Realization flooded me with more pain than I thought possible. The texts….

The jar of medicine hadn’t been for her dog at all. She’d been talking about herself. She was going to overdose and I’d been too blind to notice.

Now it all hit me at once as I tore down the hallway of the abandoned school; clawing my way through debris until my arms and face were lined with tiny streaks of crimson.

All those times she excused herself from hanging out with friends. The days she wouldn’t answer my calls or would just to say hello and hear my voice before she’d whisper that she had to go. How she’d stopped calling me by the nickname only she had ever used. The day she “accidentally” cut her wrist and had to leave school….

I clenched my fists and my face contorted in agony as I hated myself for not noticing.

I was just in time to see her raise the bottle of pills. She stared at them with an emptiness that filled me with dread, and I clutched at the door frame with shaking hands.

I was separated from the platform she was on by a big hole in the floor, and there was no way I could reach her.

"Put it down!!!" I screamed, hot tears clouding my vision and spilling down my cheeks.

By this time even my legs were shaking violently, and I desperately fought to stay upright. Megan's head snapped in my direction, alarm etched across her features which had become so thin and drawn these past few weeks.

Her hand closed tightly over the bottle and she backed away from me, frightened eyes darting around as if searching for something. Her mouth moved but no words came out; like a fish with no oxygen. Her free hand lifted protectingly in front of her face.

"For the love of God, stop," I cried, my voice cracking as it fell to a hoarse whisper.

Neither of us moved. She stood there holding the bottle that would end her life while I balanced helplessly on the broken tiles, unable to reach her. She looked confused, and a tense silence settled over the atmosphere.

The thought occurred to me that perhaps she'd already taken the pills...maybe I was too late...maybe-

“…..Nino?”

It was a mere modicum of a whisper, but I heard it. I almost laughed with the relief that flooded me at hearing that name. She knew me.

A shuddering sigh passed over her lips and she began to tremble, eyes never leaving my face. They were searching every inch of it, as if trying to somehow scrape away the blood and dirt to see if it was really me.

"Meg…" I whispered hesitantly, glancing down at the bottle she couldn't seem to let go of. "Please…..”

She dragged her eyes away from my face as if afraid that I would somehow fade and be lost if she didn't keep her gaze on me.

I could see the inward struggle taking place in the way that her left eyebrow twitched, in the trembling of her chin, in the rim of tears that formed; threatening to spill over. Her hands shook so hard that the pills rattled against the jar.

I clenched my fingers into fists and leaned forward, chewing my lip with anxiety. Come on, Megan. You can do this.

Then suddenly she raised the bottle in front of her face, staring at it. I simultaneously stepped forward in fear, scared to death that she would do it anyway. I sucked in a shaky breath and waited.

A gut wrenching sob escaped her lips and she cried out, flinging the bottle against the far wall. A reassuring shatter ensued and I immediately returned my attention to the shuddering figure before me.

Megan wrapped her arms around her thin waist and bent forward almost double, sobs racking her frame. I ached to be near her, but there was no way across the hole in the floor. I desperately searched about for something that would help, and stopped when my eyes lighted on a long plank.

I crossed the room in two big strides and grabbed it, ignoring the rough splinters that scraped my hands as I dragged it across the floor. I shoved it over the hole and made my way across, thinking of nothing but the sound of Megan's tears as each one pricked my heart like a needle.

Finally I stood before her, fresh tears glistening in my own eyes when I saw how thin and sickly she looked up close. How broken she’d become.

I was afraid to reach out, afraid that she would react as she had before. Afraid of hurting her again.

But this time it was she who took a step in my direction. Slowly she stumbled towards me until I lost all apprehension and rushed forward, wrapping her in a tight embrace. For a long while she did nothing but cry, sobbing until she couldn't breathe and ragged gasps filled the room.

I held her closer and lowered us to the floor so she could rest her legs, and finally her arms crept around my waist; trembling hands curling into fists and resting upright on my back.

I don't know how long we sat there before her crying finally ceased and she lapsed into silence. I waited, leaving whatever happened next up to her for the time being.

I opened my eyes when I felt her grab onto the front of my shirt. She was shaking again, holding onto me for dear life in that desperate need to have someone close, someone who wouldn't leave.

“Nino?” She whispered softly, eyes still closed.

“I’m here.”