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Robotically, I give her all the information she asks for.
“Emergency help is on the way, sir. Please do not leave the patient. Make sure…”
I listen with half an ear to her instructions. Finally she hangs up.
I have no idea how quickly they’ll get here. At least someone answered.
Andrea and Jenny leave the room after that, thank God. I don’t need them to be here when the ambulance shows up. The dispatcher asked me to scan the room to see if I could find any pill bottles or anything, so I do so. I look under the bed, in the nightstand drawer, and then I race into the bathroom, scouring it as well.
Nothing.
About ten minutes later, I hear the sirens in the distance. They sound different from American sirens.
Then a pounding on the door.
I open the door, and two paramedics greet me. They head toward the bed.
The first paramedic checks Dragon’s vitals. “How old is he?”
“He’s thirty-two.”
“History of drug use?”
“Yes. But he’s been clean, other than pot and booze, for a while.”
“Got it.” The man checks his neck. “Light pulse.” He shakes Dragon. “Sir, can you hear me? Sir, can you wake up?”
The other two bring a stretcher, and they get Dragon situated on it.
“You a family member?”
“Friend. We’re members of a band that’s playing with Emerald Phoenix here in the UK. He’s my roommate. We’ve been friends forever.”
“Good, you can come in the ambulance with us. If he comes to, he’ll want to see a familiar face.”
I gulp, nodding.
“Emerald Phoenix, you say?” the female paramedic asks.
“Yeah, we’re their opener.”
“I have tickets to the concert tonight.”
“You may not see us if we don’t have a drummer.”
My heart is racing. Dragon’s not just my bandmate. He’s my friend. He’s shared secrets with me that he hasn’t told anyone else.
I can’t believe he would screw up five years of sobriety from narcotics. So he has a drink once in a while, smokes a joint.
But I should know better. Those are gateway drugs. When you’ve got a narcotics addiction under your belt, you really need to stay away from everything.
Why didn’t I try harder? Why didn’t I intervene?
Because I know Dragon’s history. I know what he’s trying to escape. And frankly, I’d need a drink every now and then if I were him.
We leave the room with Dragon on the stretcher, and of course doors open in the hallway, guests wandering out to see what the commotion is.
I keep my eyes on one door—Maddie’s and Brianna’s room.
