About a month and two weeks later, everything was pretty much back to normal. Minus that fact, Sean was no longer in the group and was currently pretty hated. Sean's nose had healed with just a scar just above the bridge of his nose. Mark didn't get as many headaches, though they still linger here and there and occasionally there's a sharp migraine. Felix and Marzia have been going on dates lately and it's been great with them. Ken has been trying to open up and talk to more people but there hasn't been much luck, yet.
They're now on Fall Break and they were planning to make the best of it considering their next break wasn't until winter break. "So, I invited you all over to tell you something great." Felix, Ken, Marzia, and Mark were sitting on Mark's floor just talking when Mark mentioned this. They look at him questionably and he smiles and giggles, "My mom and I have been saving up so all of us can take a trip to a nice cabin for our fall break!" "NO WAY!" Marzia squealed. "My mom already texted your parents and it's settled, go pack and meet me back here in 3 hours." Mark smiles happily. They left and Mark was left alone. He had already packed beforehand so he just resorted to plopping down on his bed and thinking. He had found a hard copy of one of his favorite pictures of him and Sean in a frame. He held it and slightly rubbed his thumb over it. The original plan was that Sean would've come, too, but things didn't work out that way. Mark hadn't even realized he was crying until a tear dropped and hit the glass of the frame. He took his other hand and wiped away his tears with the back of his hand.
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He placed the picture in his packed bag, it was a self-destructive action but he was sad enough. He laid on his back and pulled out his phone. He went to Sean's contact and hovered his finger over the unblock button. He contemplated, he knew no matter what he wouldn't see whatever Sean had sent. His phone was made that way. He sighed and locked his phone before he did and said something he would regret. After an hour passes Felix is the first one to arrive back to Mark's. Mark is just happy there won't be much silence anymore. He hated how much he thought in silence. It was only about 11 AM at this point and they didn't have to head for the cabin till 4 PM so they decided on watching a few YouTube videos and snacking on junk food.
1 PM finally got here and the rest finally showed up. They were all packed and ready to go and decided there was nothing better to do except head to the cabin now. It was actually pretty far away but it was warmer there and had access to a beach. They loaded into Mark's car (which he never really used all that much) and said goodbye to Mark's mom thanking her profusely.
When they reached the highway and the GPS told them they had a long stretch before another turn was necessary they all relaxed a bit. Marzia had zoned into her own music and the boys were playing around. "I told my mom I was going to do my homework while we were gone but I highly doubt I'm even going to touch it." Ken laughs. "You're so irresponsible." Mark snorts. "Hey, you can't blame the man! We're vacationing, chillaxing. Who wants to do homework when you can leisure?" Felix inputs. "Fine, you have a point." Felix throws his hands up triumphantly, "HA I win!" Mark pouts. "I really can't wait for this, I think we all need it." Felix says finally toning down his voice. "Agreed, this school year has started off pretty badly and it's almost out of our hands," Ken says sighing. Mark just nods, he was trying not to think about everything. He was dreading being alone in his own room in the cabin. He knew he was going to break down again. Don't get him wrong, though, he was really going to have fun with his friends, but it didn't stop anything going on in his mind when the night falls and he's alone. "Uh, Mark?" Ken pokes his cheek, which startles him from his thoughts. "You kinda zoned out, I asked if you were holding up okay." "Yeah, I'm fine." Mark put on his most convincing fake smile. Ken just smiles softly and pats his shoulder.
