hiscouch with an arm thrown over his eyes to block the midday sun. He didn't feel like closing the curtains to block the beaming rays from coming inside so he opted for his arm.

After everything that happened at Korin's about an hour ago, he felt drained of all his energy. He'd allowed himself to get too upset and now that he was semi calm, he needed a quick nap. If he wanted to be much calmer and understanding than he was currently, the nap would be the best move for him.

He couldn't understand why he and Korin needed to break up to heal themselves. If anything, he thought they would be able to heal faster together. As one. They knew each other like the back of their hands and were easily adjusting to the minor changes that had come with age. He couldn't see what breaking up would do for them as a dynamic. Especially while remaining friends. If they could still communicate and hang out, there was no need to be apart romantically.

"Mmcht," he smacked his teeth at his running thoughts. He wanted his brain to shut down and grant him a nap.

As he laid there, forcing himself to fall asleep, his phone was being blown up by Noelle. She was trying her hardest to get in contact with him, but he'd placed his phone silent. After he left Korin's place he took the ringer off to keep himself from answering any calls or text messages from her. So, it sat on the table with Noelle's name repeatedly appearing on the screen and no answer.

On the other end of the city, two paramedics were rushing inside of the hospital with Korin on a stretcher. Another EMT was atop Korin using a resuscitator to keep oxygen flowing through her lungs. Noelle wasn't far behind – nearly in shambles at the sight of her best friend half-dead on a stretcher. Her phone was up to her ear as she tried to reach Giovanni for the umpteenth time.

"Gio answer the fucking phone!" she screamed at her phone like he'd hear it. "Is she going to be okay? Please tell me she will be."

The two doctors now at Korin's side, glanced over at Noelle while checking Korin's vitals. "What happened?"

"I-I don't know. I found her all loopy and she was saying stuff about being alon–oh my God."

"Ma'am."

"Oh my God." Noelle covered her mouth and turned away from them.

It was in that moment that she that Korin had attempted to escape life. She knew of Korin's struggle with depression and how sometimes she'd get suicidal, but her last attempted had been ages ago. As happy as Korin had been, she never thought she'd hit such a low point again. At least not without speaking to someone for help. Whether that someone was a friend or professional.

"We need to get her to the back. Nurse Rudd get her to tell you everything she can about the patient." one of the doctors instructed before they ran off with Korin.

The nurse approached Noelle and placed her hand back to get her attention. "Let's have a seat shall we?"

Noelle quickly wiped her tears away and tried to gather herself for a moment. She knew she would need to give them information on Korin, and she couldn't that if she was crying. She walked with the nurse over to the waiting area. Once she was seated, she stared off across the room, running her hands up and down her jeans.

"I know this is hard for you, but we need as much information as we can get. Can you tell me her name please?" the nurse pulled a pen from the pocket of her scrub top.

"Korin Alexander." Noelle cleared her throat. "Her birthday is July 2nd of um...ninety five."

"Do you know if she's allergic to any foods or medications?"

"She's not allergic to any foods. And I don't know about any medications...Based on what you saw, do you think she'll be okay?"

"I really can't say. I'm sorry. Is this her first suicidal attempt?"

"In years, yes. Her last one was about six years ago. I thought she was doing okay. She hadn't been sulking or shutting herself off and— oh my God." Noelle began to cry again.

"Was her last attempt overdose as well?"

Nolle took a few breaths, "N-No. She tried to drown herself. Can you please go back there and see what they're saying?"

"Um, yes." Nurse Rudd stood to her feet and walked away.

Noelle buried her face in her hands and cried some more. She was having a hard time processing the fact she was in a hospital with Korin possibly losing her life. Korin reigned so much light and joy. and she could not imagine life without her.

When she realized that she hadn't tried to contact anyone outside of Giovanni, she reached for her phone. She dialed Eliana's number first. She was just as afraid of delivering the news to Eliana as she had been with Gio. They were the closest things to Korin and had been through this with her before. She couldn't imagine having to experience it again.

"Hey, I'm not off work just yet. I have to—" Eliana started.

"You have to get down to the hospital, Eli."

"The hospital? For what? You okay?"

"It's not me." Noelle's voice cracked. "It's Korin. She overdosed."

The line filled with an eery silence before Eliana said she was on her way. Noelle then followed up with a phone call to Brittney. She paced the floor as she waited on their arrival. Her phone l slapped against the palm of her hand, waiting for Gio to return her calls. She took another peek at the clock and rolled her eyes. Time had seemed to be in slow motion. She felt every second of every minute and it made her skin crawl. If time didn't speed up any time soon she was sure she'd lose it.

She turned around just in time to see Brit and Chazmon entering. Brit was looking in every direction, trying to find the right person to speak with. Chazmon spotted Noelle first so he pointed her out to Brit. She rushed over to Noelle and they engulfed one another in a tight hug.

"What happened? How did this happen? Please tell me you know something Noey." Brit spewed.

