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Chapter 43
BRIDGET
Past
The rest of the day is a complete blur. I remember being interviewed by a police officer. Was I at the apartment last night? What time did I leave? Did I experience any light-headedness, nausea, or headaches yesterday? Were there ever issues with the apartment?
After answering her questions, I ask if I can see my roommates and am told they were taken to the emergency room at Alta Bates Medical Center. Kat asks when we can go back into the building. The police officer says when it’s been deemed safe enough to return.
Kat’s boyfriend drives us over to the hospital, where Simone is undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy for carbon monoxide poisoning. The attending nurse told us that Simone is definitely responding to the treatment.
Amy, however, isn’t so lucky. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
“I can’t believe this,” Kat moans as we sit in the visitors’ area. “If we hadn’t spent the night at our boyfriends’, it could have been us, too.”
It’s a crazy thought, but I’m still reeling from the fact that Amy is gone. Just like that. Just last night we were talking about…I can’t remember. Something about the bouncers at Darren’s club. Less than twenty-four hours later, she’s no longer with us, having succumbed sometime during the night. Simone happened to have her window partially opened, enough to save her from Amy’s fate.
Sometime in the afternoon, Amy’s parents arrive.
“I told her to use the carbon monoxide detector!” Mrs. Liu sobs to her husband after speaking with the doctor. “I told her this is an old building!”
Mr. Liu is completely ashen and stone-faced. I give them a few minutes before walking over.
“I am so sorry,” I say. Had I been there last night…I don’t know what I could have done, but I might have been able to do something. Somehow I feel partially responsible. If I hadn’t left my notes at Darren’s place, maybe, who knows?
“If there’s anything I can do,” I offer.
Mr. Liu nods.
I return to sitting next to Kat.
“Simone’s parents are flying in from Oregon and should be here in about three hours,” Kat says. “Also, we’re cleared to go back into the apartment. Will you come? I don’t want to go back by myself.”
Her boyfriend picks us up and drops us off. There’s a part of me that’s still in shock that such a thing has happened. It seems strange that a heater that hasn’t been problematic before is suddenly deadly. I know that equipment does break down, but one never expects something like this to happen.
I sit down on my bed and look over at Amy’s bed. She’s not going to be there tonight. I’m not going to get to hear her snore. Or have her show me a dozen different things on Instagram when I’m in the middle of studying. I’d give anything right now for the chance to experience all that again.
I look over at the outlet where I remember Amy plugging in the carbon monoxide detector once. I wonder where it could have gone? Maybe it had stopped working, and Amy just hadn’t gotten around to getting a new one. Of all the horrible luck…
Kat pops her head in. “I’m not staying here tonight. I can’t. If you want, you can crash with me and Brad.”
I think about it. I doubt I want to spend the night in the apartment.
“Sure,” I say.
I pack my suitcase. When I’m done, I realize I haven’t eaten all day so far. I go into the kitchen and find bagels in the refrigerator. Amy probably put them in there. She puts everything in the refrigerator, including medicine.
On the way out, Kat and I bump into Jordan and Kiera, not my favorite neighbors or fellow Cal students. They mumble a “hi,” which is about the friendliest they’ve been to me in a while, and pass awkwardly.
Brad shares an apartment with another guy. It’s a small place, but there’s a coach in the living room, and they give me a sleeping bag.
I think about going over to the hospital, but I don’t want to bug Brad for a ride again. I’ll go tomorrow after my stats final.
Brad makes Ramen noodles for dinner. He and his roommate have a giant box of the stuff in the living room. I’m not that hungry and still have the bagels in my backpack. I feel drained, too tired to even cry.
My cellphone rings. At first I think it’s Darren, but it turns out to be Felipe. He sounds agitated.
“Hey, um,” he begins. “We really need to talk.”
