Chapter 7

"Look out, coming through!" someone yelled, leading Roger to the nurse's office. "We got a bleeder here!"

The two boys crashed through the door into the office, blood dripping everywhere.

"What the hell happened?" the school nurse said, pulling down her little white skirt that kept rising up on her. She hated the classic nurse uniform, white blouse, white miniskirt, with white stockings and the little white hat with a red cross. "Get him up on the table now! Someone call a janitor in here to clean this blood off the floor too." Then she added, "Don't forget the ambulance too! This might be serious!"

The short plump secretary picked up the phone, and dialed 9-1-1. Meanwhile, in the nurse's office, there was a bustle of activity going on. There was blood on the floor, on Ms. Powell, the nurse, and all over the student that brought Roger into the office. Ms. Powell was running about her office looking for cotton gauze.

"Of course I just had to rearrange my office yesterday!" she scolded herself as she finally found the gauze in the top drawer on the left side of the desk. She took it and wrapped it around Roger's tongue. "Here," she instructed, "keep this on your tongue, with firm pressure until it stops bleeding, and if it doesn't, which is a good chance, we'll have to send you off to the hospital for surgery."

Roger's eyes went wide at the sound of the last word that had escaped Ms. Powell's lips.

"Have any of you guys seen Ralph today?" Jack asked Shawn and Laura as he walked into the 'secret room' where the teens hung out at school. "I haven't seen him since I went to bed last night. I think what happened with Roger yesterday is really bugging him."

"No, I haven't," Laura responded first.

"Neither have I," Shawn added.

"Shit. I really hope he's okay. Poor kid has had so much tragedy in his life; the island, and now this. He just keeps losing everything that he has. I guess I'm really all he has left." Jack was almost it tears.

"Oh, Jack," Laura took him into an embrace to try to comfort him. It was really bugging him, because of this. He didn't want Ralph to do something that he might regret. "Maybe he's at home?" Laura suggested.

"Let's hope so." Jack took off for his house. He came tearing in through the door, and looked around for any sign that Ralph was in the house. He didn't see his shoes or his bag, or anything. He went tearing up the stairs, and went to Ralph's room. He went into the dark red and black room, and ripped the sheets off the bed, hoping that he would be in them, but he wasn't. Jack next ran into his own white room, tears streaming down his face. There was no sign on Ralph being in the room either. Jack then thought to go look in the bathroom. He threw himself into his en suite, and found Ralph. There was red on the floor, and Ralph was unconscious in the bathtub. Jack started to sob a little more, and the noise made Ralph stir.

"Jack, is that you?" Ralph whimpered in a soft voice.

"Yes, it's me, Ralph!" Jack exclaimed, pulling Ralph's naked body from the tub. There were small incisions on Ralph's arm. Jack then noticed a small razor in the bottom of the tub. Jack bent closer to examine the cuts. They weren't shallow at all, but it was meant to be.

"Jack, I'm so scared. I don't know what to do anymore." Ralph clung his body to Jack's. He started to cry. Jack didn't know what to do either. He'd never dealt with someone trying to kill themselves before. He didn't know whether to call his mom, or the paramedics, or to go get Shawn and Laura. "I want my mom and dad!" Ralph was sobbing into Jack's shoulder. It was hard to understand what he was saying.

"I know you do, Hunny, but you can't. They're gone. I know this has got to be so hard, but you got to be strong! I'll always be here for you. Don't worry about what's going on with Roger, or anyone else. All that matters is you and me, alright?"

"I guess so," Ralph sniffed to keep his nose from running onto Jack's shirt. "Jack, I've been thinking about a lot of things lately. Mostly about you and me."

"What's up, darling?" Jack's shirt was turning red from the blood that was slowly leaking from Ralph's cuts.

"Jack, I ..." just then Ralph fell unconscious.

Ralph could hear some noises. There was a rustling in the room, as if someone was tossing and turning in a chair, trying to sleep. He opened his eyes, but he couldn't see anything. The room was dark, and the curtains were drawn.

"Jack?" Ralph called out into the darkness. "Jack, are you there?"

"Huh?" a groggy voice answered from the other side of the room. "What's going on, who's there?"

"Jack, where am I?" Ralph called back into the darkness. His eyes were now adjusting to the light somewhat, and he could make out the figure of Jack sitting in the chair on the other side of the room.

"Ralph? You're awake?" Jack jumped from the chair where he was sitting to Ralph's side. He flicked on a light. Ralph could see the blood on Jack's shirt.

"Jack! Oh my god, are you hurt? Why is there blood all over you?" Ralph was in hysterics that is best friend could be hurt.

"We're not here because of me." Jack answered back. "We're here because of you. This is your blood on me, not my own." Ralph then realized that he was the one in the bed, in a little paper hospital gown. There were gauze bandages wrapped abound his arms where he had cut himself.

"What's happened to me? I don't remember anything except that Roger tried to kiss me. Then you took me into the bathroom over at the pool to calm me down. You showed me a tattoo...with my name in it. Things were just happening all so fast for me. I was so confused. I don't know what I did after I left the bathroom with you."

"That's what happened." Jack explained. "Then, I guess, you ran home, and you did this to yourself." Jack could feel his eyes welling up with tears. "What the fuck were you thinking? Why would you want to kill yourself? Do you want to leave me? Think about all of the rest of us, Shawn and Laura included, that would have to deal with your death! We all love you very dearly, Ralph, and we're all here to do anything for you. Ralph," a tear fell from Jack's face onto Ralph's hand. "I love you."