Hello readers! Time for the weekly chapter! This chapter isn't as long as I would've liked it to be. Unfortunately my depression seems to be back in full force. It was hard even writing up this much. Hopefully next week will be a better one. Anyhoo, here's the chapter.
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The blond and brunet watched as the paramedics loaded Alissa into the ambulance. Her mother, who had arrived just a minute or two after the ambulance arrived, climbed into the back behind her with tear tracks on her cheeks.
"Thanks for your help, boys," one of the paramedics said.
"Yeah, no problem. Will she be okay?" Joey asked.
"She'll be out for a couple hours, but they'll probably want to keep her for at least twenty four hours to make sure she's stable."
"Will we be able ta see her?" The paramedic shrugged.
"You'll have to come by later and see." Joey nodded at the paramedic as the older man climbed into the passenger seat of the ambulance. The two teenaged boys watched as the ambulance pulled away from the curb.
"Thanks for da help back dere, Kaiba."
"What, did you expect me to just stand there and twiddle my thumbs?"
"Can't ya take my appreciation without bein' condescending, ya jerk!"
"Joey!" The two boys turned in the direction of the familiar voice. Yugi, Tea, and Tristan could be seen running towards them.
"Joey what happened? We came as quickly as we could!" Yugi's voice was frantic.
"Alissa. She just tried ta kill herself."
"What?"
"They took her to da hospital." Seto looked at the three friends who had just arrived with a frown.
"You called them?"
"Texted 'em actually. I sent 'em a text ta get ova' here as soon as possible. Why wouldn't I have told 'em, Kaiba? She's our friend."
"Hmph, some friends you guys are. Maybe I'd be more inclined to be a part of your little ring of cheerleaders if you guys actually practiced what you preached."
"What ya say, Kaiba? You have da nerve to accuse us of bein' bad friends? What about you? Huh? Have ya forgotten dat dis is all your fault in da first place?"
"Last I checked, you and her weren't exactly on speaking terms, so are you sure her attempted suicide isn't because of you, Wheeler? Her downward spiral didn't happen until after that night at Burger World. Maybe evaluate yourself and your little group before you start pointing fingers at others for your shortcomings."
"This isn't because of me, Kaiba."
"Really? Well, if you're such good friends, why didn't you realize that she was this depressed?" Joey growled.
"Why are ya here, Kaiba?"
"Alissa sent me a message suggesting that she was contemplating suicide. I wasn't going to just sit there and let her do it."
"What, so ya finally decided dat ya actually care about her? Ya can't do dat, Kaiba! Ya can't decide ta care about her just when it's convenient for ya!"
"Make no mistakes, Wheeler. I didn't come here because I care about her. If the press ever got hold of information that I received a sort of farewell text from my ex girlfriend shortly before she committed suicide, Kaiba Corp would go under before you could even snap a finger. I wasn't about to put everything I've worked for in jeopardy for her." Something inside Joey snapped. He threw a punch at Seto, and for the first time ever, the punch connected. Seto stumbled backwards, using one hand to brace himself against a nearby lamppost and the other to stem the blood seeping from out of his nose.
"Dis was all about your company? Why am I even askin' dis question? Of course it was, dat's all it's ever about! Your company is all dat ever matters to ya! Ya care more about your stupid company den ya care about your own brother!"
"Watch it, Wheeler."
"No! You're a prick, Kaiba! Ya say she wasn't good enough for ya? Well, guess what, ya jerk? It was you dat wasn't good enough for her!" The blond stepped forward for another attack, but Tristan stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Joey stop. He isn't worth it."
"You're right," Joey snapped, wrenching his shoulder free of Tristan's grasp. "He's not."
xxx
Sound slowly started to filter into Alissa's mind. She blinked through her haze and stared up at her mom and her friends.
"Hey, Sweetie. How are you feeling?" Abigail asked as she brushed a stray hair behind her daughter's ear.
"Mm, I'm tired."
