work at least a little bit as they walked the rest of the way home.

(Time Skip: about 45 minutes later)

Charlie walked briskly back from the nearest 7Eleven, carrying back a pint of vanilla ice cream in a plastic bag. She couldn't get that off her mind. It was such a weird request. He ate the frozen dessert often enough for her to know that plain vanilla is his favorite, but not much more. She had never seen him want it any other time that he was upset, even though it isn't incredibly strange. She was guilty of that herself. Still she couldn't shake a sneaking suspicion of his request. She acquiesced to it regardless.

She tried to focus herself on the task at hand. She was trying to wake home before the ice cream melted. She quickened her pace. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, though. Sure, there really was something wrong, Humphrey basically just had his beating heart torn out and stomped on, but that's not what she meant. It was unsettling to her, his even-tempered face when he held her hand in his own, the way he walked and talked so simply and calmly, without shakiness or any sign of distress, and then his outlandish wish for her. She strode faster still.

She continued at her near running pace until she walked around the corner, onto Centennial Avenue. Then, she broke out into a pounding sprint.

It took only a second for it to make sense to Charlie, but it felt like an eternity. As she rounded the bend, she saw flashing blue and red lights glaring back at her. Then she noticed the ambulance they were attached to. She froze for an instant. She had to force herself to make her eyes look to the house in front of which the vehicle was parked. Every fiber in her body resisted, shouting at her that she didn't want to know the answer. Eventually, her gaze tracked right slightly and she saw the blazing red Mustang in the driveway.

Her world came to a halt and her heart leapt into her throat. And in a second, it started back into motion, but at breakneck speed, as if it had to catch up to the time lost. She didn't realize that she was darting along the sidewalk until she hear the grocery back and its contents hit the concrete a few feet behind her.

Just as she was nearing the house, a man in a blue uniform backed out of the front door, pulling something made of bright yellow bars. It was long, this thing, with a white top and something strapped to it. Behind it, trailed another man, bearing the same uniform. They were rushing just as fast as she was. The thing on top of the yellow and white platform didn't move, but it captured her attention. It couldn't be what she thought it was. That was impossible. As she came out of her furious gait, reality finally hit her and it hit her hard. It felt like it nearly crushed her. For the second time in that day, her world came to a crashing halt. Humphrey was lying on a stretcher, motionless, being hauled away frantically by paramedics. He was unconscious.

Charlie screamed, louder than she ever had before, catching the attention of the EMT's. They looked at her, but she paid them no mine. She bolted up to the stretcher and looked at her brother. He didn't even twitch. What did that mean? She couldn't see what was wrong with him, but it looked like he was covered in blood. He was pale too, almost ghostly. She reached to touch his cheek and it was so cold.

She didn't get a second more to inspect him because the two men started yelling, but she couldn't make out any words. They didn't make sense to her. Suddenly, a hand landed on her shoulder. She turned around to face its owner, and was met with the stony expression of another man in a blue uniform, though his was slightly different. He was mouthing more gibberish. She shook off his grasp violently. She didn't have time for his nonsense. She needed to help Humphrey! She didn't know how but she had to do something.

The third blue man must not have liked that very much. He wrapped his arms around her, pinning hers to her sides. He lifted her off the ground somewhat and started carrying her backward. The other blue men starting moving again, putting Humphrey into their vehicle. She kicked at the air ferociously but to no avail. She had to do something. Yet, anything she did yielded no benefit. The blue men shut the backdoors of their ambulance and got in the front seat. It started moving away.

Charlie screamed again. She had to get free. She had to help Humphrey! She couldn't though. Her restraints were solid.

As the flashing lights sped off out of sight, she started crying. Humphrey looked terrible. She had no idea what happened. The world started to slow back down to normal again. She could hear the voice of the man holding her.

"Miss, you need to calm down." he said softly, despite his forceful grip on her. Charlie looked back at him. He was a police officer. Behind them was his cruiser, its lights flashing just like the ambulance's. She could hear the loud, near whimpering barking of Bailey from inside the house. She broke down. The image of her brother, so impossibly still was burned into her eyes. Her body went limp. The police man gently lowered her to the ground. She sat on the dew covered grass, though she was uncaring of the cold and the dampness. The officer kneeled next to her.

"Miss, are you okay?" he asked gently. Charlie didn't look up at him. She stared at her one of her hands. The tips of its fingers had blood on them and it wasn't her own. She was speechless, her throat so hoarse from her wailing. She sniffled and forced out a nod.

"What happened?" the officer said. He placed a tender hand on her shoulder. She had to fight the feeling of shards of glass in her throat in order to speak.

"I-I don't…I don't know." She muttered. She started balling again. The officer took in a deep breath. She looked up at him weakly. He was Caucasian, with soft features and piercing blue eyes. He was young, probably in his early twenties and had his hat on.

"Who was that?" he asked, removing his hand and playing it on his knee.

"My brother, Humphrey."

"And what's your name?"

"Charlie…Wilson. My last name is Wilson."

The conversation was only broken by Charlie's sharp breathing and Bailey's whining barks. He told her that his name was Officer Daniels. She choked on her words a few times. He continued to ask her question after question procedurally. The whole time, he was collected, understandably much more so than she was. He asked her about her age, Humphrey's age, their family, and a multitude of other things. He wrote some stuff down in a small notebook.

