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Goosebumps appeared on Josh's arms as the biting wind passed over him. He tugged at the sleeves of his thin fleece sweater, regretting his choice of attire. He arrived at Tyler's front door and knocked, willing him to open the door quickly so that he could enter into the warmth of his home.
Tyler looked through the peephole of the door and smiled. He opened the door and just as he was going to greet him, Josh darted in and shut the door behind him. Tyler looked at his friend questioningly, but then noticed him shivering from the cold.
"This is why I keep telling you to get a car," Tyler laughed. "And check the weather."
"Shut up, you know I can't afford it," Josh retorted grouchily.
"Can't afford to check the weather?" Tyler replied, a mask of innocence on his face. Josh could only chuckle and shake his head in return, unable to stay angry at him. He plopped himself down on the couch and asked, "So what's going on, why'd you call me over here?"
Still standing, Tyler scratched the back of his neck uneasily and avoided eye contact with him. Josh raised his eyebrows, waiting for an answer. "Are you in love with me?" Tyler asked abruptly.
Josh laughed and replied, "You're kidding, right?"
"No, I'm not."
Josh frowned and cocked his head sideways, like a dog. "Tyler, we're best friends, and I can assure you that I am not in love with you."
Tyler became agitated and his eye twitched unnaturally. Concerned, Josh got up and put his arm on his shoulder. He studied his face but Tyler wouldn't make eye contact. Suddenly, Tyler yelled at him, "No! I'm not crazy, why would you say that?! You told me you were in love with me!"
Startled, Josh backed away, reaching into his pocket for his phone. He turned his back on Tyler and called 911. Tyler started to pace the room and mutter incomprehensible things under his breath.
"911, what's your emergency?"
Josh talked quietly into the phone, "Hi, um, I'm at my friend's house and he seems to be having some sort of breakdown-"
Tyler pushed Josh to the ground from behind, making him drop his phone. Josh yelled and attempted to get up to grab the phone but Tyler made a lunge for him. He hooked his arms around his neck, holding Josh down. Josh tried his best to release himself from his grasp but it was no use; his lungs were giving out quickly. Tyler held on tightly, even after he no longer felt Josh moving under him. After a few minutes of continuous pressure, he let go.
"What- what just happened?" Tyler said aloud, having no memory whatsoever of what he had just done. "Josh?" He asked worriedly, flipping him over so that he was face up. Josh was pale as a ghost, and Tyler shook him but to no avail. He grabbed his wrist frantically and checked for a pulse. Nothing.
Tyler saw Josh's phone a few feet away on the floor and went to pick it up. The line was dead, but he could see that the last phone call Josh had made was to 911. Tyler pressed the number to call again.
"911, what's your emergency?"
"It's my best friend. I think- I think he's dead."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Your diagnosis is schizophrenia."
"Schizophrenia?" Tyler repeated to the psychiatrist. He looked down at his orange jumpsuit, still not used to it.
"That is correct. We'll be moving you to a mental hospital this week, so you won't be staying in this prison much longer," The psychiatrist said as she stood up to leave. "The guards will escort you back to your cell."
Tyler got up, two intimidating bodyguards waiting for him. They walked him to his cell silently and locked it, leaving Tyler alone.
He hated the isolation because it left him with his thoughts, his awful, awful thoughts. A lot of the time he heard voices, none of them resembling the only one he so desperately wanted to hear. "And it's all my fault." Tears fell from his eyes and he wiped them away quickly, not wanting to remember what he had done two months prior.
He looked at himself in the mirror, one of the few luxuries he had in his cell. There were dark circles under his eyes, due to the lack of sleep that he got, and his hollowed face made them more evident. His body rejected any thought of eating, causing his uniform to hang loosely on his thinning figure.
Tyler turned around to sit down on his uncomfortable bed, but was startled by the presence of the boy he had longed to see since the day it happened.
There he was, laying on his bed, not a care in the world.
"Josh," Tyler said softly, afraid that if he spoke any louder Josh would disappear into thin air. Josh smiled at him, the most vibrant and beautiful thing that Tyler had seen in what seemed like centuries.
"Hey," Josh said nonchalantly. "What are you in here for?"
The joy that Tyler had felt seconds ago left just as quickly as it had come, and he felt that unleaving pang of sadness again.
He swallowed hard and looked down at the floor.
"For killing my best friend."
And when he looked back up again, all that was left was the memory of him from two months ago.