TW (suicide and stuff)
"-AAHHH!!! AUGUST!" Ivy's words were cut off by a scream. Alarmed, she ran towards her mother's voice.
"Mum! What happened-" words died in her mouth when she saw her mother leaning on the bathroom door, her eyes wide.
In front of them was the person they've been searching for, lying in his own pool of blood. There were numerous cuts on his wrists, blood gushing out of them.
Ivy trembled, "..August?" Ava steadied herself and cried urgently, "Call 911! Please, quickly!"
Panicked, Ivy took out her phone. Her hands were shaking, even a task as simple as unlocking her phone taking 3 tries. "Hello? 911? Please! Save my brother!" she stuttered, "Please! He..he's bleeding so much!"
The person on the other end tried to calm her down. "Ma'am, please calm down. An ambulance is on its way to your current location. Now, tell me what happened calmly."
"M-my brother...August...he-he isn't opening his eyes. There's so much blood...he- he's dying!"
A smile of pure happiness covered August's face. He was already half unconscious, not seeing or hearing anything clearly; all he could see were a blur of shapes and hear muffled noises. He completely fainted as he lightly uttered out, "Ed...I hope you're happy...."
Ava had taken the phone from Ivy, somewhat more calm than the frightened teen. She was trying her best to explain the situation without crying as Ivy knelt by his side, tears dripping down her face. "B-brother...why? Why did you take such a step because of him? Why didn't you think of me, of Mum, of the people who care about you?" she sobbed, "...just, why?"
Help soon arrived. Two paramedics rushed in, wrapping gauze around his wrists to momentarily stop the bleeding. He was laid on a stretcher as they carried him out, their movements skilled and experienced. Ava was still shocked and didn't even answer when one of the nurses called her. The nurse repeated, "Ma'am, aren't you coming with us?"
Startled by her call, she almost jumped. "W-what? Yes, yes. Let's...let's hurry."
Ivy clutched the sink, getting up with difficulty. Her legs were still shaking, the image of her brother covered in blood still fresh in her mind. With obviously trembling steps, she walked as fast as she could, following them.
Sirens blaring, they reached the nearest hospital in about 5 minutes. They carried August out, her mom following behind. Ivy dazedly got off, stopping. Was this really happening? Or is it just yet another of her nightmares? She couldn't separate dreams from reality as she looked around at a scene she imagined so many times in her head. The very scene which made her wake up at nights, panting in fear. Her mom was standing in the corridor, tears streaming down her face. Her hands were pressed together tightly as she, an atheist, prayed and begged, "Please...if you're up there, please let my son be alright...p-please.."
Someone ran down the corridor, his steps hurried. He bumped into Ivy, not even stopping to apologize.
"YOU!" Ivy screamed, "Edward Felix! Stop right there!" The man's steps halted, recognizing the voice. He turned around, coming face to face with the girl, her tear-stained face not unlike his own.
Ivy didn't know she got the strength. She, who was trembling so much before, walked steadily to him. Not holding back at all, she slapped him, hard.
"..why?!" she screamed, "..just, why?"
Edward prayed for his guess to not be true as he received the harsh slap, not dodging. Ivy took him by the collar and cried, "You...why did you do this to him?" Tears fell freely out of her eyes as she cried, not trying to hide them at all.
Clutching his collar, Ivy took a moment to steady herself on her feet before slapping him again. "You piece of shit! He...he loved you! Just....why did you do this to him?? Force him to do this...answer me! why?!"
She demanded, "You asshole! Give me a damn answer!"
"...I." Edward backstepped, unsteady. He was willing to accept his worst fear coming true as he stuttered, "...I did what...?"
He panicked and asked hurriedly, "August! Where...where's August?"
Ivy sobbed, not answering him.
Edward took her hands and begged, "Please, please tell me where's August. I...I need to save him! H-he might...."
This was the final straw for her as she slapped his hands away and hissed, "Don't you dare take his name with your filthy mouth! You...you don't deserve it! What was his mistake? That he loved, was that his fault?"
