Aria

I don't wanna see anyone. I don't want to talk to anyone. And that's why I've locked myself in the bathroom. But that doesn't mean I'm bored out of my mind. When I finally come
out of here, it'll be because I'm bored, not because I'm ready to stop being childish and talk about my problems. There's a knock at the door. "What?" I ask.
"Can I come in?"
Surprisingly, it's not Ezra or Spencer. It's Chris. And even more surprisingly, I open the door. Chris comes in and sits on the floor next to me.
"I'm sorry." he says. "I'm just angry."
I don't say anything.
"I know we don't talk, and you think I'm trouble. And you're right. But I shouldn't have gone that far. But just cause I'm apologizing doesn't mean we're friends and it doesn't mean you can cry on my
shoulder about your messed up life."
"I'm not gonna cry." I say. "And you are aware Ali was my friend, too."
"I know. Poor you."
"Yup. But... Chris?"
"What?"
"I know you used to cut yourself also."
"Okay?"
"How'd you stop?"
He laughs. "I told you. We aren't friends."
"Chris."
His face softens. "Okay. Fine. I got this nasty infection from a cut so I stopped and started drinking instead."
"So in other words I should find a new addiction."
"You're a jerk you know that right?"
"That's something you and Ali agreed on." He holds out his hand. "now get up, toughen up and either fight this, or give up. Don't linger in depression. Either climb up or let yourself fall."
I take his hand and stand up.

