Chapter #20: Far Too Young to Die

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CW: needles/IV's

That morning, Tsukishima wakes up to the cheerful ringtone of his cell phone. Confused, he reaches over to his bedside table and flips it open to see Ms. Yamaguchi's contact. He squints at the screen, thinking that he misread it, but it never changes. Why the hell is Tadashi's mom calling me this early on a Saturday morning?

He hits the 'answer' button, "Hello?" he says groggily.

"Hello? Kei?" She sounds distressed.

"That's me," Kei says as he sits up in bed.

"I'm sorry if I woke you up, but something's happened to Tadashi."

Instantaneously, fear seizes Tsukishima, "What? What happened?" he demands.

"He- Tadashi had to be taken to the hospital last night," Tsukishima feels his stomach drop, "I didn't want to tell you last night, since I knew you'd worry all night until you got to see him." He curses to himself, knowing that she's right.

"Wh-what happened?" he stutters with audible confusion.

"I was in the living room when he came down the stairs, there was blood dripping down his arms, he looked so scared," her voice shakes as she recalls the events of last night, "he looked like he could pass out any second..." she trails off. Tsukishima covers his mouth with his hand in shock.

"...I immediately called an ambulance and they whisked us off to the emergency room. They gave him a blood transfusion, but they think he will need another one," she continues.

He removes his hand from his face and forces himself to speak up, "Is he going to be okay?"

"The doctors said that he will be fine, they also had to stitch some of his cuts shut."

The two fall silent as Tsukishima processes what he's been told. Tadashi had cut himself so severely that he landed himself in the hospital. His fear of what could've happened that night came true. He remembers last night, where he felt as though something was wrong but ignored it. A feeling of guilt starts to take root in his chest.

"Is he awake?" Tsukishima asks.

"No, but he was earlier for just a bit," she answers.

...

"Is my son hurting himself?"

Tsukishima's breath hitches, "I thought he told you."

He can hear Ms. Yamaguchi curse quietly over the phone, "No, he didn't," there's anger in her voice, and Kei braces himself for an onslaught. He remembers telling Yamaguchi that he should tell his mother about the self-harm, but now that he thinks about it, he couldn't remember a time where he confirmed that he did.

"Why did he tell you and not me?" she demands.

"I found out, I told him to tell you but, I guess he didn't."

Ms. Yamaguchi sighs, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be angry with you. The only person who is at fault is me."

"How is it your fault?" Kei asks, puzzled at the comment.

"I'm his mother, I'm supposed to keep him safe, I've been so busy with work, I guess I haven't had the chance to spend any time with him. I just feel so terrible that I didn't notice."

Tsukishima feels progressively more awkward as Tadashi's mother continues to ramble. She seems to realize that she may have said too much as she apologizes shortly afterwards.

"I'll keep you updated, okay?"

"Yeah, sounds good," he answers as he hangs up the phone.

Tsukishima feels as though he wants to scream. A torrent of emotions rips through his heart as he tries to keep himself calm. He lays back down and curls into a ball, trying to steady his breathing. He tries to focus on the positive of the situation, the fact that Tadashi's okay, but it doesn't help much.

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