The Summer With Spencer

Spencer left shortly after, but I stayed up really late, thinking about our time together. I was much too excited from his visit to be tired, but I eventually got worn out around four in the morning. I climbed into my warm bed and fell fast asleep. In the morning, I woke up around 9:30. The house was quiet, which was weird, because Eddie would usually be up by now. I was not going to apologize to him, he could apologize to me first for the trouble he had caused. I felt no remorse for the stuff I had said to him, I had meant them. I still did. We hadn’t talked since Tuesday night when he had yelled at me. Today was Thursday. The atmosphere felt wrong, too still, too….I don’t know, too unreal I suppose. I pulled on a baggy class of 2015 sweatshirt and crept into the hallway. The house smelled funny. I was getting pretty creeped out by now, so I took my chances and opened Eddie’s door. I speed-walked into the large bedroom, eager to be near someone. The bathroom light was on, so I headed towards it. On my way there, I slipped and fell on something, some type of liquid. I looked down. My scream was piercing. All over the floor, and now me, was crimson, congealed blood.

“Aaaaahhhhhhhhgggggg. Aaaggggghhhhh !” I looked up, Eddie was slouched over in the corner. He had slit his wrists. I didn’t have time to think, I just acted. I whipped my socks off so that I could run, and I ran to get my first-aid kit and call an ambulance. I wished that Eddie had been smart and kept one in his bathroom, but it was too late for wishes now. I developed a mantra as I attempted to stop the bleeding; “I can save you, I can save you. I can save you,” I told him over and over again. He was barely conscious, but I hadn’t a clue how long he had been like this. I could have figured it out by how coaguloated the blood was if I’d had the time, but I obviously didn’t. I urged him to stay awake as I fervently squeezed his wounds, willing the bleeding to stop. One cut wasn’t as deep, and I knew I could stitch it up. He would die if I didn’t, he was bleeding way too fast, and he had already lost too much blood for comfort. I ran to get my suture kit that I had insisted on having, because I aspired to be a surgeon when I was older. I was very glad for my medical knowledge now, I could save a life, the life of someone I knew. I felt detached as I worked though, quickly but steadily. The wound closed up nicely, but his awareness was slipping. The ambulance took an extra three minutes to arrive, a total of fifteen minutes, way too slow to save a life under ordinary conditions but still I had hope. I believed that believing we can survive, is what makes us survive. As they hauled Eddie out of the house, I saw my saviors arrive. They jumped out, and Gideon reached me first. “What happened ?!” he asked me incredulously, taking in my expression and current appearance. “He tried to kill himself,” I told him, but I took off running then, I had to stay with him in the ambulance. I couldn’t leave him now.

I sat near Eddie’s head in the ambulance, looking into his eyes. I was numb. I looked down at myself, realizing what I looked like. I was still wearing the blood-stained oversized sweatshirt, and booty shorts. I realized that somehow I had put on ballet-flat slippers to wear to the hospital. “Where’s the other person ?” the paramedic asked me. “What other person ? “ I asked, confused. “The one who did this,” he replied, gesturing towards the stitches. “I did,” I told him, surprised. “Wow, really ? Nice job ! You saved this guy’s life ! He sure is lucky to have you around !” the guy told me, patting my shoulder. I looked out the back window of the ambulance, to see one of the BAU Escalades following close behind us. Derek was driving, with Gideon next to him. When we arrived at the hospital, they took Eddie to a room and wouldn’t allow me in. I trudged to the waiting room. Derek came running full speed at me. “Kiddo, what the hell happened ?!” “He tried to commit suicide,” I told him numbly. “Oh God, no,” he told me, looking me in the eyes. He looked me up and down, but didn’t question. “He must’ve known that I went to bed really late, because he obviously thought I would sleep in. But he was scared, there were hesitation marks…” I thought aloud. Derek took in my observations with a somewhat surprised expression. Behind him, the whole rest of the team came running in. Evidently Gideon and Derek hadn’t dished, because they all looked surprised to see me there, as if they had expected Eddie instead. Reid looked terrified as he rushed up to me. I hugged him tight, apparently every day he felt more and more comfortable around me. “Stop doing this to me,” he told me quietly. I looked up at his serious doe eyes, replying in a whisper- “I would if I could.”