What's it Like to Live: Chapter 9: cold day in the life
))))))((((((
The four friends backed away from Chandler and Phoebe, not sure what to do. Chandler had fallen apart, he had revealed all. The mixed emotions they were all feeling were in no way compared to the demons that Chandler was dealing with. They all wanted to help him, but they just didn't know how.
After about ten minutes of continuous sobbing, Chandler finally started to relax. Phoebe's legs had cramped up long ago, but there was no way that she was going to stand up, Chandler was finally talking to them. She ran her left hand in small circles over his back, trying to calm him down.
Chandler lifted his head away from her shoulder, whipping his tears away. He looked up towards the faces of his friends, the fact that he had just cried for the first time in five years beginning to dawn on him. His emotions had always been too much for him to handle, it was easier to just push them to the back of his mind and act like the happy-go-lucky guy he used to be when he was younger.
It was all too much to stand, yelling at Joey, acting hateful towards Monica, breaking down in front of all of them, using Phoebe as a shield from himself. He needed them out of his apartment, out of his life.
He sniffled and stood up, holding his hand out for Phoebe. "Could you guys...could you just come back tomorrow. I need some time alone." He was afraid they would object to his request, thinking he would do something stupid. He was surprised when they all agreed to come back at noon the next day.
His eyes never left the carpet underneath him as they all filed out of his apartment. He couldn't look at them, especially Joey or Monica. At the sound of the door shutting, he headed to his room to change into a pair of jeans and grab a leather jacket.
He was going out.
))))))((((((
He had ended up at a bar somewhere in West Los Angeles where he spent his night beside a man that had passed out long before he had gotten there and a women that could have very well been a prostitute. Drink after drink, he continued to drown his problems, refusing the bartender's suggestions that he stop and go home.
Now, six hours after he had left, he stumbled towards the door of his apartment. He had drank so much, he was sure that he was sweating alcohol. The spinning of the hallway and the fact that everything his eyes could see was blurred didn't help get him inside any faster. He searched his pocket for his keys, feeling past the empty pill bottle and pack of cigarettes. Once he got the keys free of his pocket, they fell straight to the ground. He bent down to pick them up but instead found his body collapsing down to the ground.
))))))((((((
Monica, Phoebe, Rachel, Joey, and Ross all walked up the stairs, their pace a little faster than usual after realizing in the cab that they were a little late. Joey, who was in front of all of them, came to a stop when he spotted Chandler on the floor of the hallway, slumped against the wall. He sighed and walked over to Chandler, kicking his leg in frustration.
Chandler jolted awake at a sudden pain in his leg. The blinding light from the window in the hallway made it hard to make out the figures standing above him, but without hesitation, he knew that it was them. He closed his eyes and rested his head back against the wall, disappointed in himself and at his carelessness for his actions the previous night. "You see what you guys are up against?" He asked quietly.
Monica, who had always been, somewhat, the leader of the group, walked over to him, almost standing directly above him. She looked down at him like a mother would to a son. Her face wore a look of anger. "Get up." She said sharply, not caring if what she was about to do would hurt him or not.
Chandler hoisted himself off of the ground, using the wall to steady himself from his splitting headache. He was quite a bit taller than her, but with the look she was giving him, he might as well have been the size of a mouse.
"Get inside." She said, her voice unchanging from the last time she spoke.
He picked his keys up from the spot he had dropped them last night and unlocked the door. He held it open for everybody to enter and shut it after Monica angrily passed by him. She took her coat off and threw it on the table like she was about to sit down and spend the day trying to crack some unsolvable code. She spun around so fast the everybody, including Chandler, took a step back in fear.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" She yelled, stepping up to him until they were just inches apart. "Can't you see what you are doing to yourself? Are you that blind? I can't stay here and attempt to help you if you aren't even going to pitch in yourself. I won't stay here and watch you die, knowing that the cause of this was me!" She paused to take a breath and whipped away some of the tears that had begun to fall. "This is suicide Chandler, you're not helping yourself, or anybody, by doing this."
"Oh, now you're going to preach to me about suicide too?" He stepped in, attempting do defend himself. "Do you know anything about suicide? Did you know that I tried to kill myself several years ago?" He yelled, watching her look of anger mix with one of shock. "Yea, that's right. But unfortunately my assistant came in and talked me out of it. Do you know what it's like to live with people constantly checking up on you, just to make sure you don't do anything stupid?!" He stopped, waiting for her to answer.
"No." Her voice was small and weak, like the wind had been knocked out of her. Chandler slowly backed off, rubbing his temples to try and ease the pain of his headache. Everybody else had excused themselves to another room, giving them the time to yell at each other.
"I don't feel that well and I'm very tired, so if you don't mind, I'm going to go lay down for a while. I don't care if you guys are still here when I get up." With that he turned and walked away to his room, leaving Monica with a knew knowledge of his past without them.
T B C
))))))((((((
Ok so it was a little longer, but still not really long. I was going to keep going with this chapter but I decided that I'm too tired to go on. I'm only going to post the next chapter if I get some reviews because it's really unsatisfying to write this thing and not know if people are actually reading it or not. So I beg of you wonderful people, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW!!!
