Disclaimer: All characters, etc., belong to their owners...yep...just wrote this story here.
A/N: A very touchy subject is mentioned in this chapter. If you can't read something with a subject of suicide, I suggest you skip this chapter. No one dies, but it is a topic in this chapter.
Chapter 5: One Moment
Rob stared into the bathroom mirror the next morning, practicing how he would ask Lucy to Homecoming. He felt silly after a while. Besides, he had to leave for school. He was going to be late if he didn't leave in the next five minutes.
When Rob did arrive at school, Matt ran up to him.
"I hear you're asking Lucy Kramer to the dance."
"Why do these things spread so fast?" asked Rob.
"I don't know. They just do. Anyway, good luck."
"Thanks, I'll need it."
Drake made his way down to the emergency room. He'd been called down because a teenager had been brought in and the doctor had thought he should speak with a psychiatrist, so Drake had been sent down. He walked into the emergency room and shook his head. Memories of that day that Ford died were trying to cloud his mind. It happened every time he came down here. It wasn't that bad anymore. Drake had come to terms with Ford's death and soon figured there was nothing to fear from the hospital when he was in college.
He met the doctor who had called for a psychiatrist.
"Dr. Parker, meet Jeff Malone. He tried to hang himself in his home. He succeeded in giving himself rope burns around his neck, but it was a suicide attempt, which is why you're here. Luckily, the rope broke, so he couldn't complete his suicide."
"I see," said Drake. He peered at the boy on the bed. "How old are you?"
"Sixteen."
"I see. So, got your driver's license?"
"Yes."
"Girlfriend?"
"She dumped me."
"I see." Drake considered this. Yes, it happened at times. When couples would break up, one of the two might try to commit suicide. This could be the situation. He'd have to ask some more questions. "I'm sure there's someone else who'd be looking for a guy like you."
"Maybe." Jeff apparently didn't talk much.
"You loved her?"
"Yeah...a lot."
That was most likely what this was about. Jeff might also be depressed. It just added fuel to the fire.
"You're a psychiatrist?" Jeff asked.
"Yes," Drake responded.
"They think I'm crazy."
"You're not crazy. You're just going through a difficult time and thought you'd found a solution. The wrong solution, but to you, it was a good one."
"The wrong one? Yeah, right. My parents wouldn't care."
"I think you're wrong. Trust me, as a parent myself, it's the last thing you want your child to do."
"Then you're a good one. Keep being that way. Mine just don't care."
"Okay, Jeff. I think things will be better if you saw a professional more regularly. I think you should make an appointment with another psychiatrist. There's a very good one whose office is about half an hour away from here. He'll be happy to see you."
"You think I'm crazy."
"I already told you I didn't."
"Did you mean it?"
"I never say anything unless I mean it."
"Then how come my appointment can't be with you?"
"Because I don't have an office. This is my fellowship."
"You're still in school?"
"I'm officially a doctor. This is just to fulfill some last requirements. By the way, all doctors are still learning. There's always new studies, techniques, and prescriptions."
"So, this guy, is he good?"
"Of course he is, or I wouldn't send anyone to him."
"I guess."
"I'll have to talk to your parents when they get here."
"Okay. Tell them whatever you want."
Rob walked toward Lucy's locker before lunch. He felt butterflies in his stomach. He'd managed to fix one of his three problems. He'd asked Caitlyn about a movie, and she agreed. He was thrilled. Now all he had to do was ask Lucy to Homecoming and figure out what to do about his mother. The latter seemed easier at the moment.
His steps felt heavy, and he couldn't focus. He was Drake Parker's brother, and he was having trouble with talking to girls? That was what Josh would do, and Rob wasn't related to him by blood. Maybe it rubbed off on him those couple years they'd lived with Josh.
After a few moments, Rob realized he was right in front of Lucy. He felt himself go numb. This wasn't how asking a girl out was supposed to feel, was it? He'd done it in the past. How come it was scary now? Rob wanted to run and hide, but he couldn't. Lucy had seen him.
"Hi, Lucy," said Rob.
"Hey, Rob," she said, digging through her locker for her chemistry book.
The fact that she said his name almost made Rob forget why he was at her locker. He snapped back to reality and began to ask his question.
"Uh, so, Lucy, has anyone asked you to Homecoming yet?"
"No," she said. "Mainly because Todd and I just broke up last night. Has word got around that fast? I'm not surprised."
Rob nearly smacked himself in the forehead. Of course she was dating Todd. Well, had been dating Todd. But this was good and bad. She had no date, and Rob was the first to ask her. It was bad if she told him she wasn't ready for a date. But it was Homecoming. Was she really going to say no to that?
"Oh, yeah," said Rob, figuring that agreeing would be best. "I was sort of wondering if maybe you wantagowifme."
