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Carter
Kate has been on edge since she was discharged from the hospital. I’ve been refusing to let her out of my sight, and she’s been trying everything she can to get away from me. She was okay the first two days, but she’s starting to get cagey and frantic, and I have no doubt it’s so she can get her hands on more drugs. It’s been hard for me to acknowledge, but the doctor is right. The amount of drugs found in her system combined with her current behavior makes it obvious. My sister has been getting addicted to cocaine right underneath my nose, and both Emilia and I were none the wiser. I let this happen on my watch, but I’ll be damned if I let it continue.
“Damn it, Carter. Are you never going to let me attend classes? You’re being psychotic. I’m going to call the police if you don’t let me leave,” Kate threatens. She’s sweating and her pupils are dilated, and I can’t help but worry. She so anxious she seems like she might have a panic attack any second. The doctors warned me she’d be like this and that she needs to come in for outpatient detoxing, but she’s been refusing, insisting that there’s nothing wrong with her.
I grab my phone and hand it to her. “Call them. I’ll call in an anonymous tip too. I’ll just tell the police they might want to raid your dorm room because I suspect you’re in possession of illegal drugs. What’s it gonna be?”
Kate’s grip tightens around my phone, and she glares at me. My heart sinks. I was bluffing, but it seems like she truly has a stash hidden away in her dorm room.
My phone buzzes, and Kate looks at it, her eyes narrowing. “Cute photo,” she says, holding it up. My background photo is a selfie I took of Emilia and me days after we made our relationship official. Kate glares at it and reads my notifications, her expression falling. I grab my phone from her and glance at it.
“Mom and Dad are on their way,” I tell Kate. Her eyes widen and she gulps, her anxiety increasing.
“What the hell? Why would you tell them?”
I inhale deeply and press down on the bridge of my nose. “Kate, you overdosed. You need help. Of course I called Mom and Dad.”
She glances at me through narrowed eyes and crosses her arms. “Did you call them, or was it Emilia?”
I hesitate, and Kate grins. “Of course it was Emilia. That fucking bitch. I bet she’s real happy this happened to me. Now she’ll get to show Mom how much better she is once again.”
I stare at my sister with wide eyes. “What the hell is your problem with Emilia? She rushed to the hospital the second she got the call and she’s done everything for you since then. She cooks for you, she scheduled all your doctor’s appointments, you’re wearing her clothes right now and she’s picking up Mom and Dad from the airport because I can’t leave you alone. Why the hell are you so ungrateful?”
The front door opens, and Emilia walks in, followed by Mom and Dad. My parents are both a mess and Mom’s eyes are red from the tears she undoubtedly shed. I can’t help but be angry with Kate for causing so much heartache. For causing so much damage to herself, and then still having the gall to blame someone else.
Mom bursts into tears and wraps her arms around Kate tightly. Kate’s expression wavers slightly and I breathe a sigh of relief. She looks a little bit guilty, and that’s all I need. All I need from her is some acknowledgment that she did something wrong. I need her to take responsibility for her actions.
I glance up at Emilia to find her staring at her feet. She hasn’t been herself lately. It’s like she blames herself for what happened to Kate, when logically, neither one of us is to blame. I know all too well how she feels, though.
“Milly,” Mom yells. “How could this have happened?”
Emilia walks up to my mother, unable to face her, and shakes her head. “I don’t know,” she whispers.
“You two were supposed to look after each other, weren’t you? Why didn’t you tell me something was up with Kate? I would’ve come and check up on her if I’d known.”
I inhale deeply and walk up to Emilia, dropping my hand on her shoulder in solidarity. “Emilia and I didn’t know, Mom. Of course we would’ve intervened if we’d known, but we didn’t.”
Mom glances at the two of us in accusation, and my hackles are raised. It’s Kate she should be blaming, so why is her anger directed at us?
“You two didn’t even tell me you started living together. Weren’t you supposed to be roommates with Kate?” Mom asks Emilia.
Emilia tenses and bites down on her lip nervously before nodding. “I… Carter and I just thought we’d already shocked you enough. We thought it would be best if we kept this to ourselves.”
Kate laughs. “More lies. What a surprise. I didn’t even realize you hadn’t told Mom you two were living together. Don’t you two talk every day?”
Emilia looks away in guilt. I know she’s been purposely vague about us living together, hoping that things would calm down before we dropped another bomb on them. It seems like the two of us can’t seem to get anything right. Every decision we make for ourselves keeps biting us in the ass.
“Maybe this wouldn’t have happened if you two were still living together. If you two were still keeping an eye on each other,” Mom says.
Emilia inhales deeply and nods. I tighten my grip on her and look my mother in the eye. “Emilia isn’t responsible for Kate’s behavior, and it’s ridiculous that you make it seem like she should be. I know you’re shocked, Mom. But you can’t go around looking to place the blame elsewhere. We need to focus on how to help Kate get better.”
Emilia grabs my hands and squeezes tightly. First Kate and now Mom… I can’t imagine how she’s feeling. Dad looks at us. He hasn’t spoken a single word yet, but eventually he turns toward Kate and shakes his head.
“I’m disappointed in you.”
Kate reels back in shock and stares at Dad with pain flashing through her eyes. Her eyes fill with tears and she looks down at her feet.
Dad turns to Mom and grits his teeth. “I’m disappointed in you too,” he says. “Carter is right. We need to be focusing on how to help Kate get better — not on blaming someone else for Kate’s actions. You expect too much from Emilia. She is not Kate’s keeper. She has every right to live her own life. Do I wish she’d been there so she might have been able to keep Kate on the right path? Yes, of course. Do I expect it from her? Never.”