"...no..." Edward's mind was a mess as he pleaded again, "Please! You're his sister! Tell me...I need to go to him! Please! Something...something might happen..."
Ivy smiled through her tears and said, "He tried to kill himself! Something might happen? All that happened has already happened!"
She sidestepped, pointing to the still praying women leaning on the wall, her state pitiful. She sniffled, "See that woman over there? She's my mom. August's mother. See her state? Bawling, crying like that." She gestured to her own face. "See my tears? Happy, aren't you? August's is lying there, fighting for his life, do you know why?" Ivy didn't have much strength. After all, she was just a teenage girl. Still, she hit him as hard as she could with her thin hands as she mourned, "Because of you! B-because of you...all because of you."
"...no...t-this-" Edward felt his vision sway, feet unsteady. His head started to pain as he clutched his hair, still muttering, "- this can't be happening...I-it was-" he yelled, "It was supposed to end differently! I-it was.."
"Shut up! Just, shut up!" Ivy couldn't hear anymore and accused, "Stop, stop victimizing yourself! It was your fault! Why're you acting like the one wronged now, eh?"
"Why pretend to care now?" she cried, "D-did...you ever think of him as a lover? Or were you just playing with him since the beginning, only to do something so horrible and force him to take such a step?"
"August,..." she couldn't help but sniffle when she said his name. "-is really brave, you know? Even when living was so hard, he held on. So...just how far did you take things? Just how bad did you hurt him that he, who managed to even survive the most horrible things, broke down?"
"Just...how cruel were you? What did you do to make him happily throw away his life for someone who wasn't the least bit deserving, without even thinking about us? What did you do to make a person like him, who viewed life as a chore, care about someone so much that he tried to end his own existence?"
Ivy was almost muttering to herself now, not bothering to yell or hit him anymore. She looked up, as if asking the heavens, and said, "What...what did he ever do to deserve this? He never hurt someone; he never hated anyone, always blaming himself for everything." Her voice cracked, and she gulped.
"H-he...even sympathized with Felicia, you know? He said it's not her fault and she was mentally ill. He used to believe anyone isn't really bad at heart. He believed in humanity. He always told me it wasn't Felicia who did all that, it was her insecurities, her fears, and the hurt she got from that man. He never thought someone is really bad at heart and it's the world who shapes them like this. He always believed that there's goodness, kindness in the world even if the only thing he ever experienced was cruelty and abuse?" Wiping her nose off her sleeve, she tried hard not to cry. "What happened to the stupid principle of karma now? What comes around goes around?? Just....why is he getting all this hurt then? When he never did anything bad, why is he always the one taking the burnt end of the stick?"
Ivy felt her throat hoarse, unable to speak anymore. She just limply sat on one of those hospital chairs, the man beside her looking down. It was as if he was ashamed to face them, not daring to look up at the people he's wronged. Her mother was so out of it that she didn't even notice when her daughter slapped and cornered a person. She was still incoherently begging for her son to be saved, with her eyes half closed, looking like she was about to pass out.
It was as if time went on for everyone else but these three people, who seemed stuck in time, in a loop. Not one of the three moved, just merely there, existing. Ivy's cheeks were no longer moist. Her tears, which felt endless before, had also stopped after one point. All she had now were those tear stains as she blankly stared ahead, not acknowledging the world around her.
A nurse passed by, turning sideways to wipe her moist eyes. It truly...was a sad sight. Although they who regularly dealt with death were expected to be immune to all this, they were also human beings at the end of the day. They also felt emotions; they also cried. Although the misery wasn't her own, she couldn't help her eyes watering at such a sight.
This...this wasn't anything new for her. But still, being used to it didn't mean they didn't feel the pain of seeing such sights. Her nose felt ticklish as she tried not to look back, afraid she'd start crying if she did. After all, the last thing these people needed were another set of watering eyes.