"It's just the sedative. It's wearing off." Alissa exhaled lethargically before turning her attention to Joey and her friends.
"Thanks for stopping me, Joey."
"No problem, Alissa." A passing nurse noticed Alissa's movement through the doorway and entered carrying a clipboard.
"Alissa, it's good to see that you're awake. How are you feeling?"
"Fine. I'm tired. When can I leave?"
"You'll have to stay here until tomorrow at least. You're dehydrated and it says on your chart that you have to undergo psychiatric evaluation before you can be released."
"But I'm fine now. I'm not going to try anything again."
"That's good to hear, but that doesn't change anything. It'll be alright, Alissa. We're here to help you get better. I won't bother you with this chart now, but when the doctor comes by later he'll want to ask you some questions, okay?"
"Okay. Fine."
"Are you hungry? Do you want me to bring you anything?" Alissa suddenly realized how hungry she was and nodded. The nurse smiled at her.
"Do you have any food allergies that I should be aware of?"
"No."
"Okay. I'll be back with some food."
"Thank you." The nurse nodded and left. Abigail smiled sadly at her daughter and ran a hand through her dark hair.
"I love you so much, Sweetie." Alissa grabbed her mother's hand and gripped it tightly.
"I love you too, Mom."
"Alissa?"
"Yeah, Joey."
"Were ya really gonna do it." Alissa nodded slowly.
"Yeah, I was." Alissa could tell by the look on her friend's faces that they wanted more details. She didn't want her mom to know that she had done it because she felt alone. Her mom had been busting her ass trying to provide for them, the last thing Alissa wanted to do was make her mom feel guilty for leaving her alone.
"Hey Mom. Could I talk to them alone for a few minutes?"
"Sure, Sweetie. They can stay until the nurse comes back with your food, but after that you need to rest."
"Okay, Mom."
"So," Joey began awkwardly once Abigail had left.
"What, Joey?"
"Why'd ya want ta kill yourself, Alissa? It wasn't because of Kaiba was it?"
"Don't give him more credit than he's worth. It wasn't because of him. It was because I was alone."
"Whaaddaya mean ya were alone? Ya have us!"
"You guys weren't talking to me. I didn't think you wanted to be friends anymore."
"Of course we still want to be friends, Alissa. We haven't really talked to Joey much either. We didn't want to get involved until you two sorted it out."
"Then why did I see you four at the arcade two or three days ago, Tea?"
"You saw us."
"Yeah, Yugi. I did. You know if you guys were that upset you could've just told me. At least then I would've known and wouldn't have felt like you guys just left me hanging."
"We invited Joey to the arcade so we could talk him into contacting you again."
"Okay, I know the sedative is making me kind of loopy, but I'm not an idiot, Tristan."
"It's true, Alissa. They only invited me wid' em ta tell me how much of an idiot I was bein'. Ya know me, I can hold a grudge."
"We're sorry if we made you feel isolated, Alissa. That's the last thing we wanted to happen."
"It's okay, Yugi. I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you guys."
"Ya really scared us. God, I don't know what I woulda done if I didn't make it dere in time ta stop ya."
"I'm sorry."
"Promise me ya won't try it again, Alissa. We all love ya. We don't wanna see anythin' happen ta ya. Oh God, you're cryin'. Why are ya cryin'?"
"Sorry, you guys just make me really happy. I've had friends before, but I've never really had a best friend. But now I have four."
"We'll always be friends, Alissa."
"I know we will. I love you guys."
"We love ya too, Alissa." Alissa smiled at her friends. For the first time in the last couple weeks, she felt happy.
xxxx
Ugh! I told you guys it was short. Yay for abrupt endings! So, little peek into my life, I saw One Direction last night. I may have peed a little. Anyhoo, sorry again for the shortness of this chapter, but it was just really hard for me to write this week. Hopefully this week will be better. Next chapter will be up by Sunday. Love ya'll!