Chapter 1

I'm so thankful that summer is finally here. I've been struggling in school this whole year. It went down the tubes very early and I was never able to get back on track. I'm just now starting to feel like I'm alive again.

Today is looking like it was going to be a beautiful day. I decided to start the day getting the lawn mowed. I figured it would get quite hot later and if I get it done early, I'll be able to stay just a bit cooler at the same time.

My name is Mark Andrews. I just turned 15 two weeks ago. I live in a small suburb of Cleveland with my parents, John and Natalie, and my 12 year old sister Erin. We live at the end of a dead-end street on the edge of the town. Just beyond our house at the end of the street is a wooded area. As kids, this was our playground growing up. My mom works at the local healthcare center as a nurse. My father works for a large corporation. I'm not really sure what he does, but he makes good money and at the same time sends him all over the world. Because of that, I don't get see him as much as I would have liked. He was in LA at the moment.

I had just started mowing the lawn when I happened to notice movement down the street. I looked up to see Jennifer Parks in front of her house 4 houses down. Jenny was about 5'1", slim and petite with auburn hair that she always kept up in a ponytail. She lived with her mother and 11 year old sister Janice. Her father had run off with his secretary about 10 years ago leaving them alone. I know this had caused many problems for Jenny. Jenny and I were always together growing up. Where you saw one, you normally saw the other. That all changed in the past year. I had missed her companionship.

It took me another hour to finish the lawn. I was hot and sweaty, so I decided to go to the store to get a soda. The quickest way to the store was through the woods since the store was just on the other side. Over the years, we had carved a pretty good path between our block and the other side of the trees just because of where the store was. It also helped that the school was on that side as well.

As I started toward the path, I had noticed quite a ways ahead of me some movement. It almost looked like Jenny from the distance, but I wasn't certain. I was too far away. Whoever it was had left the path about halfway in.

As I was getting closer to the spot where I thought the person had left the path, I heard a quiet scream, more like a loud whimper. Five seconds later I heard another and decided to investigate what was happening. I left the path and started heading in the direction of the noise. I could hear some crying. Just as I got close the crying seemed to stop. I kept going and only 4 more steps and I was at the source. When I looked down, I was horrified at the scene before me.

I saw Jenny lying on the ground bleeding heavily. She had a knife in one hand. She had slit her wrists. I had to react quickly. I knew I had to get the bleeding stopped. I tore my shirt off and ripped it into 2 pieces, which I used as tourniquets on each wrist. When I was tying her hand off that didn't have the knife, I noticed a small piece of paper. I took it and placed it in my pocket. The bleeding was slowed considerably. My Mom being a nurse had always taught us first aid and what to do in an emergency. Today was a day that I was glad she had. I knew that she needed medical attention and fast. I picked her up and started running as fast as I could, toward my house.

I knew my Mom was home. When I got close I started yelling for her as loud as I could. She met me at the end of the driveway. When she saw what I was carrying and why, we were on our way to the hospital. I just held on tight to Jenny the whole way there.

When we arrived at the hospital, mom simply pulled to the door and told me to get her in there. I knew this was not time to argue. I ran into the emergency room and right up to the main desk. I very rudely and loudly interrupted their conversation.

"My friend needs help. She's lost a lot of blood."

The main nurse looked at Jenny in my arms and immediately led me to another room grabbing a doctor on the way. She had me lay Jenny down on a gurney where 3 other staff members started to check her out. The main nurse dragged me away and started to ask me questions about what I knew.

"What's her name?"

"Jennifer Parks."

"How old is she?"

"Almost 15."

"Are you a family member?"

"No. I'm just a friend. I found her in the woods."

"Where are her parents?"

"I'm not sure. I didn't really have time to look for them. She needed help now."

"I'll agree with that."

My Mom came into the room at this time. This was going to be one day that I was glad she worked here.

"Jean, where is she?"

"Who?"

"The young lady with the slit wrists?"

"How'd you know about her?"

"This is my son, Mark."

She pointed toward the room where we had taken Jenny. "Ok" Was her only reply.

With that, my Mom disappeared. I was now starting to shake. I was scared silly. I didn't want to lose my best friend like this. We may not have been as close as we used to be, but I still cared. The nurse got up and went over to the room. A few minutes later, she and my Mom came back.

"Jean, I'll call Jenny's mother. We're family friends, they'll need the support."

"Ok Natalie. We're going to need her to fill out the paperwork."

My Mom looked my way and simply held up one finger. She placed the phone call that I assumed was to Jenny's mom. When she was done, she turned to Jean.

"Jean, Jenny's mother, Lynn, will be down here shortly. I'll try to grab her."

"Thanks Natalie."

My Mom took me to the waiting room. She sat down beside me and put her arm around me.

"Are you ok Mark?"

"I'm scared mom. Is she going to be ok?"

"She lost a lot of blood but she's in better shape than many that come in here in her condition. You must have found her very quickly."

"I think I found her in less than a minute after she did this to herself."

"You did good with the tourniquets as well. I think she'll make a full recovery physically. I can't guess as to why she tried this though. It will be some time before we know that."

I told her about what I heard and saw in the woods. That also reminded me of the note that I had found in her hand. I pulled that out of my pocket and read it.

"By the time you read this, I should be dead. I couldn't go on anymore. I'm pregnant and when I told my boyfriend, he broke up with me. He raped me anyway. Mom, I'm sorry. I couldn't tell you. Please forgive me.

Your daughter, Jenny"

"Mom, she's pregnant." I handed my Mom the note. She jumped up and ran into the other room. When she came back, she too seemed nervous.

"Thanks Mark. They needed to know that before they started to use some of the stronger drugs."

We just sat there for a few minutes before Jenny's mom arrived. My Mom jumped up and met her halfway to the nurse's station. Her mom looked at me and almost collapsed crying. My Mom led her over to me and sat her down next to me.