I laugh and get off my stool. “Thanks, but no thanks.” I wobble on my feet as I stand up. Holy shit, I feel drunk.
“Those cocktails you got us are toxic,” I murmur with a laugh. The girls all continue to talk, but I really do have to go. “See you later, guys,” I murmur, distracted by how drunk I feel.
“Let me walk you out,” the tall guy offers.
“No, you stay with me,” one of the girl’s purrs as she links her arm with his. His eyes light up in delight.
He’s in.
I smile and walk out the front doors and onto the sidewalk as a rush of color mixed with inebriation fills me. Christ, I’m so drunk.
I totter down the street in my heels as I look for a cab. All the cars sound so loud, as if the noise has been magnified.
I look up the street one way, and then the other way as things begin to lose focus. I step back to try and gain my footing.
My God, I need to get home. How did I get this drunk? I continue to walk down the street and I stagger as I nearly lose my footing.
What the hell? I haven’t been this drunk for years.
I make it to the cab rank and hold onto the sign as I try to hold myself up. A young girl comes over to me, concerned. “Are you alright, Miss?”
I frown as my vision starts to tunnel and I shake my head. “No, I’m not,” I slur.
I hear her muffled voice in the distance as my sight blacks out, and I feel the earth move from underneath me. A huge head spin hits me and I fall, smacking my head on the ground.
Confusion.
Pain.
Darkness.
Cameron
My phone rings and I glance at the clock. 10.45pm. Shit, I bet it’s Gloria. I pick up my phone and the hospitals number is flashing on the screen. Here we go.
“Hello,” I answer.
“Dr. Stanton?” a strange voice asks.
“Yes, who is this?’
“This is Melissa from the Emergency Room.”
“Melissa.” That’s weird. Emergency never ring me.
“Sorry to ring so late, doctor, but we have had someone just bought in by ambulance, and one of the nurses thinks she recognized them as one of your interns.”
I sit up in bed. “What’s happened?”
“Suspected drug overdose.”
I rub my hand down my face. Shit.
“We don’t have any contact details and we’re trying to get in touch with the family,” she continues.
“Of course, I can search through their records. What’s the name?” I ask.
“Umm.” She hesitates as she reads the licence. “Ashley Tucker.”
My eyes widen. What the fuck? “Is… Is she alright?” I stammer.
“She’s unconscious at this stage.”
“I’ll be right there.”
I pace at the end of the bed. I’m frantic.
Ashley has been out cold for six hours. The toxicology reports have come back as her having drugs in her system, but they’re unsure as to what exactly they are just yet. The sun is rising outside and I can hear the nurses beginning to do their rounds for changeover.
This has been the longest night of my life.
I take her hand in mine. “Please be alright,” I whisper so only she can hear me. I lean down and kiss her forehead. “Please be alright, Ash. Baby, can you hear me?” I ask hopefully.
God, how did it come to this? I had no idea she was into drugs.
Why was she alone when she collapsed and who the hell was she with?
There is this whole other side to her that I don’t know and I hate it. A text comes through. It’s Jenna.
Any news?
I blow out a breath and text back.
None yet.
I will message you the moment she wakes up.
A text bounces back.
Thank you, for staying with her.
It means a lot.
I blow out a breath and take Ash’s hand back in mine. Please be alright, baby. Please, please, please. What if she dies? What if she hit her head so hard that there’s permanent damage?
I close my eyes in pain. How did it come to this? How does the love of my life go from an angel to a drug-addicted stripper in two weeks?
How could I have been so wrong about her?
An insidious, sick feeling sinks in as I think of poor little Owen. He loves his mother dearly. What if something happens to her? How could I ever tell him that his mom didn’t love him enough and she took an overdose?
I hold her hand in mine and sit in the darkness as another nightmare hour passes.