Rescue Me

"I've come to make a confession."

Jack was at the local police station, tear-stained and muddy, shaking and near crying again, but he knew this was the right thing to do.

Two officers standing in the hall overhear his bold statement to the slightly bewildered receptionist, and walk over.

"Can we be of any help, young man?" the elder of the pair spoke.

"Yes. I want to come clean."

They nod without another word at Jack's distressed appearance and gently lead him to a private room. He's glad for the lack of judgement on their part. They give him some tissues to blow his nose, a couple of wet paper towels to scrub the dirt on his jeans from where he'd fallen earlier, running and running from Alex's apartment like all his problems might disappear if he went far enough. But he'd just ended up in a street he didn't recognise, eventually stumbling somewhere he knew and went straight to the station. He couldn't take it any more.

He didn't know how he'd held the burden this long.

Once he was calm, helped by the kind officers giving him tea, he confessed to everything. The whole story, from start to finish. How he'd started taking cocaine, and how he'd gotten sucked into a scheme he didn't want to be in just to get more. About how he never wanted it that badly but he was afraid of the consequences if he tried to go against Jeremy's will.

He told them all about how he and Alex had agreed they'd put it behind them once Jack quit, fearing for the well-being of themselves and their loved ones, but it was too much to handle.

"I just want to be better," he sobbed when it was all out in the open, for the first time to someone other than Alex. "I didn't mean for any of it to happen. I want to be punished for it, I want to plead guilty. I don't care. I hate what I did and I want to make it better. I just want everything to be okay. I'm so sorry."

Jack thought the kindness would come to an end there, but an older female officer had come in and given him a blanket for his shivering, and told him just to drink his tea and take deep breaths.

Jack nodded and blew his nose with the tissues again.

"Do I get a phone call?" he asked, voice wavering.

///

Jack decided to call Danny. He only got one call and he was scared Alex would ignore him. The idea of calling his mother and telling her everything right then over the phone also terrified him, and Danny was his closest friend, so he won out in the end.

"Hello?"

"Danny! Thank God, oh man, I was scared you weren't gonna pick up," Jack breathed.

"Jack? What's up, dude?! I haven't heard from you in forever!" Danny sounded delighted, and Jack hated to crush that.

"I know, I know, I've been a shitty friend, but... just, stuff going on. I'm sorry. This isn't a casual call. Listen closely, okay? I need you to do me a favour, please, it's so important."

Jack took a deep breath and told the story all over again. A slightly shorter version, with less tears, thankfully, but the whole thing nonetheless.

"I completely understand if you hate me and think I'm awful, because trust me, I do, but I'm trying to make it better and I just need you to do this for me," Jack pleaded, praying one of his best friends since playschool wasn't about to hang up on him.

"...Wow. Alright, bro. I'm in. What d'you need?"

Tears welled in Jack's eyes. "Jesus, Danny, you're the best. Okay. Okay. Listen. Alex and I had a fight earlier and I tried calling him before I went to the police because I was upset and lost but he didn't pick up and I think he's ignoring me. I just... I really need you to go round to his place and tell him that I've told the police. And tell our friends. And... and my family. I know that's rough, but I'm gonna write a letter for them because I don't think I can tell it all over again out loud. Just, sorta... vaguely tell them where I am and why. I just need everyone to know, and tell them to be careful. The police promised me they'd have Jeremy and his friends within the next couple of days so I'm just-- I'm just praying everyone's going to be fine until then."

"I'm on it. And Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"No matter what you do or what you go through, I'm always gonna be your friend."

Jack smiled, the tears spilling over. "Thank-you."

"I'll see you soon, dude."

Danny hung up the phone, wasting no time in spreading the news. He gathered up all the guys and broke it to them, and a small group of them went over to see Jack's parents.

It was tougher than Danny thought it'd be, considering the only information he knew he should give was that Jack was fine, but there was a reason behind his suicide attempt and weird behaviour, and he was at the police station.

The rest of them headed to Alex's apartment to tell him that Jack was coming clean.

Danny was a little worried about how Alex might react to this news. He could still be angry from the fight he had with Jack earlier, and Danny assumed he probably was, since he'd ignored his boyfriend's phone call.

It wasn't all that late, but none of the group could figure out why Alex wasn't answering his door. Surely he hadn't gone to bed early?

"Maybe he did, I mean, after a fight and all? His life's been pretty stressful lately as it is," Matt reasoned with a shrug, and the others agreed among themselves.

"Yeah, but, his apartment isn't huge, surely we'd wake him," Danny sighed, getting frustrated. "D'you think he went out somewhere? To clear his head? Maybe to his parents' place?"

"I don't know, should we call him?"

"Yeah, dial his phone," Danny nodded, knocking a couple more times just in case. With another sigh, he placed his hand on the door handle, twisting it out of curiosity, and to his surprise, it opened. "Uh, hey, forget the call... his door isn't locked..."

Cautiously, Danny stepped inside, everyone else following behind. The apartment was pitch black, save for a stream of light coming out the bathroom, door left ajar.

"Is he showering?" Matt muttered.

"Can you hear a shower?" Danny retorted, taking slow steps towards the room.

He had a bad feeling as he pushed the door open.

Danny staggered backwards with a cry at the exact moment Matt turned on the lights, and everyone in the room gasped at the blood on the carpet.

"Holy fuck," Danny choked, a dry sob quickly following.

The others rushed to the door with similar reactions, and Matt slumped to the floor in tears.

Alex's head and one arm was lolling out of the bath, water tinted pink with blood, and vomit on the floor by the tub. There were more various blood stains all over the floor and the actual appearance of their friend was nothing short of horrific.

"This must've been Jack's dealer, we're too late," Danny rasped, shaking his head as he got out his phone with trembling fingers, tears spilling onto the screen as he called for an ambulance. "Someone go and fucking see if he's alive! And talk to Matt, he's-- hello?! Hello, I need an ambulance, please, our friend-- our friend's been attacked."

"Danny?" Rian called from the bathroom, two fingers pressed to Alex's neck. "He's breathing."

He's breathing.