Chasing Butterflies- Ryden

❀ 5 ❀

--Brendon--

Y'know that Greek myth that about Earth? The one where the Earth's name is Gaea and she's the mother of all things? Well, I'm guessing thats where the idea of 'Mother Earth' came from.

But in my eyes, the world isn't a she or an adult. The world isn't a mother to me. The world is a child in my eyes. The world is an it. It isn't a she nor a he. And you've gotta take care of a child, right? We're basically the parents or babysitters of the world.

If you don't take care of the child correctly, it becomes dirty. It becomes tired. It becomes sad. And then it lashes out in earthquakes and hurricanes.

The child really seems like Ryan's dad now.

Alcohol

Pills.

Abuse.

Depression.

Suicide.

Here I am, sitting in the ICU waiting area of the hospital with Ryan. His tear-streaken face makes me want to hold him, but I don't want to confuse him with emotions.

Ryan's lips quavered and his hands shook with anxiety.

"Family of George Ryan Ross the Second?" A nurse called out.

Ryan jolted up immediately, "Yes? Is he okay? Is he alive?"

"He is alive. He tried to overdose in anti-depressants and mixed alcohol with them, but he'll have to get his stomach pumped. Are you okay with us doing that?" She asks.

"Yeah, as long as he lives." A tear rolls down his cheek.

She nods and walks away. A sob erupts from his lips and I hug him. He melts into my embrace, still crying, and he leans his head onto my shoulder.

"He'll be alright, he's gonna be okay, Ryan." I try to soothe him.

"Its a-all my fault." He cries, "I shouldn't h-have left the h-house."

"If you didn't leave the house and he got drunk while you were there, something worse may have happened. I don't want to lose you." He looks up and I wipe the tears off his cheeks with my thumb.

"C-Can we go to the gift shop they have h-here? They have pens and journals, and I need to write some lyrics down." I nod and we get up from the hard chairs.

He leads me to the elevator, which we take to the bottom floor. The elevator doors open with a 'ding' and we exit. He goes in a direction that he seems so sure of, and I follow him. We turn around a corner and there it is.

The gift shop.

We enter and I wander around as Ryan looks for something. There's things like 'Get Well' cards, flowers, teddy bears, and a bunch of other stuff on the shelves. I see Ryan standing in line to pay with a red journal and a pen.

I wait outside the shop and minutes later, Ryan comes out.

"I've got an idea for our project." He says, his voice slightly raspy from crying so much.

"Do you need me to take you to your mom's house? They're not gonna be done with surgery for a while. We've got time." He nods.

"Please." We exit the hospital, which is on 4th street.

After walking for a few minutes, I ask him, "So, y'know how you told me your dad is an alcoholic? Well, I don't mean to offend you, but did he- did he abuse you?"

"Y-Yeah, sometimes. Last week, he tried to choke me to death. If it hadn't been for the neighbors, I would be dead right now." He lets out a shaky breath.