Ezra

"Ezra get up!" My eyes fly open. Spencer's shaking me. "Ezra get up we need your help come on!" She pulls my arm and I stumble to my feet. I hear cracks of thunder and lighting lights up the room.
So I can only imagine we'll be wrangling in cows for a tornado. Luckily there are supplies to make up beds in the basement and soon I can go right back to sleep. Then, the lightning lights up the room so
bright I see Spencer's hands are covered in blood and some is even smudged on her face. And so now, I start to worry.
"What's going on?!" I ask, following her run.
"It's Aria."
She takes me into the bathroom that's connected to her and Toby's bedroom. Aria's laying on the ground and she had blood pour out of her wrists like a facet. Toby's on the phone with 911.
"What happened?" I ask. But I don't need an answer. I get down on my knees next to Aria and my PJ pants get damp with spots of blood on my knees. "Spencer get towels." I tell her.
She grabs a few from the hamper. "No," I say. "Clean ones." Spencer runs to the other bathroom to find clean towels.
I rub Aria's hair. She's hyperventilating like she's having a panic attack. She probably is. I would be too. Half of me is mad at her. The other half wants to hold her and tell her everything'll be okay.
"Damn it!" Toby slams the phone down. "Phone line's out."
"Use your cell phone." I say trying to stay calm for Aria.
"No reception."
"Try my phone." I use my hand and apply pressure to Aria's wrists.
"It's okay they already sent an ambulance. There's nothing else they can do anyway." Toby says. "What else can I do?"
"Go get Aunt Betty and Uncle John."
"They're not home."
"What do you mean?! It's two am, where are they?"
"Hospital with their friend."
"Still?"
Spencer walks in now. "There's been three tornado's tonight. They stayed there for safety reasons." She wraps Aria's arm up in a towel. "This isn't gonna work." She says. "It'll keep the bleeding from
going everywhere but it won't stop it. Nothing will besides stitches..."
"Well we need to slow it down." I say.
"It is slowing down." She says, pressing down on it.
"Ouch!" Aria squeals. "That hurts"
"You should've thought of that before you -"
"Shut up, Spencer." I tell her. "Go get..." I sigh. "Go get Chris."
"Chris?"
"Both of you, go, now. Get Chris. Tell him what happened and that the ambulnce is held up be weather." When Spencer stands up, the blood from her knees drip down her legs
and onto her toes. She makes little stains on the carpet as she walks into the bedroom and into the hall way to get Chris.
Aria leans back and closes her eyes. She stops crying and starts to turn pale.
"Hey, Aria..." I stroak her hair. "It's gonna be okay."
"No..." She mutters. "It can't be..."
"What do you mean, sweetheart?"
"Don't take me to the hospital..."
"Aria, you're losing blood, you don't know what's going on. But we're gonna take you to the hospital and they'll stitch your cuts and you'll be fine..."
"No, Ezra, I know what's going on..." she sounds drunk and sadated. She's about to pass out. She can't even hold her head up. "I don't want to be fine. You have to..."
She trails off.
"Have to what?"
"Take the towels away..."
"If we do that, you'll die..."
She doesn't say anything. She slowly opens her eyes and looks at me.
I start to cry now. "You don't want that, do you?"
She closes her eyes. "Do you?!"
"Ezra, please."
I wrap the towels tighter. "No." I say. "Not on my watch. You don't even think about it."
She doesn't reply. Chris comes in followed by Toby who stayes out of the way and Spencer who lingers in the doorway.
"You might wanna give Aria some whisky to knock her out. Like now."
He gets on his knees with the little kit in his hand. "She's already passed out." I tell him.
"Good." He says. "This is gonna hurt." Then he laughs. Like this is funny. To him I bet it is. I want to go in the other room. I don't want to be near my cousin. Or my potentially
dying girlfriend. But I stay. Because if Aria lives and wakes up, I want her to know I didn't leave her for anything.
"Holy cow," Spencer says. "What is that?!" she looks at the kit in Chris's hand.
"It's just that." He laughs. "It's for a cow. To stitch them up. You know how much it would cost to have a vet come out in the middle of night in the middle of nowhere, to stitch up a
cow after it got snagged on a fence? We all just learned to do it ourselves."
"You're gonna stitch up Aria's arm? Is that safe?" She shakes her head.
"It's all we got."
"No." Spencer says. "No. Don't do it. I don't trust you."
"Spence." I say. "Let him. It's okay."
"Yeah, Spence, chill." Chris laughs.
Spencer gives him a death stare. "It's Spencer."
"Spencer, get out." I order. "Now. And Chris, focus. This is a game to you but to me it's my entire life laying on the floor dying right now so get it together or let me do it."
He shrugs. "Whatever. Dude, maybe you should just let her die. If you really love her -"
"Move." Spencer shoves Chris out of the way. Toby grabs him by his shirt collar and drags him into the hall. I really hope they bring two ambulances. Maybe three.
Spencer starts to stitch Aria's arm up.
"You're sure you got this?" I ask.
"Nope." She says. "But it was either me or him and I can sew really good. They'll have to re-do them at the hospital so they hold but for now this should keep her alive.
Hopefully." She sighs. "It's really hard to know what I'm doing with all this blood."
"Just... really really try okay?"
"Ezra I love her just as much as you do. Don't worry. We're gonna take care of her. She'll be okay."

Spencer

The paramedics are about to put Aria in the the back of the ambulance. Toby's grabs onto my hand. "She'll be okay." He whispers.
"Who's going with?" The paramedic asks. I step forward. So does Ezra.
"Sorry, only room for one in the back."
"What about the front?" I ask.
"No seats left. Sorry."
They load Aria in the back.
"Ezra, you go." I tell him. "She'd want you."
"No, she'd want you. You know it's true."
I look down. "No. If she dies, I can't be there with her. Not alone."
Ezra hops in the back. I kick a rock with my foot. But then I feel a tug on my arm. Ezra pulls me into the ambulance and sits me on his lap.
"We'll stay out of the way." He tells them. The paramedics look at each other and shrug. Then they close the doors. And pull away.
The lights aren't on. Neither is the siren. I hoped his means it wasn't urgent. Then I remembered it's because we were in the middle of no where. And no one would hear the siren
anyways. I adjust myself on Ezra's lap so it's not as awkward. But when your best friend's dying infront of you, you tend to not care about awkward.