Ghost (Second Edition)

Chapter Twenty-Four--Breaking Point

Luis

Monday had gone smoothly, with no bullying or anything, and Nathan had been by his side. Luis even got a B on his English exam. And the plus of having an abusive and neglectful mother was that she hadn't known Luis was gone because there was food in the fridge and his bag by the front door.

Tuesday—Today—was different. Very different.

Luis had waited until the warning bell for Nathan outside the front of the school, and he had checked his messages more than once. When the bell went, and Nathan did not arrive, Luis sighed and slumped his shoulders, heading through the glass front doors of the school, his backpack hanging limply between his shoulders.

He felt the chill of the air conditioning biting through his jumper as soon as he stepped through the doors and brought his arms up for warmth. A punch to his jaw sent him stumbling into the lockers. He spat blood and looked up in fear.

Andy towered over him, a menacing grin on his face. His eyes were full of hatred and his arm raised to throw another punch.

Luis ducked and caught the blow to the shoulder; it sent him to the hard lino floor and stole the breath from his lungs.

"Where's your boyfriend now, huh?" Andy sneered; hands clenched at his sides.

"Late..." Luis croaked as he got up on his elbows, trying to catch his breath.

Andy kicked him in the ribs, making Luis cry out in pain. "Good." Andy hissed. He grabbed a handful of Luis's hair and yanked, causing Luis to screech. Andy pulled him up, so they were face to face.

Luis looked into his spiteful gaze; eyes wide.

"Just go kill yourself!" His face was inches away from Luis's, his breath smelled like rotten egg. "It'll be better for everyone if you're dead! Nathan doesn't want you! Nobody wants you! You're a waste of space!"

Luis flinched. He couldn't help it. The words pierced deep into his heart. His eyes were wide and full of tears.

Andy dropped him and Luis slumped against the lockers. "Well? Go on! Do it!" Andy sneered, "The sooner the better!"

Holding back sobs, Luis rushed away. Andy was probably right; it would be better if he wasn't alive. Luis had always known that. His mother might have had a good idea to kill him young. Too bad she failed. Besides, if he ended it, Nathan would be able to find a nice, stable partner. That thought made him stop at the nurse's office. Steeling his courage as much as he could and pushing back the small voice in his head that told him to stop, he opened the door.

The dark wave had swallowed him. It was too late to stop. He was too far gone. In too deep. Lost to everything but death.

The nurse looked up when Luis came in, feeling a little unsure about how to go about it. "Yes, Luis?" She asked sweetly.

"Uh, I have a bad headache. Do you have any paracetamol?" Luis asked, "Panadol?" This would be the quickest way to go, and besides, only Nathan knew he was allergic...

"Sure," the nurse said brightly, "How many?"

"Two, that normally does it," Luis mumbled. Normally starts the severe reactions...

The nurse nodded and dug around in her desk drawer, drawing out two white tablets. She cut one in half and handed the tablets to him with a smile. "There you go, get well soon."

Luis managed to give her a small, fake smile. "Thanks."

***

Classes had just started, so the boy's bathroom was empty. The bathroom was a long, bright space, with cubicles lining the right side, two urinals on the far wall, and a line of sinks and mirrors on the left. The place smelled strongly of deodorant and sweat but was shockingly clean.

Luis looked at himself in the mirror. Messy black hair framed a pale, tear-streaked face. Green eyes slightly red from crying. Dirty clothes hanging loosely off his half-starved body. He looked weak and pathetic. Unloved. Unneeded. He looked at the two tablets sitting on the long ceramic basin and made to grab them, almost out of habit, not feeling anything.

Then he thought of Nathan.

He pulled the flat, shiny phone Nathan had given him out of his pocket. He turned it on, and saw, with no ringing emotion, the photo of him and Nathan smiling on the lock screen. He sent a quick, three-word text.

Nathan, I'm sorry.

He watched it pending on send for a few seconds before setting it down in defeat.

*

Nathan

Nathan hopped from one foot to the other impatiently in the hall leading to his parents' bedroom. His mother was taking forever to get ready. Apparently, she had an important business meeting. Nathan didn't understand how it could take so long to put on clean clothes.

"Mum! Hurry up! I don't want to be late!" Nathan yelled, hiding the desperation from his voice. Despite checking his messages, Nathan had an uneasy feeling in his gut. He felt like something was wrong, but he didn't know what.

"Just let me do my makeup!" Mary called back.

"Mum! I don't have time! I'm already late!" Nathan shouted.

"Alright, alright!" Mary yelled back, appearing at the other end of the hall. She looked like she already had a thick coating of makeup on. Her bleached hair was done up in a tight bun and she was wearing a pink overcoat, a white shirt, and grey work pants.

"Can we go now?" Nathan asked impatiently.

"There's no need to be so grumpy, what does a few minutes matter?" Mary chided walking past him, her heels thumping on the thick carpet.

"Finally!" Nathan muttered, following her. He was getting worried about Luis. He knew classes would have started by now, and he couldn't get rid of this uneasy feeling. He hoped Luis was ok.

*

Luis

Swallowing the tablets was the scariest thing Luis had ever done; his hands shook while he did it. But once they were down, he was praying that Heaven was as nice a place as he had heard.

He turned around and headed into one of the stalls. If someone walked in, they wouldn't be able to see him. He leaned against the cubical door and waited.

After a few minutes, his throat started to itch, like a small army of ants was crawling around inside him. He groaned, trying to cough them out even though he knew there was nothing there.

Then the pain hit.

It felt like his stomach was being stabbed, then his intestines. Luis doubled over, arms around his stomach, stifling his cry of pain as his veins seemed to burn.

He could feel his chest starting to squeeze up, get tighter. He gasped, trying to draw in deep breaths as he gripped his shirt tightly. It felt like someone was standing on his chest, refusing him air.

Every time he blinked, his vision blurred in and out of focus while the edges slowly turned black. He looked up towards the blurry ceiling, praying, begging. Please... PLEASE! I just want air!! 

He didn't want to die, he realised, he didn't want to leave, not yet... Not like this. But it was too late for those thoughts now. I'm sorry... I didn't mean... Please...!

He forced his way out of the cubical. He didn't want to go! He stumbled over to the basin.

He let out a small whimper as he felt his throat start to swell, closing up tight like a vice, choking him. He spluttered, trying desperately to breathe as he hunched over the basin, his hands gripping the edge till his knuckles turned white.

He fell to the floor as his knees gave out under him, curling up into the fetal position as he tried desperately to draw breath through his swollen throat, his heart beating ten times faster than normal.

His throat was burning now with each painful breath he tried to force into his lungs. He couldn't do it; he couldn't get air inside! Luis clawed at his shirt collar as black spots formed across his vision, quickly growing in size as his strength leeched from his body and he slipped into unconsciousness.

The last thing he was aware of before darkness claimed him was the sound of the heavy bathroom door opening and a muffled voice.