WE ALL DIE ▸ NICK CLARK

i. calls

I was woken up by her phone ringing. Sleep was something I didn't get much so whoever was calling it was better to be important.

"Yes..." I say still slippy.

"Hey..." I hear Madison's voice from the other side of the line and all I wanted to do was throw the phone against a wall and go back to sleep "...sorry to wake you up but... Nick he-he's on the hospital I thought you might want to see him..." she said softly.

"What? W-Why?" I ask confused about what the hell he had done this time.

"He-He got hit by a car, he was high and he's hallucinating. I-I know all of this is hard for you but I think he would be very happy to see you, especially now that I have to go to work and-" She tried to make it sound less bad that she only wanted me to go there and take care of her son.

"I-I'll drop by. I can't stay there a long time tho. I have classes at three." I yawn and got of bed looking at the clock and seeing 7:56 am on it making me want to die.

"Thanks," She said and I hang up.

Nick and I broke up about seven months ago since he didn't even try to stop consuming. My mother died of overdose so it was pretty bad watching him do exactly what she did. He didn't seem to care tho, so I left him. I loved him, and I would be lying if I say that I stop, but even tho this sounds as messed up as it is, I couldn't take everything that came with loving him. I have a life. I'm in college, I can't have someone pulling me back. I just can't.

I got into my small car, lighten a cigarette, and drove to the hospital that Madison had texted me.

"Are you family or friends?" the nurse asks.

"Babysitter"

I walk to the room she told me - room 32 - and Nick was laying in a bed looking like pure shit, so I told him.

"You look like shit," I state entering the room and ignoring the old man laying at the bed on his side, only separated by a curtain between them.

"It took me to be hit by a car for you to come to see me." He says "I didn't think I would see you after... you know..." He muttered and I nod without knowing what to say.

"Well, I didn't think you would be hit by a car either," I say sarcastically.

"Good point." He laughs but groans after noticing it hurt him to do so. "Can you take this off?" He asks me looking at the things tying his wrists to the bed.

"No, I'm sorry..."

"You think I'm dangerous?" Nick asks and I roll my eyes at him.

"The doctors are worried..."

"Are you?" He asked and I scoffed.

"I woke up at seven am to come to babysit you. What do you think?" I almost snap at him and almost instantly regret it.

"I'm sorry..." he looks at me and says.

"I know..." I nod and sit on the chair on his side. "You should get some rest..." I tell him and he nods as he closes his eyes and I grab my Calculus for Architecture book since I was studying to become one.

After some time I heard him moving in the bed and he wakes up gasping, clearly scared.

"Hey... you're okay," I assure him as I put down my book on the window's sill. "You-You think that what you saw was a nightmare? Hallucinations?"

"Mmm. I really want to write it off like that, I do, but that's never happened to me before. Nothing like that." He assures not looking at me. "Hey, maybe I'm losing my shit."