Never Alone

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The irony of trying to take your life by overdosing on too much aspirin is the killer headache you get when it doesn't work. You'd think I'd have taken care of that forever with the amount I'd taken, but I guess when they'd pumped my stomach and given me something as an antidote, it had worked. With my parents out of the room, Dr. Crimm set my clothes from yesterday at the edge of my bed. "Get dressed. I'll explain everything when the group is all together." So there would be more of us. There was a swooshing sensation in my head as I sat up and I closed my eyes against the throbbing pain of my pulse hammering inside my skull.

She turned her back so I could have some privacy, which was more than I would expect from a doctor after what I'd tried. Weren't they all supposed to be watching my every move? I slipped into my pants and worn T-shirt. She was taking me away from here and away from the watchful eyes of my parents. I just needed a moment of quiet to figure out how to finish what I'd started. I'd need a better plan.

I knew all about Right to Life, the company Dr. Crimm worked for. The owners were the founders of Virtual Now, the world's leading virtual reality company. Their son's story had made headlines a few years back when he took his own life with Repose7, effectively denying them the pleasure of watching their only child take over their Fortune 500 company. I'd watched his story, as every news organization had reported the details for days after his death.

Jared Wilkinson had been only eighteen when he came to the conclusion that he couldn't live another day knowing he had carelessly contributed to the death of his best friend. One night he'd helped Ryan Banning get high just minutes before he plummeted to his death from the top of the Virtual Now building in Los Angeles. The news stories outlined a year's worth of drug treatment and mental health care as his parents struggled to pull him out of the depression that quickly threatened to consume him. On his eighteenth birthday he attended yet another doctor's appointment, but this time he had reached the legal age of consent and instead of filling his prescription for antidepressants, he filled a prescription for Repose7 and followed his best friend into the great unknown.

Shortly after his death, his parents, who had been major financial supporters of the Right to Die movement, pulled their funding from the campaign and began looking into suicide prevention research and treatment for suicide ideation. A year later, Right to Life was launched in Jared's honor and quickly rose to become one of the top research and development companies in the business of saving suicidal patients. It was a highly controversial company that often found itself at the center of protests. Picketers were still camped outside their headquarters, fighting each day to convince the workers and Jared's parents that everyone should have the right to die without being subjected to further medical and mental health evaluations. Even the President of the United States took a stand backing their research and their mission during her campaign, when news of her brother's suicide with Repose7 was reported.

"Are you a nervous flyer?" Dr. Crimm asked as she turned back around.

"No."

She nodded once, swiping her finger over the screen on her tablet and closing out one window of text for another. "The next one is."

"I thought doctors were supposed to keep things like that confidential."

She laughed softly, kindly even. "You will know so much about each other by the end of this month I hardly doubt a little fear of flying will be big news." She looked at me quickly from my head to my toes. Her hand moved to touch my forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"Been better."

"We have to hurry, but if you get lightheaded or feel feverish at all I want you to let me know immediately. The effects of the aspirin can last for a few days. I know they pumped your stomach, but I'm sure there was some they didn't get to in time. You won't have any sort of constant heart rate monitor on so we'll have to keep track of your vitals the old-fashioned way."