I Kissed a Boy

Ali almost had to drag me to the hospital; my feet didn’t seem to want to move. He had his left hand firmly around my wrist and was walking (well, shuffling) beside me.
‘Ed, tell me what happened.’ He said, looking at me, his eyes spilling more tears onto his cheeks.
‘Well, I came to find him, and he… he told me…’ my lower lip trembled and more tears met my cheeks ‘He told me that he loved me… and then he…’ I managed to stammer before sobs took over.
‘And then he jumped?’ Ali asked, standing still in the middle of the pavement. I nodded, unable to speak.
‘So then you cut him down and text me?’ He guessed. I nodded again. He muttered something inaudible then carried on walking, pulling me behind him.
When we arrived outside the hospital, the tears I’d somehow managed to blink back started to pour over my cheeks. Just the sight of the place scares me. The amount of times I’ve been in there as a patient is one too many for my liking. We walked in through the glass double doors, Ali never letting go of my wrist, as though he knew I’d try and run. He left me in the accident and emergency waiting room, surrounded by people in the same state as me and some even worse.
Dan and Teddy seemed to materialize from nowhere a few minutes later, both of them with tears tracks covering their cheeks. Neither said a word, but they sat down either side of me and wrapped their arms around me.
‘It’s my fault…’ I managed to mutter and I felt their respective embraces grow tighter. We sat there, feeling quite out of place, until Ali returned, tears now coating his cheeks.
‘They called his parents…’ he said quietly through his tears ‘And I told them what happened.’ He looked at me and gave an incredibly weak smile; it was barely there. He managed to squeeze in between Dan and some random woman with a crying baby.
‘Edward Minton?’ A nurse asked from the door which I presumed lead to the wards. I stood up and walked over to her after I’d managed to prise Dan and Teddy’s arms from around me. She led me along seemingly endless corridors and around countless corners until she came to a sudden stop outside a closed door.
‘He’s in there,’ the nurse said, gesturing at the door ‘With his parents.’ She smiled slightly and headed away through the labyrinth of corridors. His parents are going to hate me. I know they are. They’re gonna blame me and then they’re never going to talk to me again. I bit my lip and pushed the door open.
His parents stood up and came to meet me in the doorway. His mother was crying slightly, the occasional tear falling to her cheek. His father’s face was heavily tear-stained. His mother swiftly put her arms around me when she noticed the tears still pouring over my cheeks. She backed away and his father looked at me.
‘Thank you.’ he whispered. I looked at him, confused.
‘What for? He’s dying and…’ I stuttered before more tears fell to my cheeks. I couldn’t manage to say ‘It’s all my fault.’
‘Don’t you see?’ his mother asked ‘He’s alive because of you.’
‘No, it’s my fault he’s even here!’ I shouted back, unable to contain myself, more sobbing taking over. I turned my head, not being able to face looking into his parents’ eyes. I made sure my fringe covered my eyes. His mother hugged me again, but I still didn’t look at her. She turned my head gently until I did.
‘No it’s not, Edward. You don’t see, do you?’ she said, a small smile gracing her face ‘From what Alistair told us, it’s thanks to you he’s still alive.’
‘No it isn’t!’ I shouted at her, unable to stand being told I’d saved his life when I knew I was the reason he was here ‘This is all my fault!’
His father looked at me and smiled. I don’t quite understand how they can smile, their son’s in a hospital bed dying for crying out loud!
‘Edward, you saved Alexander’s life.’ his father smiled, gesturing at the loop of rope on the floor that I had somehow failed to notice. Then I finally understood what they meant.