Just wanted to let you know that I made it safely to my parents house. I won't bother you anymore. When I get back to campus, I'll delete your number. Goodbye

Right before I could put my phone down to go to sleep, it rang. I almost jumped out of my skin, thinking it was DP. It wasn't; it was only my roommate.

"Charlotte, what do you need?" I said quietly so I wouldn't wake my parents up.

"There's this guy standing outside our dorm and he's demanding to see you," Charlotte said, her voice low.

"When did you get back?" I asked her with a frown on my face.

"It doesn't matter," she snapped. "I told him you weren't here, but he hasn't left yet."

"Did he happen to say his name?" I asked, the worst coming to my mind.

"Yeah. I think it's Wes."

I let out a sigh and rubbed my face. "That's my ex I told you about. Usually he'll listen so you don't have to worry about anything. Just tell him I'll be back soon."

"Okay," Charlotte replied. The line went quiet, and I waited for my best friend to come back. She let out a breath. "Okay, he's gone now."

"Thank God," I said. "Call me again if he comes, Char. I don't want him to harm you just because I'm not there."

"Okay," Charlotte said. "Good night, Luna."

"Good night, Charlotte." I ended the call and set my phone on the bedside table, my mind racing. Why was my ex suddenly back when the last couple months he hadn't shown up?

Sleep soon overwhelmed me, and I gladly accepted the call.

---

A soft ringing woke me up from my dreamless sleep. On my half asleep mind, I thought it was my alarm and that I had to get ready for school. I slowly sat up and noticed that I was getting a call. The light coming from my phone was bright, so I had to squint my eyes. I gasped when I saw who was calling me. I quickly answered it and said, "Hello?"

"I thought I was invincible," a quiet voice said from the other line. "Now I'm afraid to fall."

"DP, what are you doing? Are you saying lyrics to Fall by Sunspot?"

"How'd you get it so quick?" DP asked, sounding upset. His voice was choked up. "I thought I would have fooled you."

"DP, what's wrong? You don't sound okay," I said worriedly.

"I'm not."

"What's going on?"

"It's the anniversary."

"Anniversary to what?"

"My brother and cousin's death," DP said, his voice getting low. "It's been five years since they've been gone."

"I - I am so sorry, DP," I said, my heart dropping. I sat up in bed and threw the covers off of me. The cool air bit at my legs, but I didn't care. I slid on some boots and threw on a jacket and headed outside. I needed the fresh air. "What happened to them?"

"They drowned right in front of me."

"Oh my God." The breath left my body, and I stood there, stunned. "I don't know what to say."

"Like I told you before, people usually stop talking to me whenever I tell them about this," DP said sadly. In that instant, I wanted to throw my arms around him and hold him tight forever. "I won't take it personally if you stop talking to me."

"Why would I stop talking to you?"

"What?"

"You heard me. Why in the world would I stop talking to you?" I sat down on the back deck and sighed. "Are you okay, DP?"

"Of course not."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm not sure."

"Well, if you need to talk, I'm right here," I said, my voice dropping. "Do you need me to stay on the phone?"

"Yeah," he replied quietly. "I don't think I should be alone right now."

"Where is your roommate?"

"He's sleeping."

"Where are you?"

"At the commons area," DP said, sighing. "I didn't want to wake him up with my sobs. It's too embarrassing for me. This is even hard for me to do."

"You don't need to hide your emotions, DP," I said, shaking my head. "There's no need to be embarrassed about being sad and depressed."

"I'm afraid of myself and the world, LP," DP said quietly. My heart broke for him. "I'm afraid of what I'll do to myself."

"Are you suicidal?"

"I've thought about it before."

"Oh my Lord, DP." I sent a quick prayer that he wouldn't do anything to harm himself. I didn't want to think about a world without him. "Are you suicidal right now, DP?"

"I don't think so."

"Okay. Okay." I took a huge deep breath and said, "Why don't you tell me about your brother and cousin?"

"Okay," DP said. "I think I can do that." I heard him take a ragged breath. "My brother was my best friend. We were basically a year apart, and I always looked up to him since he was a little bit older. The two of us were very close with our cousin. Every free moment we had, we spent together. They were my best friends, my everything in this world, and they are gone."

"They are still your everything," I said gently. "Just because they are gone doesn't mean that they aren't gone from your heart. They still live inside you, DP. Their legacy lives on in you."

"I feel like I disappointed them, LP."

"How?"

"I'm such a disgrace. I'm not good enough for them."

"Oh, DP," I said, sighing. I rested my head in my hands, trying to figure out what to say to him. "Of course you're good enough for them. Look how far you came!"

"I haven't come that far."

"But you haven't gone back, have you?"

"I guess not," DP said quietly.

"Then you're doing great even though you still may be in the valley. But I believe in you, DP. You are the kindest person I know and now I know where it comes from. Can I talk to you about Jesus?"

"Yeah, if you think it'll help."

"I think it'll help. I'm not really good at this. My sister and brother are better at this than me but oh well. Jesus told his followers that hard times would come. Just because they followed him didn't mean that they would be exempt from the bad caused by the world and by the devil. But He wouldn't leave them by themselves. Jesus and God aren't like that. They love you and me so much that they sent the Holy Ghost to stay with us through the hard time. Jesus told us that He would never leave us nor forsake. He also said that his yoke would be light and that whoever is heavy laden can come to him. You have no idea how much He loves us, DP."

"He really loves us that much?" DP asked, sounding like a child.

"So, so much."

"You said you weren't good at that type of thing. You're a liar, LP. That was inspiring."

"Really?" I asked, smiling softly. "I'm glad. I don't want you to be sad or depressed or at a point where you would hurt yourself, DP. I know I didn't show up when we were going to meet, but that doesn't mean I don't care. I care about you more than I probably should. I want you to get help, DP."

"I've tried and it hasn't worked yet," DP said quietly. His voice sounded clearer, though. "I don't know, LP. I don't like telling people about myself."

"I'll go with you," I suggested. "You wouldn't have to be alone."

"I have to think about it," he replied.

"Yeah," I said. "How are you feeling emotion wise?"

"A little better," DP said. "Thank you for picking up the phone. I didn't think you would since we had a huge fight."

"I want to apologize for that," I said sheepishly. "I chickened out when I shouldn't have. You are such a great guy, so I don't know why I thought you'd hate me."

"Do you hate me now?" He sounded terrified as he asked that question.

"Of course not! I care for you more than I did before because of this."

"I don't deserve this," DP said softly. "I don't deserve your kindness and your grace, LP."

"You deserve everything in the world. I don't want you to think so low of yourself. I know it may be hard right now, but I promise things will get better."

"Are you sure?"

"Very."

"I'm going to try to believe you," DP said. "Not sure where it would get me. Thank you, LP. So much."

"Luna. It's Luna."

"Luna," he said softly. My heart soared when he said my name. "Luna. Thank you, Luna." He was silent before saying, "It's Drake for me."

"Drake," I said with a smile. "You're so welcome, Drake. I'll text you in the morning to see how you are doing."

"Okay," Drake said. "Goodbye."

"Bye."