Don't leave me

The call

David woke up, pressing the off button on his beeping alarm. He yawned, stretching as he got out of the bed. He shuffled to the bathroom, turning to look in the mirror. He took a deep breath then let out the biggest smile he could muster.

"Today is going to be a great day, David!" He said, although with every passing day, a little bit of him stopped believing that.

He smoothed out his hair, brushing his teeth after. He smiled once more in the mirror before going to his closet to choose his outfit for the day.

He pulled out a green shirt, and dark blue jeans, pairing it with his bandana and a brown jacket. David sat on the bed to tie his shoes. He avoided the full-body mirror on the way out his bedroom. He had seen enough of himself.

He turned on the coffee pot, watching as the dark liquid poured into the pot. When it was ready he pulled it out of the machine and into a mug, drinking it without the creamer or sugar.

--

He took a deep breath as he entered the building, smiling as went to check himself in.

"Gooood morning, Jen!" He smiled at the receptionist.

"Good morning, David. Ready for work?" She said, taking his badge to scan.

"Yup!" He said, even though his mind screamed, NO! "How are you this morning?"

"Great. Have a nice day David." She smiled as she handed David back his badge.

"You as well, Jen!" He walked over to the elevator, pressing the button for the eleventh floor. He kept his smile plastered on as he went up, waiting patiently for his floor.

David exited the elevator, smiling and waving to a few of his coworkers on the short walk to his cubicle. Just as he sat down the phone rang.

He picked it up. "National Suicide Hotline, David speaking."

"I can't do this anymore," The voice on the other side said quietly, a sob being heard immediately after.

"What's your name?"

"Ja- Jasper."

"Okay, Jasper, I need you to hold on a minute. Where are you?"

"I'm at home." He heard a gun click.

"Jasper, put the gun down. Please give me your location." He pleaded.

"No!" He heard Jasper yell. "No... Then you'll stop me. I- I just needed to say goodbye to someone..."

David quickly traced the call, alerting the authorities. "Jasper, listen. I hear people say goodbye to me every day, just before they do the same thing you're about to do. I can't live with myself knowing that I didn't do enough to keep them here.

Please just stay with me."

He listened to the sobbing on the other side, just glad that there was crying in the first place.

"... I don't want to die..." He heard Jasper say quietly.

"You're not going to die, I promise. The authorities are on their way. They'll make sure you're okay."

"You promise?"

"I promise, Jasper." He heard knocking from the other side, one last sob from Jasper before the line went dead.

He could only really hope that the authorities kept him safe.

--

By the time lunch rolled around, he had about five more calls, only one of them ending in disaster.

He went down to the cafeteria, taking the stairs in hopes that it would take away the numbness of having another person leave.

He had brought lunch from home, leftover ravioli from last night's dinner. He was heating it up when he heard Daniel walk up to him.

"Hello, David! How are you doing today?" He said brightly.

"I'm feeling wonderful, how about you?" David smiled, taking his food out of the microwave.

"How are you really feeling, David?" Daniel asked, a hint of worry creeping into his voice.

Daniel was David's best friend. He should have known he couldn't keep a secret from him.

"I lost another person today," He answered, letting his smile fall.

"Are you okay?" David asked, walking with David to a table in a far corner.

"I can't keep doing this, Dan. I can't keep pretending that every person I don't save isn't killing me on the inside." He held his head in his hands, letting tears fall from his eyes.

Daniel patted his back. "Why don't you quit? Or go on leave?"

David sniffed, wiping his eyes. "I can't. I'm still saving lives; just not as many as I'd prefer."

"Dave, sometimes you can't save everyone."

"That's what hurts." He stood up, taking his uneaten food and tossing it in the trash before going back to his floor.