Love Lines

Part Three

A MONTH LATER Marlowe had yet to show up at the hospital. She was beginning to get worried and after her late shift, she decided to go over and check on him. On a communicative basis, they were strangers. She had supplied him for years, though they hardly exchanged words. Elizabeth picked the cooler up and walked toward the house. When she approached the door, she discovered it unlocked. She turned the knob and stepped inside. She closed the door behind her and set the cooler down on the couch. She had checked every room downstairs only to begin to ascend the stairs. She walked into the bedroom to see Marlow holding a revolver to his chest. Elizabeth lunged toward him and grabbed the revolver from him. She climbed on top of him and looked inside the chamber to see a single bullet inside.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Libby shouted, tossing the bullet across the room, he would never be able to find it in this mess he called a room.

Marlowe tossed her aside, looking around for the bullet. Libby grabbed him by his robe and pushed him out of the room only to pick up the bullet and the revolver. She opened one of the windows and tossed it into the field next door. She shut the window and closed the curtains to see Marlowe glaring at her in anger.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?! You come to my house! Break into my house!" He corrected himself.

"You were trying to...", "What I was trying to do is none of your business!" Marlowe shouted.

"I haven't seen you in a month, so I brought you some... I came to check on you..." Libby told him. "You haven't been to the hospital in almost a month, I was getting worried... The door was open, and I didn't see you anywhere... So I went upstairs and found you with a gun to your chest, so obviously, I was going to intervene!" She shouted.

"You had no right to intervene! If I want to end my life, then that's my decision!" He argued.

"Don't you know that there are people in this world that are going to miss you? Mourn you?" Libby asked.

"Everyone I ever cared about! Anyone I've ever loved is dead and gone!" Marlowe shouted.

Elizabeth now realized why he no longer wanted to live on this earth. Everyone he had ever loved had died too. She had been in his shoes. She knew what it was like for everyone around her to die. All the while she remained here and had to live on, pretending as though everything was alright. Elizabeth had lost her family; her mother and father had died in a car crash on their way back from a date night. Her grandmother had passed from cancer. Her brother had overdosed. Her sister had been killed in a hit-and-run. Any family she had was gone and she had been left with the consequences. The debt the family had, was bestowed onto her and she couldn't do a thing about it. She had to work day in and day out, and even then, it wasn't enough, she was still struggling to get by.

"Believe me I know what it's like, losing everyone around you, my whole family is dead I'm stuck paying off their debt... I miss them every day and I wish they were here with me, but you can't change the fact someone is already dead," Libby said. "You're a part of my life and I'm not losing you because you're miserable, depression isn't forever, suicide is permanent..." She said.

"We're nothing but strangers, you know nothing about me" He growled through clenched teeth. "You're my friend and you can't do anything about it, you wouldn't do that to a friend, would you?" Libby said, crossing her arms, "It will be a no-suicide pact, deal?" She asked. Holding out her hand, she reached into her pocket and slipped on a latex glove, and held her hand out again to shake on it. Marlowe narrowed his eyes but swore on it. Libby turned to walk out of the room when he caught a glimpse of her cheek which was still healing. He had felt bad for throwing her out like that, but he kept his mouth shut as he followed her downstairs. She opened the cooler and showed him the bags of blood. Before walking over to the fridge and placing them inside.