Chapter 11: The Ending Point
***Warning!!! This chapter contains self-harm***
"Oh! I'm sorry! Wrong room!"
Danielle gasped, and when that student left, she also rushed out from Theo's room.
"Hahahahah!" The janitor's laugh was loud enough for everyone in the hallway to hear.
Theo crossed his arms, and listened half-heartedly as the old man rambled about clogged sinks and broken light fixtures.
"She doesn't talk much, does she?" the janitor asked all of a sudden, sweeping the floor lazily.
"Well…" Theo touched the tip of his nose, "she's not supposed to," he replied shortly.
The janitor nodded, unbothered. "You're really one of those security guys, huh? Always watching, never sleeping."
"Something like that."
A message appeared on Theo's phone. He checked it quickly, but it was blank screen, no message from Danielle.
Usually, she texted when she went to study or if she planned to skip lunch, but today he received no messages from her.
He frowned. "Hey, I've gotta go," he muttered and turned away.
The janitor shrugged, going back to his sweeping.
Something was bothering him deep inside, but it was impossible to figure out what exactly it was.
When he got inside his room, Theo immediately noticed the footprints and the red line, knowing someone got inside. The only person with permission to do so easily was Danielle.
"Oh, fuck!"
He called her once, then twice and still nothing. By the third call, he was walking faster. Theo told himself she was just ignoring him again, punishing him for existing. But something in his gut was stabbing him from inside.
When he reached her door, it was locked.
"Danielle?" he called. "Open up."
….
He knocked harder. "Danielle, it's me."
Once again, the princess didn't bother to react.
The knot in his chest pulled tighter. Theo's eyes narrowed, his training kicked in like paracetamol to fight a headache.
Finally, he stepped back once, then slammed his shoulder against the door.
It cracked but didn't open. The second hit sent it bursting inward with a pretty loud noise.
His mouth opened when he saw Danielle on the floor, with a limp body, one arm hanging lifelessly to the side.
There was a half-empty bottle of pills on the carpet beside her. White tablets scattered like snowflakes, glinting under the room's weak light.
Her lips were pale, and foam clung to the corner of her mouth.
Her eyes looked wide, blank, unfocused, like they were staring upward, rolling slightly back.
For one second, Theo's heart was ready to jump from his chest…"what the fuck, Danielle?"
Then instinct took over. "No, no, no," he muttered, dropping beside her. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Danielle! Hey, come on! Wake up!"
…Nothing…
He pressed his fingers to her neck. The pulse was still there, but almost gone.
"Damn it."
Theo turned her to the side, shoving two fingers down her throat, desperate to make her gag, to make her breathe again. She made some sound, but nothing came up.
"Come on, Bunny, don't do this to me," he whispered hoarsely, breaking for the first time in months.
He didn't waste another second. Scooping her into his arms, he sprinted down the hall, shouting for help.
Making his way to the hospital was like a flash to him. He didn't even remember how many red lights he ran. Danielle's head rested against his chest, she was barely breathing.
When they reached the emergency entrance, Theo didn't wait for a stretcher. He burst through the doors, shouting, "Help! She overdosed!!!! She's not breathing right!"
Nurses surrounded him instantly. One of them grabbed Danielle from his arms and rolled her onto a gurney.
"What did she take?"
"Sleeping pills. I don't know how many…sh-she had a full bottle."
"Name?"
"Danielle Gei-, Gerarda." He fixed his sentence.
The nurse's eyes narrowed, but she said nothing and rushed Danielle into the emergency room.
Theo followed until one of the doctors stopped him. "Sir, you need to wait outside."
"I'm not leaving her."
"You have to."
Theo hesitated, then backed away slowly. His hands were trembling, something that didn't happen to him often.
Being left with nothing, but staring through the small window as they worked on her oxygen mask, IVs, chest monitor.
He couldn't hear anything, and then the doors closed completely…Theo slumped into the nearest chair, head in his hands.
He hadn't failed a mission before. Not like this.
After what felt like hours, he pulled out his phone and opened a message thread. His fingers were flying over the keyboard for a long moment before typing.
Theo: I can't do this anymore.
It only took a few seconds for Frank to reply.
Frank: What happened?
Theo stared at the screen before typing again.
Theo: She tried to kill herself with pills. I found her barely breathing. She's in the hospital now.
Frank: Damn it.
There was a pause, then another message came through.
Frank: Listen to me carefully. You need to relax.
Theo clenched his jaw. 'Relax.' The word almost made him laugh.
Theo: You don't get it. I've been watching her twenty-four hours a day. I turned my back for five minutes, Frank. Five.
Frank: This isn't your fault.
Theo let out a bitter laugh. "That's what they all say," he muttered aloud.
Then another message arrived.
Frank: The President is alive.
Theo's pupils turned small. His eyes darted across the screen again.
Theo: What?
Frank: He survived the shooting. They kept it quiet to identify who tried to kill him. He's stable now. You can tell her.
Theo's breath left his lungs in one long exhale. 'Alive….The old man was alive….'
He ran a hand over his face. That changed everything…and nothing.
Theo: She tried to end her life thinking he was dead.
Frank: Then give her a reason to keep living.
Theo didn't reply. He stared through the glass window where Danielle stayed unconscious.
Hours later, the doctor came out, pulling down his mask. "She's stable for now," he spoke quietly. "We've flushed most of it out. She'll wake up soon, but she'll be weak for a while."
Theo nodded silently.
"You can see her if you want," the doctor added.
Theo walked into that room, and sat on the chair beside her bed, placing his elbows on his knees, he started watching the slow rise and fall of her chest.
At that second, he allowed himself to breathe again.
He was looking at her face…the same one that never smiled, that looked like it had forgotten how to.
No other thing, but just a wonder what Danielle had been thinking before she swallowed those pills. Was it anger? Fear? Hopelessness?
Rubbing his temples, he hushed. "You're a pain in the ass, you know that? But don't do this again. Don't make me…" He stopped himself before the rest escaped.
Danielle stirred a little. Her eyelashes fluttered.
Theo moved forward. "Hey," he whispered. "Easy. You're okay."
Her eyes opened slowly, unfocused at first. Then they met his. For a second, Danielle didn't understand what was happening.
Her voice was weak, and a bit cracked. "Why didn't you just let me go?"
"Because I don't give up on idiots."
"Hah…" She gave him a laugh that turned into a cough. "You think this changes anything?"
"No. But I need to tell you something."
Danielle looked at him warily.
He hesitated, then began, "Your father is alive."
She blinked like a thousand times at once. "You're lying."
"I'm not…He actually survived. They kept it secret to catch whoever tried to kill him. He's stable now."
Her lips parted ways, trying to say something but no words came. Her fingers clenched around the blanket as tears formed in her eyes.
For the first time since he met her, she didn't hide them. They rolled down her cheeks silently, and she murmured, "He's…alive?"
Theo nodded once.
Danielle turned her face away, shoulders couldn't stop from trembling.
Theo stood up. He couldn't stay there any longer. He had too many thinhs on his mind, too much guilt that refused to fade.
At the door, he stopped.
"Rest, Danielle…You'll need your strength."
She looked back at him, shaking her head. "For what?"
Theo met her eyes one last time, making sure they look gentler, so he relaxed his face
"For when I'm gone."
Her brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"
Theo's hand stayed on the doorknob for a bit longer, then, relieving his shoulders…Theo gave her a small, strained smile…it was the kind that didn't reach his eyes.
"I'm done being your bodyguard."