Bolton wanted to scream at the relentless, irritating beeping noise ringing in his ears. It was doing his head in. Had he set an alarm on his phone by accident? No, his alarm didn't sound like that. But something was beeping and it was annoying!

He slowly opened his eyes, squinting at the harsh, bright lights above him. His vision was blurry and fuzzy, like someone's vision would be if they needed glasses and weren't wearing them. His throat felt like sandpaper and his head was pounding.

He didn't know much, but he knew that he was lying down. He could tell by the way the lights were shining above him. He couldn't see his surroundings, but they didn't feel familiar. The mattress underneath him was flat, but firm, the cushions under his head were made of a scratchy material. His clothes clung to him, making him feel claustrophobic. His body felt heavy, tied down by a thousand weights.

The smell of disinfectant and air freshener floated up his nose. Dozens of different noises were ringing in his ears. People talking, alarms beeping, footsteps echoing.

Once his vision had finally improved and adjusted, he was able to look around properly. He was confused to say the least when he saw the machine beeping away next to him and all the tubes and IV's attached to him. He was suddenly aware of a mask covering his face, helping him to breathe. He flexed his hands and wrists slowly, feeling the cannula's lodged deep into his veins.

Then, he remembered what had happened. It all came flooding back to him at once and suddenly, he wished that darkness would consume him once more. He didn't want to be awake. His attempt to jump off the roof had been with the intent to end his life. It was clear it hadn't worked. Either that or whatever he knew and had been taught about the afterlife was wrong. As frustrating as it was, he figured it was the first one. Why could nothing ever go his way? Was he really so bad at everything that he couldn't even successfully end his life?

"Bolton?"

He looked up to see a male Doctor hovering above him.

Great.

"My name is Doctor Ryan. You jumped off a roof, do you remember?"

Bolton nodded. How could he forget?

"We're going to get you sorted and on the mend ok?"

Bolton nodded again. He didn't want to be sorted and on the mend. He wanted his plan to have worked.

...

It was 9:30AM the next morning when Eddie woke up to his phone ringing on the table next to him. He quietly reached for it, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he put the device to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is that Mr Lawson?" A male voice asked

"Yes, that's me"

"Mr Lawson, its Doctor Ryan. I have an update on Bolton"

"Oh, hi. How is he doing?"

"Bolton has woken up and is responding well. The psychologist is coming to speak to him in the next half an hour. I was wondering if you would be able to come and sit with him?"

Eddie felt his heart flood with relief at those words.

"Yes, of course. Give me ten minutes and I'll be there"

He ended the call, throwing his jacket on. He thought about leaving Rachel to sleep, since she had been up feeding Annabelle at 1AM and 4AM, but he quickly changed his mind. If she woke up and he wasn't there, she would panic. The last thing she needed right now was to be worrying.

He approached the bed gently, rubbing her arm with his thumb gently. Her eyes fluttered open, a frown forming on her face.

"Eddie? What's wrong?" she asked sleepily

"Rach, Bolton's woken up"

It took Rachel a few moments to process Eddie's words. When she finally did, her heart flooded with relief.

"Is he ok?" she questioned, sitting up

"Yes. The psychologist is going to go and speak to him, they've asked me to sit in with him. Will you be ok on your own for a bit? I'll call Kim on my way to the ICU"

"I'll be fine, you go. I'd come with you, but I've got Annabelle" she reassured

"I know. As soon as I know anything I'll tell you, ok?" he promised

Rachel nodded.

"I'll see you in a bit" he told her, dashing out of the room

...

Eddie put his phone back into his pocket as he made his way over to the Nurse's desk on the ICU ward. Knowing that Kim was on her way to sit with Rachel was a reassurance. He knew she would be ok on her own for a bit, but she shouldn't have to be. And besides, Annabelle would be waking up wanting another feed soon, and Rachel could only just stand on her own two feet. She wouldn't be able to make it down to the kitchen down the corridor to make Annabelle a bottle without help, and she certainly wouldn't ask one of the midwives to help her. So he was glad that Kim was on her way. Once he had seen Bolton and sat in with him and the psychologist, he was planning to go home for a few hours to get changed, have a shower and maybe get a few hours of sleep. He had texted Kim to let her know all of this and thankfully she was glad to start her shift of looking after Rachel.