Hours later they finally pull into the driveway of their assigned cabin. "Fuck, finally." Mark slides a hand down his face roughly. His callused hands scratching at his face somewhat. They all unloaded from the car, then grabbed their things from the trunk. Ken and Felix stretched dramatically enjoying the feeling of their muscles not tensing up anymore. The cabin was beautiful, it had greenery everywhere. The temperature was dramatically different from their home state which was a nice change during this season. They could hear the water crashing against the land in the background which was soothing. The cabin itself was large, it was the size of any regular 5 person home plus there was an entertainment room they were excited for. Mark slams the trunk shut and leads the group inside after using his keycard to get in. It seemed like it was even bigger on the inside than it looked. The living room was closest to the kitchen and everything was fully stocked like any normal house. Ken immediately checked the fridge and was pleased to see it had all kinds of good food in it. "Man, this place really owns up to its looks!" He says. Mark was the first to say he was headed off to bed because it was pretty late, after all, everyone else agreed and chose what rooms they wanted. Mark chose the one with a balcony facing the water. It wasn't too big of a balcony but it had room to sit and look out which is what mattered to him. When everyone got settled they all fell asleep, well except Mark. He was wide awake which was no surprise to him. He had put all his clothes away so he didn't have to dig through his bags in the morning. The bed was extremely comfortable so he looked forward to when he was actually going to be able to fall asleep. He slides open the glass door separating his room from his balcony and quietly shuts it back. He sits down gracefully and stares out at the ocean. It was truly a wonderful sight. Mark's thoughts then flooded in. He was hoping being out here enjoying the atmosphere would've prevented that, but that would've been too easy. He grabbed his head in his hands and hunched over. He thought of Sean smiling, and all the great memories they had together. Then he thought about how cold Sean looked when he hit him. He thought about how happy he must be with Sarah and how Mark couldn't make him happy like that. Mark wished he wasn't himself. Maybe if he were born a female he could be happy with Sean and wouldn't be hurting like this all the time. "Why do I have to love him?" He whispered to no one. Everything had been drained from his mind, anything happy was gone. He knew he should call for help, but that left his mind as fast as it showed up. He stood up and gripped at the hands of the balcony and thought about just how easy it would be to jump over. He grabbed the chair and slid it closer to the fence that was stopping his fall. He released his hands from the grip he had from the fence and stood up. It wasn't as tall as he was expecting so he almost had a clear shot if he tried hard enough. All he had to do was step on the top of it and jump.
Felix was still awake, he couldn't get his new phone charger plastic to open. He would cut it open but the wire was all sprawled out and he was afraid he would cut the wire, too. He wandered over to Mark's room and opened the door. He had his eyes focused on the container when he spoke, "Hey, Mark, do you think you co-" It was too silent in this room, he thought. He looked up and Mark standing with his foot on top of the balcony fence caught his eyes. He immediately dropped his phone charger and ran to the door. He slung it open quickly, Mark gasped. "Mark, please don't." Felix didn't want to react too hastily afraid his best friend would fall or if grabbed, they'd both fall. "I'm sorry, Felix. It's just so hard. I can't even be happy here with you guys. My brain is getting so bad." "Mark, please. We all care. I can't handle this, again, please." Felix was crying now. His voice cracking on every other word. Mark took his foot down back onto the chair but didn't go any further. "I can't fix my head, Felix." "But you can, I believe in you. This life isn't the same without you in it. Your laugh is contagious and no matter what we are doing you always find a way to make it fun. I know I always have you when I need a shoulder to cry on or someone to sit in silence with me when things aren't making sense. Without you, the world doesn't have the same feel. Please, Mark, come down and we can go lay in your bed and talk about all the stupid shit we have done over the years. Just don't end it like this. We have already had this scare once, I don't want another one let alone it not just be a scare." Mark stared hard at the ground below him before falling into Felix's arms. Felix sighed a deep breath of relief. He laid on his back and allowed Mark to rest his head on his chest. His heart was just now calming down, but he was still crying. Mark was whispering calming words to him and telling him everything was okay now. "Do you remember that time we snuck out to go to a party and your mom caught us?" Mark asked. Felix sniffles but chuckles, "Yeah, we got in so much trouble." "She still ended up letting us hang out, anyway. I think she knew we have a connection." "I think so, too, Mark." He sighs, looking at his best friend, "I think so, too."
