Another World | ✔️

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Trigger Warnings
Suicide
Depression
Cursing

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The ride home is quiet. It's peaceful after the constant beeping of the machines in the hospital room. I'm so glad to finally be out of there. Everyone was nice to me, but it was awful. Most of the time I was awake was spent pondering on thoughts, and every little thing reminded me of what I had done.

There will still be reminders. I'm on an extra medication to rebuild my strength. My body still aches, and I still feel exhausted. I'm not allowed to be alone for at least another week, and I have to go to the doctor for an evaluation within the next two weeks. And of course there will still be the horrible memories. I dread going back to my room for the first time. I dread the questions I know Mom will ask. I dread having to go back to school. I know that it will be difficult.

When we pull into the driveway, Mom looks over at me and smiles softly. "You feel okay?"

I nod slightly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Glad to be home," I say with a small smile. "I'm going to go upstairs and get a shower before Connor and Zoe get here."

Mom nods and steps out of the car, leading the way inside. "I'm going to cook something for you guys. Any preference?"

"Hm. . . Tacos?"

"Sounds good."

I start upstairs as Mom moves towards the kitchen, only to stop when I hear her speak again. "Evan?"

"Hm?"

"I love you, Honey. I mean that."

"I love you too, Mom," I say quietly before continuing up the stairs.

I stop when I get to my room. I close my eyes as I stand there, taking a shaky breath. I'm glad when I step inside and the pill bottle is gone. My bed is made tidy, and I assume that Mom cleaned up when she came home.

I try to shower quickly, but it seems to take forever. When I finish, I huff and sit down on my bed for a minute before heading downstairs. I'm surprised when I see that Connor and Zoe are already here, sitting at the table.

"Evan!"

Zoe squeaks as she jumps up and comes to hug me. It's the first time I've seen her since I woke up. She looks beautiful, dressed in a blue jean dress with floral designs and gray leggings. When she wraps around me I bend my head down and notice her hair smells like flowers. "Hey," I whisper after a moment.

"I've missed you," she whispers back before pulling away. She takes my hand and leads me back to the table. I notice Connor seems to be holding back laughter and I just shake my head.

"You guys didn't have to come over," I say shyly as I sit down between them. "I'm glad you did though."

"We wanted to," Connor says.

Before more can be said, Mom brings each of us our food and sits down across from us. "You're both welcome to come over at any time," she says. She glances over at me and I give her a nod. "If it's okay with your parents, I may ask you to come a bit more when I go back to work."

Connor looks over at me a bit confused and I shake my head. "I'm not allowed to be alone," I say quickly. "Since Dad won't— since Ollie will be born soon, we thought you could come over some and maybe Jared could. It's fine if it's too much, though. We can work something out."

"Of course we'll come. I will, at least," he says, glancing towards Zoe.

"When I don't have band I will come," she says, narrowing her eyes playfully at Connor. "And I'm sure Mom and Dad wouldn't mind if you want to come over some too. You know they love you."

"Thank you," I breathe. I don't know why I was worried. I guess a part of me still thinks that they don't really care, even after everything.

I feel Zoe grab my hand and squeeze it. I look over and smile at her. I wonder. . . I wonder if Connor showed her. . .

Once we've all finished, I look up at Mom. "Is it okay if we go up to my room?"

"Go on," she says. "I'll clean up."

I thank her and lead the way up to my room. I immediately sit on my bed. Zoe sits beside me and Connor sits in my swivel chair, spinning around quickly and nearly tipping it over. I can't help but laugh, holding my hand to my mouth.

"I'm good!"

"You're such a dork," Zoe snorts.

"And you're not?"

She rolls her eyes and looks over at me. Connor spins around again, but starts to talk. "How are you feeling, by the way?" he asks.

"Exhausted more than anything," I say, fiddling with a string that's hanging from my bed sheet. "I don't know how I'm still tired after sleeping so much, but they said that's normal."

"Maybe you can rest better now that you're home," Zoe says. "I know I can. . ."

"You know you guys don't have to worry about me. I'll be alright."

Connor stops spinning and stares at me. "Do you expect us not to worry right now? H*ll, Evan, you were half-dead three days ago."

Zoe looks down at her feet, swinging them softly. "You would be worried too, wouldn't you?"

"Of course I would! I wouldn't be able to function."

"Then let us worry about you," she says, looking up and meeting my gaze. "We care, Ev."

I sigh and close my eyes. "Thanks guys. For everything."