Once he had spoken to the Nurse on the front desk, he headed over to Bolton's room where Doctor Ryan was waiting outside. A female Doctor was stood beside him, both of them engrossed in conversation. They both turned to Eddie as he approached.

"Ah, Mr Lawson, good morning" Doctor Ryan greeted

"Morning, please, call me Eddie" he insisted, shaking the man's hand

"This is Doctor Lynskey. She is a Psychologist and will be assessing Bolton this morning"

Eddie shook her hand as they exchanged pleasantries.

"Alright, shall we head in?" Doctor Ryan suggested

It was weird seeing Bolton sat up in bed, but it was a relief too. A part of Eddie had been suspicious that Doctor Ryan had been lying and that Bolton was still unconscious. Seeing him now, sat up and responding somewhat well was a reassurance.

Whilst he looked ok physically, Eddie could tell that mentally and emotionally he was far from it. He knew Bolton wasn't ok when he had jumped off the school roof. But looking at him now, he could see the pain in his eyes. His slouched posture communicated to him that he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Whatever he was dealing with was serious, and Eddie wanted nothing more than to help him get the support that he needed.

"Bolton, this is Doctor Lynskey, and I'm Doctor Ryan. And of course you know Mr Lawson"

Bolton nodded quietly.

It was Doctor Lynskey's turn to talk now.

"Bolton, I'd like to talk to you a little bit about what happened when you jumped off the roof, if that's ok?"

"There's nothing to talk about" Bolton mumbled

"Bolton, you made an attempt on your life. I can imagine you're struggling and I just want to help you" Doctor Lynskey reasoned

"No you don't. You haven't got a clue! You just think I'm a psycho and you'll put me in the loony bin with all the others!" Bolton snapped

"Bolton, come on, mate. The Doctor's are here to help you" Eddie cut in

"No, they're not! They don't give a crap!"

"Bolton, we just want to get you the support that you need" Doctor Ryan explained

"I don't need no support! I just want to get out of here, I never asked to be here in the first place!" he huffed

"I'm afraid until we've done a mental health assessment, we can't discharge you, Bolton" Doctor Lynskey told him

"Well, looks like I'm going to be in here forever then, innit? I ain't having no mental health assessment!"

"Bolton, come on, just give it a go, yeah?" Eddie pleaded

"NO! LEAVE ME ALONE, ALL OF YOU!" he yelled

Eddie sighed as silence fell across the room.

"Alright Bolton, we'll come back in a couple of hours once you're a bit more settled. We can talk then, ok?" Doctor Lynskey suggested

Bolton shrugged, rolling his eyes.

The three adults left the room, closing the door behind them. Eddie ran a hand through his hair. Getting Bolton the support he needed wasn't going to be as straightforward as he'd thought.

"So, what now?" he asked, looking between the two Doctors

"I think we should give him a few hours and see if he changes his mind. He has just woken up after trying to end his life and is still adjusting, he needs time. I'll come back in a few hours and see where we're at" Doctor Lynskey explained

Eddie and Doctor Ryan nodded in agreement, both of them saying their goodbyes to the female psychologist.

"I'd offer to try and talk him round, but he's never really listened to me. He listened to Rachel, his Head Teacher, more than he did anyone else" Eddie said

"Is that your colleague who has just had a baby?" Doctor Ryan asked

Eddie nodded.

"Would she be willing to answer a few questions from me?"

"I think so. She was asleep when I left her half an hour ago though" Eddie told him

"I will go and see her in a couple of hours" Doctor Ryan decided

"Don't mention to her about Bolton refusing to talk to the psychologist, she has enough to worry about as it is. I'll tell her" Eddie requested

Doctor Ryan nodded.

"I'm going to head off now, if that's ok? Will you call me if anything changes?" Eddie added

"Of course, Mr Lawson"

Eddie smiled gratefully, turning away to leave the ICU.