Almost Easy

Hollis and Brian rushed into Zacky's room, frantically trying to find him. When they didn't see him in the bedroom, Brian ran to the door of the en suite bathroom and when he found it locked he kicked the door in. They both rushed into the bathroom and saw the one thing they were both hoping not to find.

Zacky was collapsed on the floor, a razor lying on the floor beside him and his left wrist bleed profusely.

"Shit" Brian said before rushing to Zacky's side, grabbing a towel and pressing it hard against the cut and holding the wound above Zacky's heart, using any knowledge he had f first aid to try and staunch the flow. Hollis knelt down beside him and pressed her middle and index finger under Zacky's jaw, frantically searching for a pulse. Brian looked at her with worried eyes, applying more and more pressure to the wound.

"It's there. It's faint but he's still breathing." She said and they both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Call 911" Brian said frantically. "GO!"

She jumped up and ran back into the bedroom where her phone was still lying on Zacky's bedside table. She quickly dialed 911 and tried not to hyperventilate as the phone rang.

"911, what's your emergency?" The operator asked calmly.

"Please! We need an ambulance! 99 George street" She all but shouted into the phone.

"Calm down miss, what is going on?"

"He tried to kill himself. He's bleeding, Brian is trying to stop it. Please, just send an ambulance!" She begged, tears welling up in her eyes.

"We're sending an ambulance now but I need you to stay on the line with me until the ambulance arrives, can you do that for me?"

"Yeah. I...I have to go tell Brian they're coming. When will they be here?"

"In a few minutes, you aren't too far from the ambulance bay."

Hollis hurried back into the bathroom, Brian still holding his wrist up, pressing a now bright red towel onto the wound. Tears were rolling down his cheeks and Hollis could hear him whispering to Zacky, apologizing over and over again.

"They're coming" She said tearfully and Brian simply nodded before turning his attention back to his best friend.

It seemed like years had passed when Hollis heard a loud knocking on the door and she ran down the stairs telling the 911 operator they were hear and hanging up the phone.

"He's upstairs, first bedroom in the bathroom, Brian is with him." She told the EMT's quickly as they ran up the stairs. It was only a matter of minutes before they had Zacky strapped to a gurney and were carrying him down the stairs, a bloodied Brian following close behind him. The EMT who was not carrying Zacky stopped Brian and Hollis as they reached the door.

"Are you coming in the ambulance with him?" He asked them and for the first time all night, Brian and Hollis both nodded.

"Is he going to be okay?" Brian asked.

"We think so. You two got to him in time and staunched the flow pretty quickly. He will need a blood transfusion but we can check the bank when we get to the hospital. But we have to move quickly, let's go."

Hollis and Brian nodded and followed the EMT into the back of the ambulance, sitting together on his right side, both attempting to hold his right hand. Brian put an arm around Hollis' shoulders as she sobbed, rubbing her shoulders lightly as an attempt to calm her down.

"He's going to be fine" He whispered to her.

"This is my fault. This is my fault" She whispered, crying more and more with each breath she took.

"It's our fault Hollis, it wasn't just you. But he's going to be okay, I promise you. He's seen worse and gotten through it."

The EMT's were bustling around the back of the ambulance as best they could in the tight space, checking his vitals as the ambulance sped down the road.

"Blood type B-" one EMT reported to the others with a frown.

"What's wrong?" Hollis asked.

"It's the rarest blood type, it's unlikely we have any back at the hospital." He said with a frown.

"No, no he needs blood, what are you going to do?!" Brian nearly yelled at him.

"Wait..." Hollis interrupted, placing a hand on Brian's leg, stopping him from yelling anymore. "B- is my blood type. I can donate."

The EMT nodded, "We need to type you quickly, give me your hand."

She took her hand from Brian's leg and extended it over Zacky's body and allowed the EMT to prick her finger, taking one droplet of blood and placing it on a machine.

"It's a match, B-." He confirmed and Brian and Hollis both had a weak smile on their faces, good news.

"We'll need to take the blood en route, we still have twenty minutes until we're at the hospital and he'll need to blood as soon as we get there."

Hollis nodded and moved to the small stool closest to the EMT and extended her arm to him. He wrapped a piece of rubber tubing around her upper arm and inserted a needle into her arm, blood flowing from the vein into the bag at the end of the tube. She took deep breaths as she watched the blood flowing out, taking a look at Brian and Zacky every so often to keep her mind off of the blood.

"Are you all right Hollis?" Brian asked, seeing the discomfort on her face.

"Yeah I'm fine. I'm just...petrified of needles." She admitted.

He took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze, "I really appreciate what you're doing here. You're saving his life."

She nodded and it wasn't long before the bag was filled and the EMT withdrew the needle from her arm as the ambulance pulled into the ER entrance of the hospital. The EMT's rushed Zacky into the hospital, instructing Hollis and Brian to remain in the waiting room until they came out and got them.

They sat together in the waiting room, both looking like hell in their pajamas with traces of Zacky's blood on them. Brian was holding Hollis' hands, giving her a reassuring squeeze every once in a while just to let her know he was still there.

The doors burst open and a doctor came out, "Brian and Hollis?" He asked and they immediately stood up and walked over to the doctor.

"How is he doctor?" Brian asked.

"He's stable. He's asking for you two."