Internet Scales (Patrick/Pete)

22 - Self administered

Pete's POV

They had been giving Patrick sedatives because apparently 'he  was asking to see Pete'. They didn't freaking tell anyone. I was really angry when they said. But they said that they'd stopped them now so he should be awake soon. I was too mad to stay there so I went for a walk to the Mcdonalds that I took Patrick to so many times. I was sitting alone at the table after eating my food but I still had coffee. I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I look up and its a little girl. 
"Are you Patrick's friend?" She asks me. I recognized her. "I'm Flossie" It was the girl who had been talking to Patrick. She must have seen us together.
"Yeah, I'm Pete" I smile at her.

"Nice to meet you Pete. Where's Patrick? Is he at the toilet?"
"No..." 
"Are you not friends anymore?"
"No, he's in the hospital." I tell her and she looks sad. She runs over the the crayons and gets a coloring sheet that was minion themed. She draws Patrick a card that says 

Hope you get well soon. I miss you , Flossie xx :)

She gave it to me. 
"Can you give this to him?" I smile at her scruffy writing. He would love it.
"Of course I can" She hugs me.
"You're really small compared to Patrick. I can feel your bones". Frick. She gets off me, says bye and then goes off with her mum. I grab my coffee and the card and run back to Patrick's house. 

I have a key so I let myself in. I got into his room, placing the card and coffee on the side and grab the scales out of the wardrobe. The arrow swings around to five and a half stone. I fall back onto the bed and cry. When I stop about ten minutes later, I start to put the scales back and his my head on one of his denim jackets on the way back up and it falls of the hanger. I swear to myself and pick it up. There was a muffled rattle inside one of the pockets. I take out a small cardboard box. Diet pills. He had been taking diet pills. I didn't know when but not that long ago he had. I took out one of the sheets of pills and there were six out of ten missing. Why Patrick, why? My phone rings in the hallway. It was his dad. I answer.

Pete: Hey
David: Hi Pete. Where are you?
Pete: At the house. I just needed to get something.

David: Okay. While you're there, could you look through Patrick's denim jacket pockets? The nurses say he was having an asthma attack and when they got him into the hospital, he had a cardiac arrest. They think it might have been caused by something he had self-medicated. 

I was holding them. The cause of his admittance. God, he could be stupid sometimes. I told his dad I could look and ended the call. I made my way back to the hospital on the bus. I couldn't deal with people looking at me holding a box of diet pills so tried to put them in my small jean pockets. They didn't fit and ended up on the floor. Some teenager who was sitting near me grabbed them.
"Can I have those back?" I asked him. He studied the box.
"Why you taking these, you're like just bones" I looked at him. I hated my weight being pointed out as much as Patrick did. 
"I need them back. You don't understand." I tell him seriously. He hands them back. 
"Thanks."

"Can I ask why you have them?" He didn't seem like trouble like I expected. 
"My friend had an asthma attack and then a cardiac arrest and they suspect that he was self-administering something and I found these in his coat pocket." He looked sympathetic. 

"How much does he weight or was he told that he was overweight by bullies?"
"He is a little overweight." I hated talking about Patrick behind his back. "Yeah Patrick started comfort eating in grade 9 and he never really had control of it"

"Patrick who?" This was getting a little personal but I continued anyway.
"Stump"

"I know him. I go to school with him. I'm his friend Andy." He smiled at me. So this was Andy. "Are you Pete by any chance?"
"I am" I smile at him.
"I've been told so much about you. I never quiet expected to meet you in these grim circumstances."

"Yeah, I've been told about you too. Yeah, he's been in hospital for about a week now"

"Is he awake?"

"Last time I saw him, no. But I think he might be today." The bus pulls up to the stop a few before the hospital.
"Could you say hi to him for me?" Andy gets up " I have to get off here. Take my number and keep my updated." I scrawls his number on some paper. "See you Pete"
"Bye Andy. Nice to meet you!"
"You too!"