Finally, he returned his notebook to his shirt pocket. He glanced up at her and smiled. "Is that your dog?" he asked, pointing his thumb toward the house. Charlie followed it and heard Bailey running her own throat ragged. Charlie nodded silently. His smile disappeared and was replaced with a tight line. "You should call your dad" he said curtly, "Do you need to borrow my phone?".

Charlie shook her head. She reached into her pocket and speed-dialed Paul. He answered after two rings.

"Hey Charlie" Paul answered in a lively tone. He must have been in a good mood. This was going to ruin that.

"Hey Dad" she replied grimly.

"You sound upset. Is something wrong?" he asked. He was always one to be in tune to her emotions. She loved that about him. She couldn't tell him this. She could barely say it to herself. "Honey?" Paul said. Charlie couldn't take it. She removed the phone from her ear and clutched it to her chest. She didn't fight back another round of balling.

"Would you like me to?" Officer Daniels asked politely. Charlie didn't look at him, but nodded. She stretched out the phone and he took it. "Hello sir. My name is Officer Daniels and I'm here with Charlie." He said into the phone. Charlie could only hear half of the conversation, which consisted of a lot of "yes, sir", "that's correct", and "mhm". She did pay much attention to it. She did catch him say "lacerations" though and that concerned her. It seemed as though that was the only thing Officer Daniels knew that she didn't. He must've arrived on scene after her. The conversation ended with him saying "I'll meet you there". He hung up and handed the phone back to Charlie.

"Come on" he said kindly, "Let's get you cleaned up and then I can drive you to the hospital". He extended a hand to her and helped stand up. He walked with her into the house. Once inside, he stepped to the side of the front door and said "I'll wait for you here". Charlie nodded again and started up towards the second floor bathroom. Once she crested the stairs and turned to look into the bathroom, her heart stopped. She gasped loudly and reached out behind her to brace herself against the hallway wall. Her hand contacted it with a thud.

"Charlie?" Officer Daniels called. When she didn't respond after a second, he bolted up the stairs. He saw her standing at the top of them staring at something. "Are you…" he started to ask, but as he reached the top of the stairs, he saw what she was looking at so intently. Through the partially opened door, he could see that the bathroom floor was covered in blood. It was fresh and wet. He cautiously stepped forward with his hand on his gun just in case. He opened the door the rest of the way and looked around. The bathroom sink was filled with an off-color red liquid and melting ice. The counter itself had a fair amount of blood on it too, but lying next to the droplets was a pocket knife, opened and bloody. He sighed gravely.

He turned around to the girl and asked "Do you have another bathroom?".

Charlie nodded again and headed back down the stairs to the other bathroom. A minute later, she returned from with clean hands, but was shaking slightly. She had seen the knife too. Did that mean Humphrey did this to himself? He couldn't have? It must have been an accident. He wouldn't have done it on purpose. Still, there was a small doubt in the back of her mind.

She walked past the living room and Bailey whimpered at her. Charlie had almost forgotten about her. The dog looked just as worried, possibly more so, than she did. Bailey must have been there the whole time. That had to have been terrifying for her. Charlie opened the crate door slightly, just enough to reach in and scratch the dog's neck. It was meant as a small comfort. After a minute where the dog seemed no less worried, Charlie sighed and closed the gate again. She felt awful that she had to leave her, but hospitals generally don't allow dogs. Tears rimmed her eyes another time.

Charlie regathered herself and started walking toward the door. Officer Daniels had resumed his post there and upon seeing her, nodded and led her out the door to his police cruiser. Charlie sat in the back while he drove. The ride was silent. Neither of the two had anything to say. Charlie simply did her best to avoid crying again.

She thought about who she should tell. No one really came to mind except one person, a girl specifically. Before she left a moment more for thought, she sent a text to Kate, saying "I don't know what happened, but I saw Humphrey get taken away in an ambulance. I don't know if he's okay.". She thought about whether or not she should have told her. Humphrey probably wouldn't want her to know. He was so hurt by what she said. Charlie tried not to think about what Kate told him to do. She didn't want that suspicion to play out in her mind. If it started, it wasn't going to stop. Charlie thought Kate deserved to know. She cared about Humphrey, even if she was doing a shitty job of showing it at the moment. She would want to be told. It was important. Charlie just hoped that Humphrey wouldn't be mad at her. If…when he wakes up.

A/N: I'm going to keep this as short as possible because I already told a lot of you, but this is pretty complex. Basically, from September 15th to the 22nd, I was hospitalized for my depression and anxiety. I was committed to the University of Behavioral Health-Care. In short, I could not contract for safety when asked, which means that I could not answer definitively whether or not I would hurt myself when. A lot happened while I was in there and a lot has changed about me. I'm better, but nor "cured" so there will be times when I just can't update or talk for a while. As such, I will not promise any update schedule. I was never really good at keeping them and between school and this stuff, I can't be regular with them. I will try to work on weekends, but that doesn't mean that I will post every week. I will try to make it at least more often than once a month.

Thank you guys for staying with me through my own difficult times. It means a lot to me. I hope I can repay you with an excellent story. I'll do my best. I hope you liked this chapter. Best of luck. :)

-Nick (ncham9)

p.s. This isn't that important, but I'm happy about it. Chapter 20 of TVoL alone received 27 reviews, which is more 4 more than I got throughout the entirety of Love Me for Mine. I thought that was worth celebrating that I reached this point with TVoL.