It was a suicide attempt. The kid is troubled. Parents split up when young. Dad went to jail a while back, but is out and has been very involved with his children. Mom is a bit of a nutjob. He's had drug problems and has battled depression. He's also gay, which I think he struggles with constantly. It's not so much of an issue with his family, except that he's on the permiscuous side and that does bother his family. I'm very close with her whole family, so this is really tough.