"I don't. I saw what she'd posted and I called her. She told me that she wasn't okay and she didn't want to be alone. I told her I was on the way and when I got there she was a mess. She looked like she was on something and she couldn't even hold herself up. She feels like she has no one, Brit. She thinks she's a burden and wants to take her life."

"She was trying to commit suicide?"

"She doesn't want to be here anymore."

"Where's Gio?" Chazmon asked when he noticed they were the only ones there.

"He's not answering the phone! I've been calling him since they put her in the ambulance."

Chad frowned. "He was at her place. I dropped him off over there like an hour and a half ago."

"When I got there it was just her." said Noelle.

"Where this nigga at?" he asked while pulling out his phone. Everyone listened to the phone ring and ring until it reached his voicemail. "Let me go by his place and see if he there."

"Please be careful when telling him this." Brit grabbed him before he could leave.

"Okay." he nodded and gave her a quick kiss.

Chazmon started for the exit and like clockwork Eliana was running through the doors. Still in her work attire, her heels clacked against the tile flooring as she ran to the girls. Her eyes were bright red and puffy. She'd been crying the entire drive to the hospital, praying that her bestfriend would live to see tomorrow.

"One of you tell me she's okay." her voice was hoarse.

"We don't know yet. No one's come out yet."

"Why would she do this? She knows she can talk to me when it comes to this." Eliana began to cry again.

Noelle cupped her face. "We won't know until we talk to her. Let's just pray until we hear something okay?"

Eliana nodded her head but continued to cry. Noelle kissed her then tightly wrapped her arms around her. Eliana rested her head on Noelle's shoulder, needing the hug. A few feet away was a confused Brit. This was odd for her because as far as she knew, they were no longer friends and had to be forced into the same room. Yet there they were kissing and hugging like it was an everyday thing for them.

Little did anyone know, Eliana was the new woman Noelle had been talking about. After Giovanni's birthday party, Eliana went over to Noelle's and gave her a genuine apology. She also admitted that being gay in her family was a no-go so she didn't want to expose that side of herself. She'd known she was attracted to women since college but never wanted to disappoint her parents. Noelle gave her the option to live in her truth as a bi-sexual woman or to keep hiding who she was.

Of course she wanted to live in her truth so she asked Noelle to be patient with her, and also help her. Noelle, always being her friend first, agreed to be there for her during while she came out.

Noelle pulled away from Eliana, "Let's pray y'all."

They created a circle, locked hands and bowed their heads.

"Good afternoon Lord, we're coming to you today to ask that you cover and protect Korin. She's having a hard time right now and deserves to live much longer than tonight. Her family can't take another death. We wouldn't be able to stomach it. You know her better than us and you know she's a good woman with so much purpose. We ask that you show her your mercy. We also ask that you wrap your arms around Giovanni, Lord. He's going to need your strength to get through tonight. In his name we pray."

"Amen." they said in unison.

"Did anyone call Justice or Khloe?" Eliana asked.

"No. I don't have their numbers."

Eliana sighed, tossing her head back. She knew she would have to be the one to tell them. "I'ma go and call them."

"I can't believe she did this." Brittney sat down.

"You and me both. If you saw the look on her face...she was in pain. I don't know what's fully going on with her but she's hurt."

Back at Giovanni's, he still laid on the couch with his mouth agape as he lightly snored. His dream went sour causing him to suddenly jumped from his sleep. He glanced around the room to see the sun no longer in the sky. His place was now pitch black. He reached forward for the remote and cut a few of the lights on so he wasn't in the dark.

He wiped over his face and tried to gain composure over his racing heart. However, a loud bam against his door startled him even more. He looked over his shoulder toward the door. When he faced forward to get up, he saw that his phone was lit up from an incoming call from Chazmon. He picked it up, answering it while simultaneously going toward the door.

"Come open the door bro." was all Chazmon said.

Giovanni swung the door open. "Wassup Chad? Why were you knocking like the police?"

"What were you in here doing? People have been calling you left and right."

"I was sleep and my phone's on silent." he checked his notifications. "Got damn. Noelle called me fifteen times. Why is Noelle calling me fifteen times?"

Chad stepped inside, pushing the door closed behind him. "You gotta come with me Gio."

"Come with you? Man what's going on? You gotta actually say something because I'm still half asleep." Gio wiped his hand down his face.

"It's Korin."

Giovanni looked up at Chazmon, "Stop playing with me, Chad. I just woke up dawg don't come over here with the games."

"This isn't a game, Gio. Why do you think Noelle called you so many times? Go put some shoes on."

"What happened to her?" he asked still in place.

"I'll tell you in the car. But for right now I need you to go put on your shoes and come on."

Giovanni could see and hear how serious Chazmon was, and that freaked him out. Now his heart was racing again as he tried to remember where a pair of shoes were. He rounded the couch to see the shoes he'd worn all day near the coffee table. He quickly pulled them on then grabbed his keys and wallet off the table.

As they made their way down to the lobby, Giovanni rubbed his hands together. He didn't know what to think or how to react because he didn't know what was going on. He had no specifics. All he knew was that something was wrong, and that wasn't enough for him. If anything, it was torture for his state of mind. He and her get into it, he takes a nap then wakes up to news that something was wrong with her.

