Farewell To Shady Glade

“Haha, faggot!”
“Ha, go kill yourself.”
“Take that!”
“No one even likes you, loser.”
I pressed my back against the wall; they were around the corner. I thought about calling a teacher… but that would just make it worse in the long run. After all, It was to be expected; he faced it every day. I never did anything about it… but I was there. I saw it.
Usually, whenever he got attacked I would just hide nearby and wait it out. When the bullys finally decided to leave him be and tend to his wounds… I was there. I was his girlfriend, I had to be there for him. We had been friends for years… I was his only friend.
I loved him to death.
I would do anything for Austin Carlile.
It sounded like he was getting it bad this time… I hoped he would be okay. He was screaming in agony but it’s not like I could do anything about it… right? It had been minutes, I knew we were going to be late for class. Why can’t they just hurry up?
“Come on faggot, damn you’re fat!”
“Hurry up!”
“What if a teacher comes?!”
I listened to their crunchy footsteps as they made their way in the opposite direction, across the field and toward the locker rooms I guess. At least he wouldn’t be out in the snow.
I peeked around the corner and sure enough, a struggling Austin was being carried by the nape of his neck away from me with his long, skinny legs flailing in the snow to try and free himself. His books were scattered and wet. I quickly gathered them and pushed them into my backpack.
Luckily, it wasn’t much; only a binder that had come apart and his lyric book. Everything was wet but that would have to wait. I quickly pushed my bookbag into the building beside me and ran towards the crown now disappearing into the locker rooms.
All I heard was a loud crack and everybody went silent. I hid behind the door as everybody came flooding out, terrified.
I didn’t see him.
I couldn’t hear him.
Where was he?
“Austin… love?” I called timidly, I had a bad feeling. He had been avoiding me all day and now… “Are you there love?”
No reply.
I gulped and took a step forward. Then another… slowly, I searched through the rows of lockers. There he was. There was my Austin, on the floor… bleeding. I stopped. I was frozen, I wanted to call out for him but I was scared… too scared. I didn’t know what to do… what to think. He wasn’t moving… was he even breathing?
That did it, I shot forward and crashed to my knees. His eyes were closed, I couldn’t see his beautiful browns.
It’s a good thing he starves himself… otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to carry him to his car. It was a ways away, and it had begun to snow again but I took off my hoodie and wrapped it around his head.
Stop the bleeding, stop the bleeding.
He looked so broken but I didn’t care anymore. I just wanted him to be okay… ‘Just LIVE’ I thought to myself, he had to… but I didn’t care anymore.
I didn’t care about my now soaked hoodie, the aching in my chest from running, the strain in my arms as I carried his limp but thankfully still warm body. I didn’t care that my feet were soaked and numb with the cold or that my arms were fully exposed, showing all of my scars to the world. I didn’t care anymore. I just wanted him to live. I needed him.
I got to my car and threw him harshly into the back seat, I didn’t care. I didn’t care. It took me 5 minutes to make the 10 minute journey to the hospital. They took him right away.
I think I had to explain to the nurse what I thought had happened, and that we were supposed to be in school but I don’t remember anything from that point. It must have been hours… days? I don’t remember anymore.
All I can remember is when he woke up… I asked him why… why had he been ignoring me? I could have helped him with whatever it was. Why did he seek out his bullies? Fight back? It would have been easier if he had just gotten it over with…
“Why?”
“She’s dead… my mom’s dead.”