The Suicide Helpline | ✔ #Wattys2018

27

L A Y L A H

I was running. Like not actually me, we were running. Me, Shawn and the two guys. The difference was, Shawn was running with me and the two guys were trying to catch us.

When they had spotted me at the cafe, they came and told me that I need to go with them, not that I was having any choice in it. I mustered some courage and asked them why, and those idiots shrugged. Like seriously, shrugged! Were they even near the right person?

I tried to distract them, while giving Shawn signals that we need to run. He understood, luckily. And we got up quietly when they weren't paying attention, and started running.

Obviously.

They started running after us. Chasing us. And they were athletic, too. Unlike us. If you could see us running, you would've definitely laughed. We looked like crocodiles who were trying to run, except for the tail, which we didn't possess, praise to the good Lord. That would be so distracting to run with tails.

Was that why crocodiles didn't run? Because they had tails? Were they too heavy? Oh, poor crocodiles.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't realise that I had stopped running. Shawn shook me to life and looked impatient.

"Stop checking out the ground! I know they're sexy, but now is not the time!", his eyes widened on seeing something behind me, which I exactly knew what that might be. I started nodding and running with him.

Ground is sexy. Yeah. That is totally true. I mean look at the curves they were having. Slopes, we call them, but weren't they curves, too?

Yup. Ground is sexy.

I smiled to myself and continued running, breathing heavily with the noise so disgusting, even a frog would qualify as a singer in front of me.

We reached a locality with houses and entered a deserted one. We hid inside a broken garage, holding our breath. The sounds of the two bulky guys, running after us was coming nearer.

I silently prayed to the one sitting above us, beyond earth.

After sometime, those two guys left and I left out a huge breath. Shawn did the same.

"That was close.", Shawn huffed. I nodded in response.

"Let's go home. It's better.", I suggested.

"You mean you'll come to my place with me?", Shawn grinned, with puppy eyes. Was he stupid?

"No.", I deadpanned.

He gave me a weird look and stood up.

"Fine. Talk to me on call.", he looked away.

"Yeah.", I looked at him with guilt. This guy definitely can do emotional blackmailing, "you're my best friend now, Shawn I'll tell you everything."

He looked at me in disbelief before grinning and wiping away fake tears. Oh the drama king he was! I rolled my eyes at that.

"What? I'm having an emotional moment here.", he spoke in fake emotional voice. I laughed at that. Like, really laughed. I never used to laugh, until Shawn came in my life.

And I realised, maybe, this was going to be the death of me. I didn't want to lose Shawn.

Like, ever.

I cared too much for him.

As I walked back to my house, after Shawn dropped me twenty metres away from my building, I only had one thought.

I wasn't going to push Shawn away. I was going to let my walls down. This once. Because, I trusted him. I trusted Shawn. I know it sounded too early, but there wasn't anyone who had cared for me, this way, ever.

And I made a decision at the end of the day.

I was going to do everything, to keep Shawn in my life. Everything.

Even if that meant, defying my so-called father and getting punishments in return. Punishments which could lead to me dying.

I was going to fight. For the first time.

*****