"Chad you have to tell me what happened man. I'm over here dying." he admitted, watching the floor numbers decrease.

"In the car bro."

"What's the difference between here and the parking lot? Just tell me before I explode. Please."

"What happened while you were at her place?"

"We talked."

"About?"

"What we'd been going through. What does this have to do with anything?"

"Did y'all argue? Did you breakup with her?"

"No. She broke up with me. Chad I swear I'll punch the shit out of you if you don't tell me what's going on with Korin."

The elevator doors opened and they stepped off. Giovanni expected Chazmon to start explaining but instead he kept his mouth shut. He wasn't sure how to actually tell Gio what Korin had done. He had no idea how he'd react.

As planned, they made it to the car without Chazmon saying anything specific. Giovanni sat in the passenger seat expectedly. If Chazmon tried to pulled off without telling him anything, he would follow through with his threat from the elevator.

Chazmon started the engine then leaned back in his seat, "She tried to commit suicide."

Giovanni didn't respond. He sat staring at Chazmon, but on the inside he was on the verge of having an anxiety attack. He fell back against the seat and looked out the window. Chazmon watched him not knowing what was going to happen next. He knew everyone was different and reacted different but he didn't expect Giovanni to be composed.

"Take me to her place." he told Chad.

Chazmon backed out of the parking spot and did just that. No words were exchanged during the ride. Giovanni continued to stare out of the window with a tight chest, trying his hardest to keep it together. But in all actuality, he was trying not to believe that she'd tried to take her life. Not after she was talking about seeing a therapist and healing herself less than three hours ago.

When they made it up to her condo, the door was closed but still unlocked. He pushed it open to see complete chaos. Glass was all over the floor, along with picture frames, there was a dent in the wall near the door. He went toward her bedroom which was still in tact. He saw her phone in the center of her bed and picked up. He knew the password so he unlocked it, causing a video to appear on the screen. He pressed play.

"It's only been a few hours since the last video but I'm feeling much worse now. I don't understand why this episode is so difficult. It hasn't been this bad since last year and it's taking a lot out of me. I've been having suicidal thoughts again. I haven't acted on them even though I'm itching to. I really am. I just want to talk to my parents and see my brother...what has been stopping me is the pain I'll inflict on everyone around me. But as of right now I don't really care and it's harsh to say. I don't want to say I don't care how they would feel but I hate it here. I don't feel like I belong. Since fourteen all I've done is cause pain. All I've felt is loss. It's just a repetitive cycle that I want to end. If taking my life will get the job done then so be it. I'm not sure if I'll really act on these thoughts any time soon, but if I do. I'm so sorry. If it'll make you feel any better, I'm one hundred percent sure I'm free and smiling."

The pain filled in both Korin's eyes and voice sucked everything out of Giovanni. He couldn't believe that he'd missed it when he was there with her. He couldn't believe that he left her alone while she was in such pain. It caused him to break down right where he stood. Chazmon caught him before he could hit the floor. He held him up as best as he could while also giving him a comforting hug.

Korin's phone began to ring in Giovanni's hand. After a couple breaths in attempt to silence his cry, he lifted it up to see who it was. It was her manager Jeffery.

"H-Hello?" he answered.

"So it is true." Jeff sighed. "Is this Giovanni?"

"Yeah."

"How is she? She's still alive right?"

"I don't know." Gio choked. "I haven't gone to the hospital yet."

Jeff sighed, "TMZ was tipped off and published the story about ten minutes ago. I'm going clean all of this up and get it off the internet as best as I can. I'll be at the hospital in about thirty minutes."

"Okay." he hung up. "Let's go."

In the waiting area, Noelle and Eliana sat holding hands to comfort one another. Brit sat across from them, hands folded in her lap and one of her legs bouncing up and down. The entrance doors sliding open caught her attention. She hoped it was Chad and Giovanni, but instead it was Pete and Morgan. Instantly, she looked over at Eliana.

"She's still alive right? Tell me she's not dead." Pete looked at Brit, but his voice caught Eliana and Noelle's attention.

"We don't know anything. No one is telling us anything."

"TMZ is reporting her dead. They said they had two call-ins about twenty minutes ago. Where's Giovanni?"

"Chad went to get him. He wasn't answering the phone." Noelle had to answer because Brit had stormed off.

"Hey you! Can you come here please?" Brit stood at the front desk. "We've been here for about forty minutes and have yet to get any news on Korin Alexander. Can we get the decency of an update please?"

The man sat down in the chair before the computer then began to type. "She's still in surgery."

"How long does it take to pump a fucking stomach?"

"It all depends on the situation ma'am but generally thirty minutes to an hour."

Brit walked away with a deep sigh and plopped back down in her seat. She looked over at Morgan who seemed more than irritated and everyone knew it was because Eliana was here. The only reason she wound up coming was because her and Pete were out talking about their plans for the future when they got the news. She knew that Korin was Giovanni's girlfriend and at the end of the day she still had love for Gio so she wanted to be there for him.