Euphoria Isn't Real

Chapter 1: Suicide

   There wasn't much for Mai to do in the little ice cream shop they'd decided to go to. Apollo had invited them to come to the ice cream shop before he opened. "Ugh, why couldn't we go anywhere else?" Bex groans while sprawling across the couch in the corner of the lobby. "Stop complaining. Do you not have anything else to do?" Mai asks her. Bex sits up and looks Mai in the eyes, seriously. "No, I don't have anywhere else to go. I also don't have any other friends." She responds. Mai rolls her eyes and groans. "You seriously need to grow out of the whole 'I'm anti-social' gig." She says with a flick to Bex's forehead. "Ow, what the hell?" Bex cries out. There's a small tear glistening in her eye. As she goes to wipe it, Hawk appears behind her with a napkin. "What. The. Fuck?" Bex says under her breath. Without fail, whenever Bex seems to be upset or really going through it, Hawk always knows what to do or say in the situation. Apollo walks up to the three and gives them a bright, joking smile. "Good afternoon, my good friends. What would you-" "Cut the shit. You invited us here. And it's closed anyway, so what could we even order?" Mai says through gritted teeth. "Well, yes, that but-" Bex cuts him off with a simple huff.

   Mai unlocks her door and enters the cold, empty house. She tosses her bag and keys on the couch with a sigh as she locks the door behind her. "I wish I could just end this." Mai chuckles to herself with a sad smile. She leaves the living area and enters the kitchen to grab her pills. She takes the painkillers out of the cabinet and pours a handful into her hand. She doesn't grab water to swallow the pills, she just swallows them as is. She felt like she was forgetting something. What she had forgotten was that she had texted Bex as she was driving home to let her know that they were going to be eating dinner together at 5:00 p.m. She hadn't looked at the time. It was now 4:58. Two minutes to go. The painkillers quickly bring foam to her mouth as she fumbles and falls to her knees. Mai's eyes roll back and she falls to the ground. 3.... 2.... 1.... Bex unlocks the door and calls out to Mai. "Mai? Mai? I'm here! It's 5:00! Where are-" Bex cuts herself off as she walks into the kitchen to find Mai lying on the ground, unconscious.

   The paramedics rush to get Mai into the hospital. Bex runs after them with tears streaming down her face and flying behind her as she runs. Little did she know that in a couple minutes she would see her younger sister lying on her death bed in the same hospital. Her worst fear in life were to lose the people she cared about, but most of all, to lose the two people she loved the most. Mai, her best friend, and Acantha, her younger sister. Bex suddenly halts and turns in absolute horror to find her sister lying on a hospital bed, pale, almost gray looking. She had dark circles under her eyes and her lips were chapped. "Bex." Acantha says in a raspy voice. Bex runs over to her beloved sister in tears. She shakily and gently grabs he sisters' hand. "What are you doing here?" She asks, her voice breaking as the tears fall down her cheeks. "I fainted in the middle of gym today, and they said I wasn't breathing so someone had to do CPR on me, but when I came to, I felt like crap, so one of the kids took me to the nurses. I felt nauseous and when I threw up it was all blood. I was coughing up blood and throwing up blood. I was losing too much, so they called an ambulance and here I am." Acantha tells Bex with a reassuring smile. What she was so reassuring for, Bex had no idea. The only thing on her mind at this moment was Acantha's skin. Her usually beautiful, silky smooth, fair skin was now, almost prune like and gray looking.