"Ryan...I love you." I breathed to myself. I took each step up with caution making sure I didn't misplace my foot or lean too far back. I wasn't even halfway up when I heard the sobbing coming from the roof. Worry flooded my mind and I quickly made my way up the last half of the ladder, not caring about the distance between me and the ground.

My eyes peeked over the edge and I searched the area. Lindsay was crouched below a billboard, sobbing her heart out.
"Lindsay..." I breathed out. She's upset but she's okay. I jogged over to her and knelt in front of her.
"I know you're scared, Lindsay, but we have to go to the restaurant and wait for Michael. He'll be back I promise." I caressed her shoulder to give her some comfort. She lifted her head slowly and the sobbing stopped.
"But what if he's not?" She choked out.
"Lindsay-"
"No don't 'Lindsay' me, Lauren. I can't survive in this without him and you all know that. So why can't you just leave me?" She said bluntly, getting up and pushing me aside.
"Because you're my best friend. I don't want to lose you..." My voice trailed off as I watched her step up onto the roof ledge.
"Lindsay get off there."
"I can't live without him...I can't..." She breathed.
"Stop it Lindsay."
"He's not coming back-"
"You don't KNOW that Linds!" I shouted at her.
"What, and you DO?" She yelled back at me, tears staining her cheeks. She stumbled on the edge but steadied herself before saying the words I didn't want to hear from her.
"Goodbye, Lauren. I love you." She spread her arms out like wings and leaned forwards until she toppled over the edge.
"LINDSAY!" I screamed, my voice wavering. I ran to the edge in an attempt to catch her but by the time I was there, her body was lifeless on the floor. My eyes drained themselves of tears. Lindsay...what am I supposed to tell Michael? He'll just do something crazy if he finds out.

*returning to the restaurant*
I took a step in, finding it difficult to carry the weight of my body and heavy heart. I opened my mouth to speak only to find myself squeak before falling to the ground in a mess. Ryan raced over to me, helping me up and sitting me on a chair.
"Hey...hey it's okay..." He whispered wiping tears from under my eyes.
"Lindsay..." I squeaked out but choked on any other words that tried to form in my mouth.
"She's...gone?" He asked, not too surprised. I nodded. Ryan wrapped his arms around me and swayed me from side to side, calming me down.
"It's better for her. She wouldn't have survived my longer in this, okay? She's in a better place. I breathed heavily into his chest to calm myself down. I repeated his words in my head. She's in a better place...she's in a better place...she's in a...

I jolted awake at the sound of a car engine. They're back. Excitement filled my body when I thought about finally getting out of here and out to some place safe. Skidding to a stop at the area they were gathered, I saw him. Michael. Shit.
'He has to know...' I thought. How could I tell him though. What was I supposed to say? Do I say
'Sorry Michael but your wife's dead and it's all my fault cos I couldn't save her'?

"Where's Lindsay?" Michael questioned, confused. Here it goes. My body began to shake and sweat gathered on my palms. My breaths became more frequent and my heart beat faster than it should.
"She's..." I let out in a shaky breath. I felt water collect in my eyes and I knew this would be harder than I thought.
"Uh..." I swallowed my fear. He was staring at me, hopeful and awaiting his wife.
"She's gone, Michael..." I grimaced. Everyone was staring at the ground just waiting for the rage to begin.
"What...?" He breathed.
"No, no that can't be right." He tried convincing himself but deep down he knew it was true.
"Michael I know you're angry and upset but-" Jack, being the voice of reason, tried to speak to him but Michael cut him off.
"How?" He asked aggressively.
"How what?" Burnie asked.
"How did it happen?" Ryan looked over at me, fear swirling through his eyes.
"She thought you weren't coming back," I started. All attention was on me.
"...so she ran out of the restaurant and climbed onto one of the rooftops...and she, um, she jumped..." I finished, tears beginning to spill over my eyes. Michael took a step back in disbelief.
"W-what...?" He choked on tears.
"Lauren did everything she could to stop her but-" Geoff tried to calm Michael down.
"You went with her and just watched her kill herself?" He whispered, angry clearly sweeping across his face. Someone had to take his anger. I guess that someone had to be me.
"Michael I-"
"YOU COULD'VE SAVED HER!!" He screamed at me in a blind rage. He ran towards me, pushing passed the others. I had no time to react before I was pinned up against the wall by Michael's forearm. He was strangling me. I gasped for air which only resulted in squeaks and squeals.
"HOW DARE YOU!" He spat at me. I grabbed his arm and tried pulling it of but black spots began to cloud my vision. I was drifting to unconsciousness. At this point I should be terrified. But I wasn't. It was peaceful. Like I understood. My vision went blank and I heard Ryan scream my name as the unbearable pressure on my neck loosened and I came crashing to the ground.

My eyes fluttered open and I felt the sensation of Michael's hands still gripped around my neck. My hands flew to my neck and I let out inaudible screams. Ryan ran to my bedside and held down my shoulders.
"Lauren! Lauren he's not here anymore calm down!" His eyes were wide and red as though he'd been crying. I stopped screaming and began to cry. I don't blame Michael for doing what he did to me. I deserved it. I could've saved her. Ryan brought me into his embrace, his gentle hands holding me softly.
"You're gonna be alright. I'm here." We held each other close for some time but when he pulled away, I noticed something I hadn't before. Ryan had a black eye, his knuckles were stained with dry blood and he had a large purple bruise on his left cheek bones.
"Ryan." I mouthed. I couldn't speak. Michael had really damaged my throat.
"Don't try to speak. It won't work. You're gonna have to communicate with this I'm afraid." He said, handing me a notepad and pen. I rested my hand on his cheek and ran my thumb across his bruise causing him to flinch. My eyes filled with concern.
"What happened?" I wrote on the notepad.
"What this?" He pointed at the bruises.
"After I got Michael to let go of you he got a little...angry." My eyes welled up with tears. This is all my fault.
"But hey if you think this is bad then you should see Michael." He stifled a chuckle and smile.