Deion stepped through the metal door. Cracks moved throughout the pavement, the white brick walls had sharp edges that stuck out at strange angles. Deion walked down the hall, not greeting any person he happened to see or run into at his job. A job he hated more than anything. A job he wished he never got. A job that reminds him too much of what he has already lost.
The phone is always ringing here, never a quiet moment. It made him sick to his stomach thinking about these things. Thinking about the people who called the line every day made him remember sitting in that bathroom. It made him remember the smell, it smelled awful after waiting for hours for someone to get there.
"Deion, get the phone!" Someone, his boss, Emmett, yelled from somewhere down the hall. Only then did he realize he had taken his seat at his desk.
"Hello?" Deion said, his lips set in a thin line. Hearing the shallow breathing of the person on the other line made his skin crawl.
"Hello?" He said again, careful not to give away any irritation or anger.
"He..hello?" A boy, not more than his own age, said meekly from the other side.
"Eh.. yes, how can I help you?" Deion replied and immediately wanted to slap himself. 'How can I help you?' What kind of stupid question is that? The only people who call this hotline want specific help, one kind of help. The kind that encourages them not to commit suicide.
"I.. I've been struggling with um.. thoughts and feelings- I want to kill myself," The boy on the other line responds, his voice weak.
He sounds exhausted, Deion thought to himself as he taps his pen against his head.
"What's your name, kid?" Deion asks and there was a slight jingling noise through the phone.
"Alister. Alister Monarch," The boy, Alister, responds.
"Why don't you tell me your story, Alister Monarch?" Deion replies, hoping, praying to whoever is listening or watching, that he said the right thing.
There was a sharp intake of breath on the other side of the line, and then... "Okay,"
YOU ARE READING
You Make Me Sane
Romance"Sometimes you just know. You just know when you belong with someone. Maybe it's how perfectly you seem to match your imperfect parts. Maybe it's the feeling of being sane for the first time in your entire insane life. Maybe it's all the moments you...
