The Girl With the Half Beating Heart

Alex sits in his bed with his headphones in while his mom talks to his doctor. Its not Laurel, so he’s not interested.
His mother has yet to talk to him about his ‘accident’ since he’s been here. Two days have passed. While he’s glad she hasn’t, he’s very anxious. He knows when she does, its not going to be pretty. He’d rather get it over with than to wait, because the more he waits, the angrier, or whatever she is, she’s gonna get.
However, there’s one more thing he can’t get out of his mind. The girl with a half beating heart. He hasn’t seen or heard from her, because he hasn’t been able to leave his room. All the pain and mental medications he’s taking are making him so loopy to where eating is a complicated task for him. He’s reread his card about 100 times, even though it only has 10 words on it. ‘Happy Birthday, Mr. Anonymous. - The Girl With The Half Beating Heart’. He’s beyond frustrated, due to the fact that he never got her name, and she never got his. There’s nothing he wants more than to just get up and walk to her room. But with the way his eyes are fluttering shut, and how all of the sounds in the room sound like a dull roar, his body is disagreeing.
The doctor bids Alex a farewell, but he’s too out of it to realize. He’s finally dozing off to sleep, his headphones still in his ears, when his mother abruptly wakes him up by yanking them out. He groggily sits up, rubbing his eyes as he stares at her, his face twisted in confusion.
“What the hell?” He mumbles, pushing his fringe out of his eyes.
“Don’t talk to me like that.” She states firmly, and Alex furrows his eyebrows. Then it hits him. She’s finally confronting him about why he’s here.
“Mom,” He begins, but she cuts him off.
“Don’t ‘mom’ me, Alex. What the fuck is this?” She yells, and he starts shaking. Whenever she gets angry, it makes him so uneasy. He doesn’t say anything, instead he just keeps staring at her. “Well?!” She demands, and Alex blinks, his eyes wide. She’s obviously not going to stop until she gets an answer. He sighs, and she raises her eyebrows, waiting. He can’t think of anything to say. What else could he say besides ‘I wanted to die, and I thought I would.’? Nothing.
“Alexander William Gaskarth-” His mom hisses sharply, but he cuts her off.
“I wanted to die, mom. And I still do. I want to die.” He says firmly, staring up at her, but immediately he looks back to his fingers.
“You want to die? God, could you get anymore selfish? Do you know much money it’d cost to pay for the fucking mess you’d make? How much money this costs?! And most importantly, how much I’d miss you?! You know, you’re just like your dad!” She screams, and Alex sits up straight.
“Stop. Stop right fucking there. Don’t pretend like you care, cause you know damn well you don’t. You only care about the money. You wouldn’t miss me at all. You’d be a bit sad, drink more than usual for about a week, then things would go back to normal for you. So don’t you dare act like you care, when you don’t at fucking all. And don’t ever compare me to that fucking bastard.” Alex whispers through gritted teeth. His mom is beyond appalled at what he has to say, but he doesn’t care. Because its the truth. He can feel his face becoming warm, and his eyes watering. She doesn’t say anything. Instead, she twists her face in anger, and raises her hand to hit him. He flinches, and she slaps him dead in the face. Alex yelps out in pain, immediately grabbing his cheek.
“I don’t know who the fuck you think you are talking to me like that, but you aren’t shit. Remember that.” She replies in the same tone.
Without hesitation, he gets up from his bed, pulls his IV out of his arm, and detaches himself from his machines.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going?!” She bellows, and he starts walking to the door.
“Anywhere but fucking here!” He yells out as he opens it. “And if you leave, which you should, don’t bother coming back!” He calls again, and with that he slams the door. As soon as he’s behind the it, he starts crying. His head is throbbing, partly because of all what just occurred, and his medications. Tears are staining his vision, and his face is burning hot from his mother’s palm. Without even thinking, he darts toward the elevators. Once inside, he debates going to the girl’s room, but he decides that its too late. He presses the button for the 6th floor, and he shoots upward. When he gets there, he runs to the nearest flight of stairs, and pushes the door open. He runs up the stairs, trying his best to choke back his sobs. His head is spinning now, along with the room, and his throat feels like its on fire. Too dizzy to go on, he grabs the railing of the stairs. He sits on a step, catching his breath, and trying to clear his mind. Its obvious he’s going to the roof, but he’s not sure why. Maybe for fresh air, maybe not. But he needed to be out of that room. One, because his mother was about to kill him, and two, he’s been dying to get out of that room ever since he got there. He swallows down his sobs, and takes a deep breath. Remembering that he’s on the staircase to the roof, Alex hastily comes to a decision. He wanted to die. He still does, he just told his mother so. He might not have been able to succeed his first attempt, but second time’s the charm, right? Third, second, whatever. All that matters is that this time, there’s no way he can fail. He gets up swiftly, and walks the rest of the stairs.
Once Alex walks across the rooftop he walks across it, his bare feet becoming cold, and tears staining his face in the frigid Baltimore air. These are the last breaths he’ll take, so he tries to enjoy them. He gulps, the small tears that remain stream down his face. He wipes them quickly, and sighs.
“I’m sorry.” He whispers to no one in particular. Even though he just wiped tears from his burning eyes not even a second ago, more appear. He decides there’s no point in fighting them, since they’re gonna keep coming anyway.
“I’m sorry bro, I know you wouldn’t want this for me. But it doesn’t look like I have a choice.” He whispers again with a pathetic laugh, as he looks up to the clear starry sky. His hands are trembling, and he’s terrified out of his mind. He knows that this time he’s gonna die. If not on impact, within a matter of minutes. Its gonna be gruesome, but nothing could be more gruesome than living this life.
“And a big fuck you to my ‘dad’. Guess I’ll see you in hell, bastard.” He mumbles with a cough. The tears are spilling wildly now, but he’s still choking back his sobs. He walks to the edge of the roof, his stomach twisting into a million knots. He sits on the ledge, dangling his feet. With a sigh, he breathes out his final thought.
“A falling star, at least I fall alone.”