Life Support (Septiplier)

Helpless?

-Mark's Point of View-

I stared around with my mouth open. My whole being seemed to diminish and the little energy I retained after the plane trip flew from my body. Jack's room was dimly lit, but I could see the contents clearly. Tears threatened my eyes as I came to the sudden realization of how bad Jack had gotten in this short amount of time.

The usually neat and brightly lit room was now a depressing cave. The bed sheets were shredded and messy, the pillows thrown across the room to the opposite wall. His bedside lamp was thrown to the floor and smashed into bits. More bottles, some thrown and smashed into pieces, littered the floor. His recording equipment had a sheet draped over it and sheets covered he windows to keep out light. It smelled of alcohol and something that I couldn't quite place. I peered into the bathroom only to see that his mirror was smashed to pieces. An empty pill bottle sat toppled over on the sink. The shower curtain was open to reveal red stains on the once-white shower floor.

My heart dropped into the floor as I realized that the familiar smell I couldn't place was blood. The whole room made me feel weak and sad. I turned to my friend who was standing, hair a mess, long sleeves dangling loosely around his arms, baggy sweatpants touching the ground and I wondered what had happened.

-Jack's Point of View-

I could see the look in Mark's eyes as he surveyed my room. He looked as if he was genuinely sad, I recognized the look from my own dead eyes. The bright gold flecks in his brown eyes seemed to turn black and fade like a fire had been put out. He turned and looked at me from head to toe, stopping at every feature of mine. The silence had become heavy and fear tugged at my insides. Maybe he had realized that he couldn't help me, that I was helpless. Maybe I was helpless.

Once he met my eyes though, his eyebrows came together with worry and he seemed to question what to do next.

"Jack.....," he trailed off. The sadness in his low voice gave me goosebumps. He walked quickly forward and pulled me into a hug again. He was much bigger than me, and warmer. His breathing reminded me what it felt like to be alive. He smelled like deodorant and mint gum, but it was calming. I felt fresh tears begin to form in the corners of my eyes. Even though I had cried many days in these last few months, these tears were different. These tears were because I knew someone cared enough to come all the way to a different country just to cheer me up.

I buried myself deeper into his chest as I started to cry and I felt the silence intensify. I wasn't sure what was going through his mind, but the second he heard me sniffle he tightened his grip on me. Mark was just a good person to hug when you were sad. He's so warm and even though he's short, he was big. It felt like I was hugging a giant teddy bear. He was so steady and strong, the opposite of what I felt right now. He usually fed off of my energy, but now it felt like it was the other way around.

I let go of him and wiped my eyes. I could feel his gaze, I could feel him realizing that I was different now. Things were different now, and he knew it. We both seemed frozen by time and silence, and we both seemed to respect the silence instead of breaking it. Finally, I spoke up.

"Thank you for coming, I don't really have an extra bed but we can take turns crashing on the couch if you want," I said.

"It doesn't look like you get too much sleep as it is....I'll take the couch permanently," Mark says. I feel guilt shoot through me. I didn't want him to have to sleep on the couch every night, but he seemed determined.

"Thank you," I say. He nods, but I'm sure he thought I was only thanking him for the bed. In actuality, I was thanking him for everything. For not leaving me to be alone during this time, for coming here to make things better, for everything.

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Wow, okay so I may update twice today. I'm getting some ideas on where this is going, and I'm pretty excited about it now. I'm just glad that I'm in a place where I can start writing this kind of stuff again. The school year is coming to an end, so expect more and more updates! As always, thanks for reading! Much love <3
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