Claustrophobic Mind

Chapter 29

Mike sat nervously in the waiting room. He had already bitten all his nails off and his knee was bouncing non stop. The amount of anxiety that he had for Billie's condition was overwhelming, and he felt the need to faint.

No one had said anything to Mike about having the man that's been on the loose for days with attempted murder. Everyone's main priority seemed to be to get Billie Joe to safety.

When the ambulance got to Mike's house, they wasted no time to kick the door down. Mike could barely explain what happened, for he was clinging onto his lifeless friend. They pried Mike away from Billie as he screamed bloody murder. Mike had to sit in the corner while they checked his vital signs. Billie Joe looked dead. He rolled around like a rag doll. They kept saying that his heart rate was extremely low. Mike couldn't hold back the tears as they check to see if he was breathing. The paramedics laid an oxygen mask on Billie's face before putting him on a stretcher and rolling him out of Mike's house.

Mike chose not to ride in the ambulance with Billie Joe. He didn't want to run the risk of being asked questions. He wanted time to explain himself to the authorities that Billie was mentally ill, and going to jail couldn't be an option. Besides, Tré said he wouldn't press charges.

So there Mike sat, breathing in the sickening smell of medicine and cleaning products. People rushed around in circles bringing in one patient after the next. Mike felt nauseous. He couldn't help but feel that Billie wasn't okay.

"Mike?"

Mike's head snapped up to see a crying, helpless woman. Adrienne. Her shoulders slumped over in her baggy shirt. Her eyes were red and drenched with tears. She looked hopeless.

"Oh Adie," Mike said shakily.

He stood up weakly to bring Adrienne into his arms. Her body collapsed against his as she threw all of her body weight onto Mike. Adrienne couldn't stand, her knees felt to weak. Instead, she trusted Mike to hold her up as her body went limp. She sobbed and sobbed into Mike's chest, letting out all the greave she was holding back since she got the call. Adie knew people were watching her, but she didn't feel ashamed to let it out. She deserved to.

"My baby. How could this happen to my baby?" Adrienne cried. She felt bad for Mike having to deal with her.

"I know, Adrienne. I know," Mike soothed. He started to cry himself.

Adrienne finally pulled away, wiping at the tears that she painfully let fall. She fixed her shirt and breathed in slowly to try and calm her nerves before she spoke.

"Is he okay?"

"I don't know. But if you want me to be honest...he didn't look okay," Mike croaked.

Adie nodded as she looked off. She pursed her lips before tears started to fill her eyes again, all the way to the brim.

"So he...he tried to...kill himself?" Adrienne managed. She sounded pained to speak.

Mike hesitated. He knew that Billie Joe was trying to kill himself, but he hated having to say it to Adie's face. Of course he told her over the phone, but it was a million times harder saying it in person.

Mike nodded, avoiding eye contact with Adrienne.

"Did you know he was suicidal?"

"Yes," Mike whispered. He was ashamed to say it. He knew that he was the one responsible for taking care of Billie. He was the one that knew he wanted to die. But he was the one to let this happen.

"Why didn't you stop him? How could you let this happen, Mike - we could've gotten help!" Adie shouted frustrated.

She felt like Mike had abandoned her and Billie. She thought that she could trust Mike with Billie Joe, but it looks as though he had just proven himself wrong.

"I thought he was getting better...I really did," Mike whispered.

He kept his eyes on the floor saying this. While looking at his shoes, he thought about how much happier Billie looked. Had he been faking it just for show?

"What am I supposed to tell the boys?" Adie whispered before she started crying again.

What would she do if Billie couldn't get through this? The thought of her having to tell the boys that Billie Joe died made her sick to her stomach. She was nauseous at the thought.

"They don't know?"

"What, am I supposed to just blurt out 'hey guys, your dad just tried to kill himself because he is mentally insane'?" Adrienne said unbelievably.

Mike shrugged. Adie sighed.

"If he doesn't get out of this, you're going to be having a hard time being forgiven," Adrienne warned.

Mike looked off at the hurried nurses. He couldn't get the image of him coming in the guest bedroom to Billie Joe with pills in his hand. His medication scattered the floor and the orange bottle laid in his hand. Billie's face was tired looking, as if he wasn't there. Mike knew immediately that he had overdosed, but the thought itself was unimaginable.

"I can't stay here to visit him. I have to go back to the boys, they think I went to the store. Tell me everything the doctors say," Adie pleaded.

Mike nodded as he looked off. He couldn't believe that the doctors hadn't come and tell him that Billie was okay. He wouldn't even mind if they told him that he wasn't. All he wanted was to know was what was happening to his best friend.

"I'll see you later," Adrienne said before she laid a hand on Mike's shoulder.

Mike looked up at her then and smiled. It was a fake smile. At the moment, nothing in the world could make Mike happy, other than being told Billie Joe was okay. But for some reason, Mike knew Billie wasn't okay, and he wasn't going to be. His stomach turned at the realization.

Adrienne patted Mike's shoulder before she turned to leave. Mike watched her walk away, noticing how she slouched in anticipation and misery.

He couldn't blame her, but he also couldn't bare to talk to her. She had left Billie Joe when he needed her most and then was surprised when he tries to end his life. What did she expect?

Mike turned around to sit back down in the cheap, hard waiting room chair that he had been stuck in for the past hour. He could barely hold it together while waiting for the news on Billie. He was surprised that he hadn't cried, but it was probably because he was in such shock. Mike knew it was bad, but not this bad.

"Michael Pritchard?"

Mike's head snapped up to see a doctor holding a clipboard across the room. Just hearing his name made him feel like he was on a roller coaster. He got to his feet and basically ran over to the doctor, as if those few seconds it took would be his last.

"Yes?" Mike said once he finally made it to the man.

The man flipped through his clipboard and checked off a few things before sighing. Mike felt like it was taking him a million years just to speak.

"Is he okay? Is Billie okay?!" Mike yelled. People gave him suspicious looks, but Mike paid no attention.

The doctor gave him a sympathetic look before he put his hand on Mike's shoulder. He gave him what was supposed to be a reassuring squeeze, but it only made Mike's knees weak. Mike was preparing himself for the worst.

Mike started to tear up just as the doctor opened his mouth to speak. What ever the man said would either make Mike's life a thousand times worse, or lift so much tension off his shoulders.

He barely heard what the doctor said, for his pulse was rushing through his ears.