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“Of course,” I murmured stiffly before holding out my hand and preparing for the bro hug. Ty didn’tdisappoint.
“I don’t know how this is going to go. The doctor will address all of us. Drew managed to authorize them to release medical information to you and me, mostly because I tricked him into doing so.” He chuckled sadly, then gestured toward the elevators. “Let’s do this. I need to get back to thehotel.”
My brow shot up. “Doesthishave anything to dowithKate?”
The elevator dinged, the doors opened and as soon as the car was empty, we entered and Ty punched the button for our floor. I waited for him to respond, but he remained silent. Soon the doors opened and we exited. I followed him down the hall. We reached the room and he murmured, “Ready?”
I shrugged. “Is anyone ever readyforthis?”
He nodded and pushed the door open. I followed him into the room. Drew was awake, facing away from us, staring out thewindow.
“How are you feeling?” Tybegan.
“Like I was hit by a bus.” Drew groaned, and then rolled toward us. “Was I hit by a bus? Because then the way I feel would make a lot moresense.”
Ty shook his head. “Nope. You did this all on your own.” He sat on the edge ofthebed.
“Here comes the judgement. Go ahead. Lay it on me. I can take it.” Drew offered ablandlook.
For a second, I rubbed the back of my neck. I partially knew what I wanted to say, but the doctor knocked and entered the room before we could respond. “I see you arrived in time for rounds.” He leaned against the wall at the end of the bed. “I’ll be off soon, but I wanted to check in before I left. Drew and I had a conversation about hisdrinking.”
Drew crossed his arms over his chest and stared out the window again. I studied him, shocked by his quiet demeanor. I expected snappy comebacks. I had prepared for snarky remarks. This…worriedme.
“We did a CT scan. The results show some liver damage. And he has been complaining of other ailments. He’s suffering from pancreatitis at the moment.” The doctor studied his patient. “How’s the paintoday?”
“Well, it could be better if you’d actually give me anything to make it go away.” Drewgrumbled.
The doctor nodded. “About that.” He released a sigh. “We’ve discovered that when we treat pancreatitis with pills, the alcoholic trades methods to dull the pain and the problems. Then he’ll be addicted to painkillers and create moreproblems.”
“Makes sense,” Tyadmitted.
“I’m not an alcoholic.” Drew sank down under the sheets. “I’ll take the pills,thankyou.”
“Listen.” The doctor stood and I sensed he was consideringcaving.
“Yes, you are,” I murmured. The fact that I spoke up seemed to shock everyone in the room. I moved closer to the bed and waited for him to meetmyeyes.
His chin jutted out. “I’m not. Stop saying that. Do you want me stuck here? Do you want me inagony?”
I shook my head. “No. I want you well. I want you interested in anything besides laying around drinking. I want myfriendback.”
He shrank back at my words, but recovered quickly. “I’m right here. Same asalways.”
“You’re not the same as always. You used to eat food. Now you drink your meals. You sleep, drink, and lay around.” I raked a hand through my hair. This was going to get brutal, but maybe this was what he needed. “I’ve made excuses for you long enough. I’ve covered for you more than I should’ve. Now you’re out of control. You’re slowly killingyourself.”
“Lies,” he hissed. “You’ve always been jealous of me.” Drewlookedaway.
“What’s there to be jealous of? My suitcase was filled with clothes. Yours was so full of liquor, you didn’t have room for toiletries. What kind of life is that?” I threw my hands in the air, but before I could say anything else, the alarms sounded on hismachines.
A nurse soon popped in and the doctor murmured, “Let’s make him more comfortable.” Then he turned to face us. “Let’s talk inthehall.”
We stood and followed him. At the door, Ty paused. “We’ll be back soon, Drew. Getsomerest.”
I sighed. “I’m not trying to hurt you. I’ll do whatever I can to help you getbetter.”
Then we exited the room. “I hope you meant that,” the doctor said as he turned to face us. “He’s going to need all the help he can get. Honestly, he’ll be a full-time job. I’d recommend a rehabilitationcenter.”
“Rehab?” Ty sucked in abreath.
