Summary and Disclaimer from Chapter one still stand.
Author's Notes: Thanks to everyone who's reading. Glad you guys like the fic so much, because I'm obsessed with it. :D I'm VERY happy with how it's turning out. Everything takes a decidedly MORE depressing turn this chapter.
Chapter Three: Do you, don't you want me to love you?
Marco sat in the molded plastic chair. Just past the thin curtain surrounding the emergency room cot, he could hear hectic hospital bustle. Craig was in the reception area, waiting for Spinner's mom.
The flush had receded from Spinner's cheeks, his temperature was returning to a safer level. The tremors in his hands and feet had stopped. But his heart was still beating unusually fast, and he was still unconscious. The heart monitor's beeping had Marco's nerves on edge. In every film and television show he had ever seen, everyone got scared when the monitor's beeping began to slow. He had never seen a show in which the abnormally fast beating was the cause of worry.
Marco stood in surprise when the curtain flew aside in a flurry and Mrs. Mason entered. She stopped, saw Spinner lying there, and tears instantly began to flow. She and Marco exchanged places as she leant down over him, pressing her face against his.
Marco went to Craig.
"Did you tell her what happened?" he whispered.
"I told her what we knew. But we really don't know what happened, do we?"
Marco ran a hand through his hair.
"I'm scared."
"So am I."
---
News spread surprisingly fast through Degrassi Community School. Spinner was in the hospital. Marco and Craig were both with him, which is why they weren't in school, despite having been there for all their morning classes. No one was quite sure what had happened, how it had happened, when it had happened. All that everyone knew for sure was that it had happened.
By the time Manny made it to the hospital, Spinner was out of the emergency room cubicle, and in a proper room. Mrs. Mason was off for Kendra, but Craig and Marco were still with him. They were both hoping and waiting for him to wake up.
When Manny entered, Craig awkwardly excused himself. Ignoring Craig's discomfort, Manny sat in the chair beside the bed, put her hands over one of his, and looked up at Marco.
"What really happened?" she asked.
"He came to homeroom this morning, but he left right after he got there... He left his bag, so Craig and me brought it to his house at the lunch hour. His car was there, but he didn't answer the door. The door was unlocked, so we went in..." Marco's voice cracked. "He was just lying there. And he did it to himself."
"What was it?"
"His Ritalin. He just... took the whole bottle. All of it." He paused again, and then sighed. "He knew. That's what gets me. He knew that it might... might kill him. Spinner... Spinner tried to kill himself."
Tears were in both of their eyes when Marco also excused himself, leaving Manny alone with Spinner.
"What's wrong, Spinner?" She asked him. "What's happened?"
But of course there was no answer.
---
Manny was again alone with the unconscious Spinner. It was almost eight at night, and Mrs. Mason had just stepped down to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee.
Manny jumped when the quietest, most feeble whimper imaginable escaped Spinner's lips. His head turned on the pillow, and his forehead and temples wrinkled as he squinted in discomfort.
"Spinner." She sighed, relieved.
His eyes opened a sliver, and his mouth formed her name, but no sound escaped. He coughed a few times, then attempted to speak again.
"Manny." He rasped.
"Spinner." She repeated. She was crying again. "Spinner, we were all so worried. What happened? What were you thinking?"
He started to cry too. He had failed, miserably, and now more people's lives were screwed up. He'd fucked up again.
He lay back, resting his head on the pillow. His eyes were fully open, but he could barely see. His pupils were dilated so much that Manny almost could not detect the brown of his iris.
"Talk to me, Spinner. What happened?"
He was tired of hiding. He was tired of trying to make it go away. He decided it was time to accept what he'd done. Take responsibility for the lives he'd ruined.
"Rick. The gun was my fault. Jimmy was my fault."
Manny frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
"The paint. And the feathers. That was me, and Jay and Alex. And then... Jay and me... we as good as told Rick that Jimmy did it. That Jimmy set it up, it was Jimmy's idea. And Rick shot Jimmy. It's my fault."
"You're not serious. You're delirious or something." Manny whispered.
"Do I sound delirious, Manny? Really? It's true, Manny. All of that is true. I crippled Jimmy. I killed Rick."
There was a pause, before Manny stood up so fast that the chair she had been sitting in tipped over backwards.
"I cannot believe you. You're completely serious. Christ, Spinner, do you have any idea... I knew you had a tendency to be a bit of a bully sometimes, but to blame it on someone else? You could have killed him! And he was your friend!"
Spinner heard the door open, then slam. Manny was gone. He knew they were probably over. He was alone again. He figured she would tell the rest of the school. His life was as good as over. But he had failed in ending it.