"That was incredible!" seventeen-year old Tatyana Tereshkova exclaimed to no one in particular, as she hurriedly jumped into the passenger seat of the grey 1984 Buick Skyhawk, in an effort to escape the harsh November wind. "What did you think of the concert?" she asked her eighteen-year old brother Vadim.
"It was very good. Ochen harasho," he replied.
Tatyana shook her head. "Seriously!? Vadim Tereshkov, is that all that you thought of that completely amazing rock concert?! Dude, it was a-maz-ing," she reminded him, holding each syllable for emphasis as she did so.
Vadim pretended not to hear her, and instead asked his sister if she was hungry. "I am," she answered him, explaining, "I was so excited for the concert tonight, that I haven't eaten anything since breakfast this morning. Yeah, I'm starving."
Vadim rolled his eyes. "Whose fault is that?" He shook his head. "Do you wanna text Katya and Mike to see if they want to go eat with us tonight?"
"Sure," Tatyana nodded, her green eyes bright with excitement. Her nod was accompanied by a huge smile. "I wonder what they thought of the concert?" she said.
Not waiting for Vadim to answer, she reached into her jean pocket, and retrieved her slim silver-colored cell phone. As soon as she had texted Katya and Mike, she leaned back into her seat, thinking about the painful text message that she had received four hours earlier. The text message had read, "Hey jus so uk I did more cuts im sorry..." Each time Tatyana read and reread the frightening text, the individual black characters on the screen seemed to be working as sharp blades, tearing her apart inside, as they cut deeper and deeper into Tatyana's heart that was silently bleeding for her hurting friend.
Even though she had only really known him for three days now, she realized that he obviously felt that he could trust her with these startling secrets that had already been written in the history book of his young life so far.
Tatyana had first met sixteen-year old Jeremy Trevor while volunteering at her church's clothing drive that was held on Friday afternoon. She and a few of her friends had been busily folding slightly-used sweaters, when they first noticed the 5'6" dark-haired teenage boy enter into the warehouse. He was helping carry several cardboard boxes filled with socks that were to be distributed later. He had on a faded grey Beatles t-shirt, well-worn jeans, and a pair of black Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star shoes.
Tatyana's good friend, Aiste, having seen the unfamiliar face of the teenage boy, quickly put down the beige sweater that she had been folding, and ran over to where he was, her milk chocolate-colored eyes giving off both excitement and warmth at the sighting of this stranger, and, soon-to-be friend, whom she was confident to greet. Kjirsten and Nikita quickly joined Aiste in meeting the new arrival. Tatyana saw the warm exchange between the four of them, and decided to go over and introduce herself.
The teenager introduced himself as Jeremy Trevor. The five of them continued to converse with each other for the duration of the church's clothing drive. After it was over, the four invited Jeremy to come with them to the rock concert that would be held on Sunday night. Jeremy had explained to them that he wouldn't be able to make it, but thanked them for asking him to join them anyway.
Now, as Tatyana was sitting here looking out the window of their grey Skyhawk, the gorgeous Rockies of Colorado staring back at her, she wondered what Jeremy was facing tonight. She thought about the cuts that he had made on his arms. Her eyes filled with tears as she imagined him, maybe even now, marking his arms with a blade, in an attempt to release some of the pain that was inside of him. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her cell phone's ringtone. She looked down at her phone, and saw a name appear on the front screen. Picking up the phone, she answered. "Hello? Jeremy?"
"Tatyana, I have three more cuts on my arm. Where's the scissors?" his voice faded for a second and then returned. Tatyana could hear the pain in his voice, and sensed that he had been crying.
"Jeremy, what's going on?" Tatyana asked, attempting to silence the panic that was threatening to take over her words.
"Where are you?" his words came out in a rush.
"Vadim and I are just leaving the concert, and we were going to go get a bite to eat. Did you want us to come over and pick you up?"
"No, I can't. Tatyana, can you please come over now for a little while? I need you guys."
"Jeremy, we'll be right over," Tatyana assured him.
"Hurry! I can't take this much longer!" Jeremy cried, choking back a sob.
Tatyana tried to reassure him, saying that it would be all right, and that they would be there as soon as possible. She and Vadim prayed for Jeremy as Vadim took the quickest route to Jeremy's house. As soon as they approached Jeremy's street, they noticed a figure on the side of the road. Realizing that it was Jeremy, they quickly drove over to where he stood, and stopped their car. They hurriedly opened their doors, and rushed out to meet him.
Although Tatyana and Vadim were only wearing light sweatshirts, they ignored the cold night air, and spent the next hour talking to Jeremy. They listened to him, as he told them heartbreaking stories that had taken place in his own life. They heard the undeniable sadness in his voice as he spoke.
"I don't care if I get beat up tomorrow after school by some kids who hate me. In fact, I'll let them beat me up," Jeremy said.
"You don't wanna do that," Tatyana interjected. With concern in her voice, she added, "So, have you ever considered taking your life before?"
"Yeah. Actually, I was thinking of doing it tonight," Jeremy said.
"Buddy, you don't wanna do that," Tatyana replied.
"Why not?" Jeremy asked.
"Look, I'm sorry that you've had all of this happen to you. You have no idea how sorry I am. But I want you to know that there is hope. You were made for more than this. You are not worthless. I believe that there's gonna be a day(and it's coming soon!)when you won't be cutting yourself anymore, and until that day comes, we're gonna be here for you. And after that day? We're still gonna be here for you. People love you and care about you. Know that you're not alone," Tatyana told him.
Vadim nodded. "You're infinitely important to us, Jeremy. Call us anytime, even in the middle of the night, and we will be here for you."
"But I don't want to bother you guys," Jeremy responded.
"You won't be bothering us!" Vadim declared. He added, "You're more important to us than sleep, Jeremy!"
Jeremy slowly nodded. "Thanks, you guys. Hey, so I'd better go."
As soon as they gave Jeremy some final words of encouragement, Vadim and Tatyana left to go back to the grey Skyhawk and depart for home.
On the way home, Tatyana received a text from Jeremy. It said, "Thanks 4 stopping by. At least somebody cares." At the bottom of the message, Tatyana noticed that Jeremy had changed his text signature. Tatyana noted that the previous messages that he had sent her before they had met tonight, had said "~Live Each Day Like Its Ur Last~." Tatyana wiped a tear from her eye, and said a silent prayer of joy, as she read the new signature that Jeremy had written in its place. It said: "Wen Life Gets Hard Push Thru It!"
