For the second time that day, he walked to the park. His feet knew the way by now, so he didn't even have to think as he rounded the right corners in order to get to the park.
All morning, Connor had felt so elated. As he was walking to the park, the euphoria crashed down with the realization that this was Connor's last day on Earth. He would never see Zoe go off to college or get married. He would never move his parents in to a retirement home. He would never graduate from high school.
It was better this way, Connor assured himself. Now, people wouldn't constantly be tossed around by Connor's turbulent fits of anger. He would stop hurting people once he was dead. Zoe would be able to go home without fear of her brother threatening to kill her. Maybe his parents would even go to counselling. Perhaps his death would bring them back together.
Connor picked up his pace. He didn't want to think about his death too much. He knew it was a reality and that it was going to happen, but he didn't want to think about the aftermath.
He reached the park. Connor walked down to the river and the thicket of trees near it. He looked for a good place to sit. He didn't want to die sprawled out on the ground. He wanted to die with some shred of dignity. He found the biggest tree in the thicket and sat down, leaning against it. He dug the pill bottle out of his pocket. He turned the bottle around in his hand.
The fifty or so pills clacked around in the bottle. They were small yellow circles with letters on them. He took out about ten of them, laying them in the palm of his hand. He considered them for a moment. He wondered what people would think when they found him.
Shit. Connor didn't have a suicide note. Oh well. They were overrated anyways.
Then he remembered Evan's letter was still in his back pocket. He figured that would work well enough. It said everything he wished he could say. His parents would probably give the note to Evan since it was addressed to him. Perhaps Evan would do as Connor said and pretend that they were friends.
Connor hoped that Evan might be able to find some real friends as a result of Connor's death. Geez, he even hoped Evan would try to ask Connor's sister out. Connor took a deep breath, pulling his attention back to the pills in his palm.
There they were, staring at him. It was now or never. Connor opened the water bottle with his teeth and took a big swig. He held the water in his mouth for a moment. He closed his eyes as he brought the handful of pills to his mouth. He swallowed all of them.
Connor thought he should probably take the entire bottle. He didn't want to end up alive and paralyzed or comatose. He wanted to die. He hoped it wouldn't be too painful.
He poured another handful of pills.
"Wait!" Connor heard a voice cry out.
Connor threw the pills in his mouth and chased them away with water. Whoever was calling wasn't going to find him before it was too late. As he poured a final handful of the little yellow pills, a body pummeled his from the side before Connor could ingest the last of the pills.
The person was behind Connor and pinned Connor's hands behind his back. The person tilted Connor's body forward so he was facing the ground.
"This is so gross," the figure muttered as it shoved a hand in Connor's mouth. The person's fingers hit Connor's gag reflex and held them there.
Connor vomited on the ground, nearly hitting his jean-clad legs. He tried to fight whoever was behind him, but Connor was a lot weaker than this person, especially since he had just puked. He felt so miserable. Again, someone had found him before he could die.
The person's fingers were still in Connor's throat, trying to force him to vomit every single pill he had taken. When Connor stopped vomiting, the person withdrew their fingers. They picked Connor up off the ground and wrapped one of his arms around them, supporting nearly all of Connor's weight.
Connor wanted to punch and kick and scream at his saviour, but he couldn't find the strength. He couldn't even find the strength to turn and face his mysterious saviour. Instead, he scowled at the ground as the person half carried, half dragged Connor's limp body to find a tree to lean Connor against that wasn't covered in vomit.
When the person set Connor against a new tree, he caught sight of the person's torso. Connor was rescued by a man. He was wearing a blue polo shirt. Connor tilted his head to see his savior's face.
Connor gasped, trying to back away but failing due to the tree behind his back. What was he doing here?