"Pardon?" she asked because he had mumbled the last part.
"I wondered if you wanted to go with me to Homecoming."
"Oh," she said. "Yes, I will go with you."
"Really?" asked Rob.
"Yeah. We'll discuss the details later. I have to get to class."
With that, Lucy turned and walked away, as her skirt still swayed in his direction. Rob slumped against the lockers and pinched himself. It wasn't a dream. Lucy Kramer, the girl he'd had a crush on for years had said that she would go to Homecoming with him. He was jumping up and down inside. He suddenly heard the bell ring. He was late. That didn't matter. Lucy Kramer had said yes.
Drake walked up to the Malones. He was not looking forward to talking to Jeff's parents. His mother looked a bit uptight. His father stood in back of her. Drake had been rehearsing in his head what he was going to tell these people. How do you break down that someone's child tried to commit suicide? Well, they already knew what he did, but Drake had to speak with them and try to get them to understand. This was not his favorite part.
"Hi," said Drake, approaching the boy's parents. "I'm Dr. Parker. I spoke with your son, Jeff, today."
"Oh, why did he do this?" his mother asked. "We've done our best to give him a good home, and..."
"I doubt it's that," said Drake. "I just wonder if he could possibly be depressed or have a different disorder. I'd like to recommend that he go see Dr. Troy for a few sessions to be evaluated. He should be able to help him."
"Why?" asked Jeff's mother. "Did he tell you these things? Is there something seriously wrong that he told you about? Has anyone hurt him?"
"No," said Drake. "It's just, from what he did tell me, I'm concerned that he might have a disorder of some kind. If he doesn't, wonderful, but that also means there's something else that's bothering him. I think the best thing to do right now would be to have him evaluated, and then you can work from there."
"I don't think so," said his mother. "My son is not crazy, and I highly doubt he'd do this again after this incident. In fact, I'll make sure this never happens again."
The boy's father stood there looking helpless.
"No one said Jeff is crazy," said Drake. "I'm just worried that he may try again. If he doesn't receive help, the risks are higher that he will try again."
"No. It will not happen," said Jeff's mother. "He won't do it again. You can count on that."
"But..."
"No, I will not have you stand here and insult my son."
Drake was trying to keep a cool head, but this lady was irritating him.
"Ma'am, the best thing you can do for Jeff is to have him evaluated. If he is diagnosed with something, then he will be able to receive help and hopefully move past this. But he can't unless he's evaluated."
"Who do you advise he see?" asked Jeff's father. His voice startled Drake since he hadn't spoken at all while Drake was trying to deal with Mrs. Malone.
"Dr. Troy," Drake replied. He wrote the name and number down and handed it to Jeff's father. His mother snatched it.
Drake sighed. He went to go speak with Jeff. As he headed in Jeff's direction, he noticed Jeff's mother slip the paper into the trash out the corner of his eye. Drake shook his head. This wouldn't do. He wrote down the name and number again. He handed it to Jeff and told him to give it to his dad.
"Oh, that woman was impossible," Drake said as he dropped forks around the dinner table. "Dealing with parents can get so annoying."
"Yes, it can," said Christine, all to aware of how parents could act when it came to their children.
"Oh, right," he replied.
"Either way, don't worry about it. It's out of your hands."
"I guess. This is just so frustrating, and I can't tell you anymore without crossing the line." Really, all he'd told Christine was that someone had come into the emergency room with a serious problem, and the parents would not listen to reason.
"I know," Christine replied. "But hopefully they'll realize what's best eventually."
"I would never do that if it were Rob or Angela."
"Neither would I, but that's because we know. Just hope they straighten it out."
Drake was stressed that day. Not only did he have to deal with Jeff's parents, but one of the other psychiatrists in the fellowship had gotten a severe case of the flu and was at home. Somehow Drake ended up being the one stuck with the extra load. Needless to say, he had a headache, and all he wanted to do was go to bed. He leaned against the counter and shook his head. Christine nudged his arm and handed him two aspirin. She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a kiss on the cheek before going back to finising dinner.
Later, Drake sat in the living room. His headache had subsided a bit, but he was exhausted. He wouldn't feel this way if he hadn't had to do all that extra work today. Rob was sitting in a chair opposite Drake, doing his homework. He erased a line of his problem and began again. How he hated calculus. He was only in the class because he knew how to do it, and he'd have much less math classes in college if he passed the A.P. exam in the spring.
Christine walked into the room and noticed how tired Drake looked. She gently rubbed his shoulders. His muscles felt tense. He tried to relax, but he kept thinking about Jeff Malone and his mother. Would his father take matters into his own hands and call Dr. Troy? Or would he not because his wife seemed that dominating? Or would Jeff not give him the number at all? Drake sighed. Christine was right, it was out of his hands, and he really couldn't do anything else.