))))))((((((
The four friends backed away from Chandler and Phoebe, not sure what to do. Chandler had fallen apart, he had revealed all. The mixed emotions they were all feeling were in no way compared to the demons that Chandler was dealing with. They all wanted to help him, but they just didn't know how.
After about ten minutes of continuous sobbing, Chandler finally started to relax. Phoebe's legs had cramped up long ago, but there was no way that she was going to stand up, Chandler was finally talking to them. She ran her left hand in small circles over his back, trying to calm him down.
Chandler lifted his head away from her shoulder, whipping his tears away. He looked up towards the faces of his friends, the fact that he had just cried for the first time in five years beginning to dawn on him. His emotions had always been too much for him to handle, it was easier to just push them to the back of his mind and act like the happy-go-lucky guy he used to be when he was younger.
It was all too much to stand, yelling at Joey, acting hateful towards Monica, breaking down in front of all of them, using Phoebe as a shield from himself. He needed them out of his apartment, out of his life.
He sniffled and stood up, holding his hand out for Phoebe. "Could you guys...could you just come back tomorrow. I need some time alone." He was afraid they would object to his request, thinking he would do something stupid. He was surprised when they all agreed to come back at noon the next day.
His eyes never left the carpet underneath him as they all filed out of his apartment. He couldn't look at them, especially Joey or Monica. At the sound of the door shutting, he headed to his room to change into a pair of jeans and grab a leather jacket.
He was going out.
))))))((((((
He had ended up at a bar somewhere in West Los Angeles where he spent his night beside a man that had passed out long before he had gotten there and a women that could have very well been a prostitute. Drink after drink, he continued to drown his problems, refusing the bartender's suggestions that he stop and go home.
Now, six hours after he had left, he stumbled towards the door of his apartment. He had drank so much, he was sure that he was sweating alcohol. The spinning of the hallway and the fact that everything his eyes could see was blurred didn't help get him inside any faster. He searched his pocket for his keys, feeling past the empty pill bottle and pack of cigarettes. Once he got the keys free of his pocket, they fell straight to the ground. He bent down to pick them up but instead found his body collapsing down to the ground.
))))))((((((
Monica, Phoebe, Rachel, Joey, and Ross all walked up the stairs, their pace a little faster than usual after realizing in the cab that they were a little late. Joey, who was in front of all of them, came to a stop when he spotted Chandler on the floor of the hallway, slumped against the wall. He sighed and walked over to Chandler, kicking his leg in frustration.
Chandler jolted awake at a sudden pain in his leg. The blinding light from the window in the hallway made it hard to make out the figures standing above him, but without hesitation, he knew that it was them. He closed his eyes and rested his head back against the wall, disappointed in himself and at his carelessness for his actions the previous night. "You see what you guys are up against?" He asked quietly.
Monica, who had always been, somewhat, the leader of the group, walked over to him, almost standing directly above him. She looked down at him like a mother would to a son. Her face wore a look of anger. "Get up." She said sharply, not caring if what she was about to do would hurt him or not.
Chandler hoisted himself off of the ground, using the wall to steady himself from his splitting headache. He was quite a bit taller than her, but with the look she was giving him, he might as well have been the size of a mouse.
"Get inside." She said, her voice unchanging from the last time she spoke.
He picked his keys up from the spot he had dropped them last night and unlocked the door. He held it open for everybody to enter and shut it after Monica angrily passed by him. She took her coat off and threw it on the table like she was about to sit down and spend the day trying to crack some unsolvable code. She spun around so fast the everybody, including Chandler, took a step back in fear.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" She yelled, stepping up to him until they were just inches apart. "Can't you see what you are doing to yourself? Are you that blind? I can't stay here and attempt to help you if you aren't even going to pitch in yourself. I won't stay here and watch you die, knowing that the cause of this was me!" She paused to take a breath and whipped away some of the tears that had begun to fall. "This is suicide Chandler, you're not helping yourself, or anybody, by doing this."
"Oh, now you're going to preach to me about suicide too?" He stepped in, attempting do defend himself. "Do you know anything about suicide? Did you know that I tried to kill myself several years ago?" He yelled, watching her look of anger mix with one of shock. "Yea, that's right. But unfortunately my assistant came in and talked me out of it. Do you know what it's like to live with people constantly checking up on you, just to make sure you don't do anything stupid?!" He stopped, waiting for her to answer.
"No." Her voice was small and weak, like the wind had been knocked out of her. Chandler slowly backed off, rubbing his temples to try and ease the pain of his headache. Everybody else had excused themselves to another room, giving them the time to yell at each other.
"I don't feel that well and I'm very tired, so if you don't mind, I'm going to go lay down for a while. I don't care if you guys are still here when I get up." With that he turned and walked away to his room, leaving Monica with a knew knowledge of his past without them.
T B C
))))))((((((
Ok so it was a little longer, but still not really long. I was going to keep going with this chapter but I decided that I'm too tired to go on. I'm only going to post the next chapter if I get some reviews because it's really unsatisfying to write this thing and not know if people are actually reading it or not. So I beg of you wonderful people, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW!!!