FicWad

Devin raised her head slightly when she heard the front door slam shut. She wiped her eyes on the back of her hand and rushed into the kitchen. Pete was nowhere to be seen. She spotted a piece of lined paper sitting pitifully in the middle of the dinning room table, and she dashed to pick it up. She read the message and gasped.
"Oh my God...he's not gonna..." she murmured. But she knew the answer; she had been there. Over the edge. She glanced down at the scars on her wrists; Pete wasn't the type to slit his wrists...what did he have access to that could be fatal? Shaking, she racked her brain. Then it hit her; he had tried this a couple of years ago.
"Ativan Pills." She cried, and ran to the phone. She dialed Joe's number as fast as she could.
"Hello?"
"Joe! It's Devin, listen-"
"Devin! Patrick just called, what's this about the baby-?"
"Joe, we don't have time for this! I think Pete's gonna kill himself! Listen..." Devin read the letter for Joe, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Oh my God...not again!"
"Listen, Patrick is mad as hell at me, and you're the only other guy with a car, please come and get me, we have to find Pete!"
"Devin, what are we gonna do, search the entire city of Chicago?!"
"Joe, just come and get me, I know a few places he might be! Hurry!"
"Ok, but-"
Devin hung up the phone before Joe could finish. She ran her fingers through her dark hair, flustered and scared.

Pete caught a bus and got off right near his old house. He walked until he came to the Neighborhood Park he played in as a child. Tears were streaming silently down his cheeks, his eyeliner running. He found the oak tree he used to climb, and smiled sadly. He sat down at the trunk of the tree and pulled the tiny bottle out of hoodie pocket. He turned it over and read the warning label;
"Take two once a day. Overdosing can be lethal."
He opened the lid and tipped it slightly so the pills fell into his hands; one, two, three, four. He popped them into his mouth and swallowed.

Ten minutes later, Devin was in the passenger seat of Joe's car.
"Devin, where could he be? You said you knew."
"Last time it was a Best Buy parking lot."
"He won't go there again!"
"I know. I think this time he'll do it somewhere near his parent's house in Willmette."
"Why, though?!"
"Because he told me when he came to stay with Patrick and I that his parents have been driving him crazy. I think it's a kind of revenge."
"Do suicidal people always want revenge?!"
"I dunno...I didn't. I just wanted it to end." Devin replied quietly, looking down at her lap.
Joe sighed sadly and kept driving. They got to Willmette as fast as they could, and drove until they were at Pete's old neighborhood. Joe parked the car along the sidewalk and the two got out of the vehicle. Devin's heart was racing as they walked, searching for any sign of Pete. Finally they came to a small neighborhood park that Devin knew Pete used to play in as a child.
"Here." She breathed. They stepped on the moist, springy grass and started walking towards the jungle gym, hauntingly illuminated by the street lamps.
"Peter?" Devin called softly. No answer.
They scanned the dark terrain; nothing.
"Devin, he's not here, we're never gonna find him." Joe said, sounding choked.
"He's here, I know it." Devin insisted. They walked on into the night. Soon they came to a large oak tree that towered above the park. Devin heard shallow breathing somewhere in the night;
"Pete!" she cried, and she dashed around to the other side of the tree. There lay Pete, unconscious. The bottle labeled 'Ativan' lay pathetically on the ground, inches away from his hand.
"Oh my God." She moaned, bending down and feeling for a pulse. It was there, but faint.
"Now I know how Pete felt when he...found me..." she sobbed, dropping his limp hand.
"I'll call an ambulance." Muttered Joe. He was surprisingly calm, but Devin could see the fear in his eyes. He flipped open his cell phone and dialed. When he was done talking, he turned to face Devin.
"Why would he do this again?" Devin whispered.
"Because he screwed up everyone's lives in a matter of hours."
"Joe!"
"Well, I bet that's why he did this! You read the note!"
"Oh my God. I shouldn't have told you about Tia, this is all my fault!"
"No, Devin, it's not. This is nobody's fault but his." Joe's voice was shaking.
The paramedics arrived and strapped Pete onto a stretcher. Devin and Joe headed back to the car so they could go to the hospital. They walked slowly, Devin's face buried in Joe's chest while she cried, his arms wrapped protectively around her.

Patrick's cell phone rang from where it was sitting on Andy's coffee table. He flipped it open.
"Hello?"
"Patrick, its Joe."
"Hey."
"I'm at the hospital...Pete just OD'd."
"Oh my God...again?"
"Yeah. Devin found his suicide note, then we found him in the park in his old neighborhood."
"Why were you looking there for him?!"
"Devin said she had a feeling."
There was a pause.
"I've made a huge mistake." Patrick finally whispered, tears welling in his eyes.
"What?"
"The baby's mine. And I know it...god, I'm so stupid. This is all my fault."
"Look, just get to the hospital, ok?"
The two men hung up. Patrick turned to Andy.
"Pete OD'd again."
"Oh my God..."
"We have to go to the hospital."
"This is all my fault," Andy moaned, "I freaked out at him on the phone."
"I think it's my fault."
The two men looked eachother in the eye.
"Let's go." Patrick sighed, grabbing his keys.