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“What happened?” I ask the girls, who are at my heels.
“I don’t know . . . I couldn’t find her, but then I saw her over here with this guy. I yelled at him and he ran.” Tears stain her cheeks. “I don’t think . . . I mean, I think I got there in time . . .”
I breathe a sigh of relief, though I still want to hunt this fucker down and beat the shit out of him.
Jill slumps against me, her head rolling forward. I catch her as she keels over.
“Has anyone called a fucking ambulance?” I yell.
Both girls shake their heads.
“Girls, get in the car. We’re going to ER.”
“Um, is that a good idea? Can’t she just go back to your place?” Alice asks, flashing me a surprised look. I choose to ignore it. These girls are fucking hopeless when it comes to the dangers of drugs.
Throwing my keys at Alice, I rattle off where my car is for the girls to bring it to the front of the house. I scoop Jill into my arms and hastily walk to the street, thankful that my presence seems to have gone unnoticed. Alice pulls up and goes to get out of my truck.
“Stay there, you’re driving. We don’t have time to fuck around.” My teacher mode is in full play.
I buckle my belt with Jill lying across my lap. Her skin is pasty white and she’s no warmer than she was sitting outside. Smoothing the hair away from her face, I’m absolutely livid. Just fucking wait till I find out who spiked her drink. I’ll fucking kill them.
We’re sitting in the emergency room. Alice has relayed all the info to the nurse at the desk, and I’m making a mental note to ban Jill from attending any parties in the future without me there—college or not. I can’t protect her if I’m not there to look out for her.
A nurse in scrubs comes storming out of the emergency doors with tears in her eyes. I notice the resemblance immediately: this is her mom.
“Shit,” I mumble under my breath. Alice throws me a triumphant look. Jill has told me so many times that her mom works at the hospital but in the heat of the moment, all I wanted to do was make sure she was okay.
“Jilly baby,” she whispers, running her hand over Jill’s hair.
I feel awkward, because she’s still unresponsive in my arms.
“Bring her through here,” she says to me.
I nod and follow her through to the ER, placing Jill on the stretcher. The doctors tell everyone to leave the room to so they can check her out. After a moment, her mom walks over to me, frowning. I tense, because I know what’s coming.
“So, who are you?” Jill’s mom eyes me suspiciously. “A little old for a high school party, aren’t you?”
Should I tell her I’m her daughter’s boyfriend? Her teacher?
She’s going to find out eventually, and I want her to know how much her daughter means to me—though based on the look she’s giving me, I doubt she’d believe me. Can I blame her?
“Eli. I’m a friend of hers.” I do my best to be vague. This isn’t the right situation for her mom to find out the truth. “Alice called me when she noticed something wasn’t right.”
“I appreciate you bringing my daughter in here,” she finally replies.
We’ve been sitting in the waiting room for hours and the sun is starting to come up. Alice and Sophia have been asleep for the last couple of hours, but I haven’t even closed my eyes. I want to be awake in case she wakes up.
Jill’s mom comes through the doors and announces quietly to me that Jill is asking for me. The look in her eyes tells me she knows I’m more than just a friend. I nod, and go to wake the girls but she shakes her head, telling me to let them sleep.
Probably a good idea. They’ve been through a lot.
I walk through triage to a small cubical in the corner with the curtains drawn. I move around and see Jill. She’s hooked up to a drip but she’s awake. Her eyes meet mine and she starts crying.
“Oh Eli, I’m so sorry.” She sniffles. She holds her arms out and I hug her. I lean over and kiss her on the forehead, trying to calm her down.
“Shh, it’s okay, baby. It’s not your fault.” I reach down and caress her face, wiping away her tears. “None of this is your fault, okay?” I hug her again, and we stay that way until she tells me she needs a tissue.
“Come home with me tonight? I want to take care of you,” I ask Jill quietly.
