Upside Down

Thirty Two

Once both of Peter's feet are planted firmly back on top of the bridge, I throw myself at him, wishing to never let go of him. Peter does the same to me. We sink to the pavement in each other's arms.

I've never felt closer to Peter. Not just physically but emotionally too. I just wish it didn't take an attempt at taking his own life for him to open up to me.

Peter cries in my arms. He sobs uncontrollably.

"Please never do that to me again. Please." I beg, holding his body close to mine. "I care about you too much to lose you Peter."

Peter nods and grabs onto my shirt. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please don't hate me. I can't handle anything else bad."

My heart breaks for Peter. He's going through a lot. I wish I could tell him everything will be okay now, but it won't.

Everything won't magically go back to being perfect now that he has decided not to end his life at this moment. If he wants things to get better, he's going to have to work. He'll have to work with all of us until we are better and he feels like himself again.

It's going to be a process but if we can all stick together, I know it can get better. If not for any of us, for Peter.

"Why did you do that Peter? Why didn't you just call me?"

"You were on a date." He says simply.

"So?" I ask.

Peter shrugs. "I feel like I don't matter to anyone anymore."

"Then how do you explain Logan rushing here to come help you? Or me coming right away as soon as I found out?" I wonder how he will explain our actions if he doesn't think that is caring.

"No one was worried about me until I decided to jump off a bridge."

"Maybe we didn't worry. But we certainly did care Peter." I stroke his hair. "We weren't worried about you because we know how strong you are. But now we know that you need a little help to continue being strong like we all know you are."

Peter shakes his head.

"Can I tell you a secret?" I ask him. He nods. "I think you secretly want help but don't know how to ask for it."

"Why do you think that?" He asks, his bright eyes looking up at me.

"Because you were never really going to jump off that bridge."

"How do you know that?" Peter wonders.

"Peter, my mom killed herself. On a bridge that looked just like this. The only difference was, she didn't tell us where or when she was going to do it. She just did and we were left to pick up the pieces." Peter diverts his attention from me. He can't look me in the eyes. "If you were really going to jump, I think you would have kept it a secret and you would have done it long before Logan or I showed up." I explain to him. "You wanted someone to come and stop you. You asked for help and I'm here to give it."

Peter starts to cry again. I cry with him.

This is all very emotional. For both of us.

"I think what you did was very brave, Peter." I try to lift his spirits a bit.

"How is threatening to jump off a bridge to my death, brave?" He asks sarcastically. I can tell he is getting back to his normal self.

"No, not that part. I think it's very brave of you not to jump when you could have. I'm proud of you."

Peter shakes his head. "I'm not brave. I was just too scared to jump. I wanted to though."

"And that is exactly what makes you brave, Peter. You just can't see it from my point of view. Choosing not to jump and to continue living your life despite how hard it has been for you, is incredibly brave. It takes a lot of courage to do the right thing, Peter. And you did the right thing here."

"Can you do me a favor Avery?" He asks.

"Anything Peter."

"You are so good at keeping your promises. So can you promise me not to tell my mom what I did?" He asks, looking up at me with longing eyes.

I sigh. "As much as I would love to promise you that Peter, that's not a promise I could keep. Someone needs to tell your mom."

"It'll break her heart! Please don't!"

"And it'll break her heart if you turn up dead one day and she didn't have the chance to help you. If you don't tell her Peter, I will. She needs to know. Things can't get better if she she doesn't know." I try to reason with him. "I would have wanted my mom to tell me she was depressed. Or something. I would have wanted to help her if I knew. It wouldn't have made me love her any less if I knew she needed help. But I didn't know, and I lost her, and it broke me. Don't do that to your mom. Please."

Peter nods. "Well, can you help me at least?" He asks, grabbing my hand. "I don't want to do it alone."

"Of course I will help you Peter. We all will. That is a promise I would be more than happy to keep." I smile and kiss his forehead. "Now come on, let's go home. It's cold out here." I stand up and help him to his feet. "It doesn't have to be tonight but you have to tell her tomorrow. Promise me?"

Peter nods. "I promise."

"And do you also promise to never scare me like this again? That you will call me whenever and wherever you need help?" He nods. "Promise me." I smile, believing this is a step in the right direction for him.

"I promise."

I walk with my arm around his shoulder as we make our way to Logan's car where he sits, waiting. "By the way, I don't blame you for how you feel towards Logan. I feel the same way. But he really does care for you. He cares for all of us. And I think we all need to work on our relationships so we can all get better."

"Agreed. Thanks for leaving your handsome date to come rescue me." He brushes his fingers through his hair.

"Thanks for letting me rescue you."

Authors note: in your opinion, do you think if Avery didn't show up, Peter would have jumped? Was she the specific person who saved him or was she just someone who listened to him when he needed it.