“Oh,” Romeo repeated, twisting to face him.Chad stared at his hands, fidgeting on the table.
“You were treating your own suicide attempt like a case.Why?”
Chad shrugged.
“Try again,” Romeo said.
“Why does it matter?You said you thought it was the pills.I was just unlucky enough to be one in a hundred thousand that’s all.”
“Tell me why.”
“Because,” Chad lowered his head.“It didn’t feel right.”
“What do you mean?”
“It didn’t feel like something I would do.I can’t...”He shook his head.“I don’t know how to describe it, but no one was surprised,” Chad glanced Romeo’s way.“Except you.When I told you ...your reaction.I don’t know, I just wanted to see the bridge, and hoped I might remember something, but I didn’t.”
“Who prescribed you those capsules?”
“I don’t know,” Chad admitted, pointing to the unused box.“I got those ones from the hospital pharmacy.”
Romeo served up their breakfast, but instead of joining Chad, he yanked open the drawer with the other box of medication.
“But where are these from?I didn’t know you were seeing a doctor, you never told me.”He frowned, joining Chad at the table.“How long had you been seeing one?”
Chad kept his eyes low.“I don’t kn—”
“It’s okay,” Romeo said, reaching across the table to squeeze Chad’s hand.“I’m speaking aloud, that’s all, I’m not accusing you.”He used his nail to pierce the blister pack and removed a capsule.“What is in these things?”
“The ingredients are on the side of the box—”
“But how do you know that’s what’s really inside them?”
Chad paused, fork halfway from his plate to his mouth.He paled, eyeing the capsule like it might jump from Romeo’s fingers and bite him.“W-what do you mean?”
“There could be anything inside these.”
Chad continued to look wary.
Romeo rolled the capsule in his fingers.One half white, the other half green.“We don’t know where you got them or who you got them from.”He frowned.“The hospital prescribed you those ones on the side...”
“To help me sleep.”
“How did they know you had trouble sleeping?”
“Ally told my doctors.”
Romeo pinched the capsule.“They prescribed you the same medication, even though it might have contributed to your suicide attempt?”
“I guess...”
“They wouldn’t do that,” Romeo pulled the capsule apart.“They can’t have known about these.”
White powder sprinkled the table.Romeo ran his forefinger through it, and was about to press it into his mouth—
“Don’t!”Chad blurted.
“Why not?”