"Are you all right?" Christine asked.
"Yes," Drake responded. "I'll put Angela to bed tonight. I need to do something productive that's not going to stress me out."
"Okay," said Christine. "Oh, what are you doing the first Saturday in October?"
"Uh, that I know of, nothing. Why?"
"Homecoming is that weekend."
"Oh, okay."
"Wait, why do you need to know what Drake's doing?" asked Rob.
"I always chaperone at Homecoming, you know that," Christine replied. "I have to make sure someone's here for Angela."
Rob couldn't believe he'd forgotten. It was like having your mother there. He sighed. Did he really want Christine there when he was with Lucy?
"You don't want to take a year off?" Rob questioned.
"Well, I would, but I'd rather chaperone these things now, rather than when I'm sixty-five and have no idea what kind of music is playing."
"I just...you know..." Rob really didn't know how to respond. You never won an argument with Christine, so he wasn't even going to try. Apparently, only Drake could do that. Rob didn't know how he did it. Actually, Drake had told Rob that one of the things he found attractive about Christine was that she could be feisty when necessary. But right now that definitely didn't work in Rob's favor.
"By the way," said Drake, "do you have a date yet?"
"Yes," said Rob.
"I hope you don't have more than one," said Christine, eyeing Drake.
"Hey, I was a sophomore. You weren't even there."
"It was still an interesting story."
"I'm glad Josh stopped seeing Mindy. She can't poison your mind with these stories."
"Actually," Christine smiled, "Your mother told me that one."
Drake looked sheepish.
"Definitely only have one," Rob snickered.
"Well, who is the lucky girl?" Drake asked.
"Uh..." said Rob. He knew Christine would know her. Lucy Kramer made the math team cool. "Lucy Kramer." He gathered his books and headed up to his room.
"The boy aims high," said Christine.
"Huh?" asked Drake.
"Lucy Kramer is probably the most popular girl in the junior class. She's on the math team, track team, and sings in the choir. She's definitely attractive too."
"Kramer...she's not related to Neil is she?"
"Neil talks about her all the time."
"Oh, yeah," said Drake. "Oh, that's who his sister is." Neil had joined Drake's band again after high school to earn some extra money. He still hadn't left yet. Drake was considering sending a demo cd out because the guys he was currently working with were more into the band than the guys he knew in high school. But Drake wondered if he should. He had a family now, and he had given this all up in the first place. However, Neil did talk about his sister a lot. She was younger than he was, but she definitely sounded like a girl Drake would have dated in high school. "So, he's going with Neil's sister. Wait, she went to one of our gigs once. She was with a different guy. They looked pretty close."
"Oh, that must have been Todd," said Christine. "They broke up last night. Rob must have decided he needed to move quickly."
"How do you know these things?" Drake asked.
"I work at a high school, trust me, news travels fast," she smirked.
"Yes, it does," said Drake. He remembered how quickly the rumor of Christine being dumped by David back in their senior year spread like wildfire because one of the popular girls found out and was afraid that Christine was after Drake now. Then they found out about their relationship, and the entire school nearly flipped upside down because Drake hadn't had a girlfriend in months. Yes, how quickly the rumors at Belleview spread. It was surprising that Christine hadn't heard that Rob asked Lucy to the dance. She knew that tomorrow, that was all she'd hear about.
"Mommy," said Angela. "Will you read to me now?"
"Hey," said Drake, "can Daddy read to you tonight?"
"Okay," Angela yawned.
"Let's go, Angel," said Drake, taking her hand, and heading toward the stairs.
Rob came back down as Drake headed up with Angela. He sat down on the sofa and turned on the television. He squirmed.
"Will Drake get upset if I want to go to New York this summer?" Rob finally asked.
Christine looked shocked. Did he really want to go see her? Would that complete his life? Christine shook her head.
"I don't think so," she replied. "He went to get answers himself. You only saw him for a moment then. You were only five."
"Oh," said Rob. "I guess I remember a little. I just remember Dad saying we were going to go live with the boy who came to the house the year before."
"I see," said Christine. "Do you want to go?"
"I don't know. I'm just trying to figure it out."
"I see," said Christine again. She walked into the kitchen to take the dishes out of the dishwasher. Did Rob want to go and get his answers? Would he treat Sylvia like the mother he never had? Christine felt a tear slide down her face. It was too much.
Drake walked into the kitchen after tucking Angela into bed.
"Are you okay?" he asked, noticing the tear that had made it's way down her cheek.
"It's just been a long day," said Christine.
Drake hugged her. She settled into his arms and sighed. Damn it. She couldn't do that. But Rob obviously didn't want Drake to hear his question. She wouldn't say anything. Rob still didn't know if he wanted to go yet or not.