I Didn't Know I Could Break Your Heart

Tyler rolled over fitfully in the hospital bed. He was aware of a shooting pain in one of his hands as he pressed down on it. Two hands were shaking him roughly and as he came to, he was aware that a voice was also shouting, "Get up, would you? Damn it!"

He groaned and blinked open his eyes. Rudy shoved him back into the pillows, looking annoyed and then sat back down in the seat by his bed. His dark green eyes glared at Tyler, showing that this time he really was pissed off.

"What happened?" Tyler mumbled, propping himself up on his elbows.

"Your suicide attempt failed, again," Rudy spat, "The nurse got here in time and saved your ass. I tried to talk her out of it. Sorry it didn't work." He smirked coldly and kicked the bed, making it rattle.

Tyler groaned, his hands flying to his head. "Thanks for that. Now I've got a headache. Where's the f*cking Tylenol?" He asked, reaching towards Rudy with his good hand.

"The nurse finally had the good sense to take it out of here. I mean, you would think that any good nurse would've taken it away the first time you tried to kill yourself by overdosing, but no, it took two more times and me begging for her to take it out of this room for her to do it. She's such a bitch." Rudy said madly, "You've got to stop this. You broke your f*cking hand, that's why I brought you here, not so you could try to commit suicide three f*cking times."

Tyler just stared back at him coldly. His fingers curled around the edge of the bed sheets in anger. He wished that Rudy would just go away. If it wasn't for him, as soon as he had gotten the pain pills for his hand he would have been dead. He had tried to kill himself by overdosing as soon as they had left the hospital and if Rudy hadn't come back from smoking within seconds, he would have succeeded.

When it became clear that Rudy was looking for an apology, Tyler just grunted. The look Rudy gave him looked absolutely murderous. Good, Tyler thought to himself, Maybe he'll kill me himself and save me the trouble of taking my own life.

"What the f*ck is your problem?" Rudy asked quite seriously, "One damned girl slept with you and then left to be with her fiance! Your fault, not hers. The other one left because you f*cking let her! If you wanted her to stay, maybe you should have fought for her. And what the f*ck is up with this suicide thing? You swore you would never try it again after college! You f*cking swore!"

Tyler looked down at his feet, ignoring Rudy's ranting. It was true, he had promised that he would never try to kill himself again. But he had had a good reason then, just like he had a good reason now. He could still remember that day in sophomore year when Rudy had helped him down from the top of that building...

Tyler stood looking down at the street below him. He was going to jump. He had to jump. There was nothing left for him in the world anymore. The picture of her in the paper had crushed him. He had almost completely forgotten about her. Christine had really helped him forget about her but after seeing that picture... he couldn't do it anymore. He couldn't pretend he was okay anymore.

Closing his eyes, he reached one of his feet over the edge of the building. He knew that no one had noticed him yet, because he couldn't hear police sirens yet. His breath was caught in his throat. His life was about to end. He would finally be able to forget about her.

His second foot was seconds from sliding over the edge, when a voice exclaimed loudly, "What the f*ck?" Before Tyler could even open his eyes, strong hands were pulling him back onto the buildings roof and someone had slapped him across the face. "You have f*cking problems!"

"You didn't get that from the fact that I was on the top of a building?" Tyler screamed back, opening his eyes. Rudy stood in front of him, fuming. His dark brown hair was blowing all over his face in the rough October winds. He looked angrier than Tyler had ever seen him. Setting his face in a cold, hard star, Tyler spat, "Why the f*ck are you here?"

"Oh... I don't know... maybe because my best friend texted me a suicide note five minutes ago?" Rudy shouted, shoving him backwards. "So what happened, huh? Did Christine dump you? Did the English teacher reject you again? What? What pushed you over the edge, because you've been depressed for months."

Tyler looked at him and shrugged. Turning around in a circle, he collapsed to the ground in front of his friend. Tears stung his eyes as he buried his face in his hands. Rudy knelt down next to him silently, his expression softening slightly. "What happened, buddy?" He whispered.

"She did," Tyler whispered, his voice cracking, "She broke my heart for no reason and... left. For good. And then she has the f*cking nerve to show up in my town's newspaper?" He swore and shook his head, "Bitch."

Rudy blinked, realization slowly dawning on him. He remembered the newspaper lying open to the second page when Tyler stormed out the door that morning. He remembered the remote control being thrown into the television and shattering the newscaster's face.

"The girl in the paper?" He asked cautiously. Tyler nodded. Rudy bit his lip, "Come on, let's go back to school. I bet Ms. Carter will open up if I tell her you just tried to commit suicide." Rudy forced a smile onto his face as he said it, but he was shaking with nervousness on the inside.

Tyler took his hand and pulled himself off the ground. Smiling at his friend, he said, "Thanks, dude. But, honestly, Ms. Carter has been giving me a bad vibe for months now. I think the window of opportunity has closed."

"Then we'll just have to open it again," Rudy said with a smirk. They started towards the stairs, but just before they reached them, he turned around and said, "Promise me something."

"What?" Tyler asked.

"Promise me you'll never do something so f*cking stupid ever again."

"Promise."

Tyler had followed Rudy all the way back to campus without another word. They had burned Marrietta's picture in their fireplace and cleaned up the broken glass in the living room. Tyler looked up at Rudy now, the white hospital walls clashing brilliantly with his dark brown hair.

"I'm sorry." Tyler whispered.

Rudy nodded, "Just... try to deal with these things better in the future, okay?" He sighed and got up off of the chair, "By the way, captain douche bag, Jennifer's here to see you for god knows what reason." He shook his head as he reached the door, "You really must be something in bed."