B-523 wakes up in a hospital room. His mother is at the foot of his bed, talking with a nurse. Carla and Ze-ze are both holding his hand and each other. Carla's cheeks are still wet, while Ze-ze's eyes are bright red, but when he sees that B-523 is awake, a fresh wave of tears bloom in his eyes.

B-523 is confused. Disoriented. Like there's something he's missing.

"Why are you crying?" he rasps. Did he do something to make them cry? At the sound of his voice, Carla also starts crying again, and B-523's mother rushes over to his side.

"Hey, hey it's okay. It's going to be okay." his mother says, coming over and wrapping him in a hug. As B-523 hugs her back, the familiar smell of perfume that he has come to know from his mother isn't there. It makes him feel odd.

Is that what's missing?

But no, that isn't it. There's still something he's forgetting. Then it all comes rushing back to him. B-523 feels a single tear trickle down his face. He hasn't cried since The Voice came into his life. It wouldn't let him. Yet, now here he was, and The Voice was missing for some reason. No, no not missing. Asleep.

For now.

"I'm sorry," B-523 utters. He let everyone down. He couldn't keep The Voice under control. It was controlling him.

B-523 used to think The Voice was helping him. It was just something in his head telling him how to be better. It helped him have control. B-523 remembers a day where he ate nothing but a stick of celery, stayed up until 4 am studying, and hurt himself in some way every single time he made a mistake. He remembers The Voice telling him: "Look. Look at how in control you are" and he believed it. He believed it with all his heart.

But he wasn't in control. Not in the slightest. With his head cloudy, The Voice was sleeping, and even though all his thoughts were still slippery and flitting, he still realized how all his words, all his actions lately, weren't coming from him. The Voice was doing these things to him.

It was odd. To not have that thing whispering in his ear every two seconds. He kept expecting it to creep up on him. He knew it would come back, but at least while his mind was still waking up, he had a torch in the cave he'd been trapped in. Not enough to get out. Not enough to get somewhere where he could breathe fresh air. He was still slowly suffocating, but when you're in that much darkness for that long you start to go mad. Two weeks. That's the longest you can be trapped in a mine without light before you go insane. He'd been trapped for much longer. But now- now there was a glimmer of light. He just didn't know when it would be blown out.

"There's nothing to be sorry for."

A pressing silence fills the room.

"Were you really going to kill yourself?" B-523's eyes go wide.

"N-no. I-I mean, I thought about it, but I-I was just going to get away from here. Somewhere I c-couldn't hurt you guys anymore."

No one knows what to say. Carla opens her mouth, but B-523 cuts her off. He doesn't want to hear how he didn't hurt any of them when it's clear that they were all just crying, he saw them crying because of him. "H-how did you find me?" he asks, voice still shaking slightly.

"Carla didn't end up having practice today, and we found your note in her locker." Ze-ze finally says.

"We told your mom we needed her to track your phone so we could find you." Carla continues.

"We called 911."

"We were all so scared B."

The nurse walks back in, interrupting the conversation. B-523 is kind of glad she came when she did. He doesn't want to continue the conversation they were having.

"Alright son, here's what's going to happen." The nurse says and proceeds to explain to B-523 that he will be going to a psychiatric facility, and the doctors there will be evaluating him. He will stay until the doctors there feel like he's stabilized enough to go back home and school- while seeing a therapist of course- which could be anywhere between a few hours and a month. She says that even though it wasn't a suicide attempt, the concern from the doctors is still fairly high after finding all of the self-inflicted wounds on his body. B-523 nods.

B-523 feels like he should be upset at being sent to a mental ward, but he isn't. He's relieved. He doesn't have to keep fighting alone. He can have someone help him. He can have help.

"Miss me?"

"Fuck."

"Oh come on buddy.
That hospital isn't going to do anything for you.
I'll still be here.
I'm you, remember?
And there's only one way to erase yourself.
You should have listened to me when I told you to kill yourself."

"I want to get help."

"No, you don't.
You're a bother."

"Shut up!"

"You know it's true."

"I-
I don't have a choice.
They're not going to let me not go."

The nurse comes over to B-523 and checks his vitals, and then rolls him out in a wheelchair. "It's procedure," she explains.
As B-523 gets in the car with his mom, Carla and Ze-ze stand to the side until the nurse is done talking. Ze-ze wraps B-523 in a big hug, and Carla does the same.
"Do me a favor," she says.
"Anything." B-523 replies.
"Hold on." B-523 nods and looks between his friends as he ducks inside the car. He watches as their faces get smaller and smaller.
"Hold on," he whispers, barely making a sound.

"Haha! Hold on until what?"

The only sound is the hum of the car wheels underneath B, as the hair of a smile appears on his lips.

"Until you're gone."

***

A/N: There is always a light at the end of the tunnel. There aren't always times when you'll see it. Asking for help doesn't make you weak.

I hope you all enjoyed this short story! Please consider leaving a vote or a comment! I'm always open to suggestions as well <3

-Sunny