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Payton is gone … No, they wheeled her away … I think.
Alex is saying something, but I can’t hear him.
Someone takes my hand and leads me somewhere.
I can barely remember where I am.
It’s as if my mind is fading in and out. I can barely grasp on to reality.
I become aware that I’m forgetting things, and I lose track of what’s happening the more in shock I become. Suddenly, I think I start to understand why my memory is filled with holes.
This is how it responds to shock. By forgetting.
But what happened that made me want to forget so many things?
“Hadley, can you hear me?” Alex asks, crouching down in front of me.
I blink then glance around, realizing I’m sitting on the floor in the waiting room. I have no idea how long I’ve been here or how I even got here.
I nod. “Yeah, I can hear you.”
He relaxes, sitting down on the floor in front of me. “You seriously just spaced out for like ten minutes straight.”
“I know,” I whisper numbly. “It happens to me sometimes.”
His brows furrow. “What do you mean?”
I’m about to tell him, feeling way too drained to work up a good lie, when a doctor approaches us.
“Are you Payton Harlyton’s guardian?” she asks, glancing at the handheld device she’s holding.
I jump to my feet but move too quickly and nearly fall down. Luckily, Alex stands up and puts a hand on my arm to steady me.
“Yeah, I’m her guardian.” I wrap my arms around myself, my heart slamming against my chest. “Is she okay?”
The doctor glances up at me. “We have her stabilized and her vitals are looking much better. And she’s awake and responsive. She’s still in intensive care, but we should be moving her out soon.” She pauses with her lips pressed together. “She has traces of an unknown drug in her system. It’s nothing we’ve seen before, so we’re going to run a few more tests.”
My brows pull together. “So you’re saying she put some sort of unknown drug in herself.”
“We’re not even sure if it’s a drug,” the doctor stresses. “And that’s all I can say right now. When we have more of an update, we’ll let you know.”
I swallow hard. “When can I see her?”
She tucks the handheld device into the pocket of her jacket. “I’ll send someone out when she’s allowed to have visitors. It shouldn’t be too long.”
A breath eases from my lips. “Okay, thanks.”
She offers me a small, formal smile then walks off.
“Oh my God.” I press my palm to my forehead as I sink into a chair. “I seriously thought …” I take a deep breath, then another, pulling myself together before glancing up at Alex. “How long has it been since they took Payton back to intensive care?”
Alex watches me with a puzzled look. “You don’t remember?”
I shake my head. “I think I was in shock.”
His gaze remains fused to mine as he checks the time on the clock. “About an hour ago.”
My gaze snaps to the clock. “Holy shit … I …” I push to my feet, panicking. “I need to call my sisters. They should’ve been here by now.” I move to take my phone out of my pocket, but he snags ahold of my hand.
