Of course, they won’t. Unless somebody manages to stop him in time. That’s what usually happens. His mother will turn off the gas or walk in while he is cutting himself or his uncle will get to the house before an ambulance, despite his age, and make him throw up or a friend he no longer has will pull him back from the edge or a girlfriend who never wanted all this drama will call his bluff and tell him to ‘just fucking do it, then’.

Not this time.

Young Levant hears light footsteps and heavy breathing outside his cocoon and, eventually, is nudged in the side. Ergo is a cross between an Alsatian and a Collie. Entirely black hair. With a wonderfully composed temperament; it can’t be easy for him having Young Levant as a companion. Ergo was a gift from his uncle, rescued from Battersea. He said something about it complementing his condition.

With the covers pulled back down to his waist, the dog looking at him, Young Levant believes he sees the dog smiling, trying to pick his owner up to take him outside, asking him kindly to provide food. Suddenly, he wonders who will take care of Ergo when he is gone. Surely his uncle; he wouldn’t send him back to the dogs’ home. Surely.

And it dawns on him that he is actually depended on.

That means something, right?

That means I shouldn’t jump?

The message is still the same if there are only eight of them?

He strokes Ergo’s head tenderly and smiles back at him. Of course, he knows that he has to go through with it; he started this.

‘Come on, then,’ he resigns, sitting up, and Ergo turns and trots into the kitchen area where his empty, plastic bowl awaits. Young Levant follows him in there, takes the heavy bag of food off the cheap, mottled surface and overfills his bowl; some of the dried, meaty spheres fall onto the linoleum floor and roll across the other side of the room. He can lick those up later. A treat. Besides, he’ll be hungry by the time Young Levant’s uncle arrives.

Unfortunately for Ergo, his master will not be killing himself at home, otherwise he could feast on the worthless remains until someone realises that he’s gone.

But that is not what was agreed.

He leaves the bag of dog food on the floor next to the washing machine in case nobody comes. If Ergo is hungry, he will find a way. He will survive. For a while.

Someone will find him.

People care about him.