Chapter Twenty-Nine
Jillian
Despite Hutch tellingme not to bother to come see him or how he acted when I asked him about his therapy, I still went to visit him for lunch. I was worried about his mental health. This wasn’t like when we first met; this seemed different if not worse, and I was afraid that he might be more depressed than he was letting on. As I pushed open the door on Zed’s, I didn’t see Hutch behind the desk, but the bell above the door announced my rival.
“Oh, hey, Jillian.” Quinn Sutherland nodded at me. “You here for service?” His cheeks reddened slightly as he realized what he had said. We had gone to high school together, but didn’t run in the same circle.
I flashed a brief smile. “No, I came by to see Hutch. Is he in the back?” I nodded toward his office.
Quinn shook his head. “He said he was taking the day off today.” He looked confused. “He’s probably just upstairs if you want to go up. I’m sure he’d love to see you though. He’s been really down lately, you know? Not his normal self.” That I already knew, but if his employees were picking up on it too, then he was more off than I thought. He held out a set of keys. “This is for his place. He left a spare in case he or Mads ever locked themselves out.”
“Thanks.” I grabbed it before I headed back outside and around the corner to hurry up the stairs. I didn’t even knock, didn’t care how pissed Hutch might be at me. Something about this entire situation was making my skin crawl.
I unlocked the door as fast as I could before I shoved it open to walk into a complete disaster. Hutch was normally the neatest person on the planet, but right now...there were dirty dishes in the sink, a garbage that desperately needed to be emptied, and pizza boxes stacked up on the table. As I made way into the living room, it wasn’t as bad, but not much better either. Dirty clothes, empty beer bottles, and a few empty plates were stacked on the floor and coffee table. Hutch was clearly spiraling out of control. Was it Madison leaving that had done this to him or was it something more?
“Hutch!” I called his name as I moved down the hallway. The bathroom on my right was empty with dirty clothes piled in the corner next to the washer and dryer, and the pink room decorated with ballerina everything, which I assumed was Hazel’s, was clean but also empty. “Hutch, it’s Jillian, where are you?” Icy fear crept up my spine as I came to the last room at the end of the hall. I knocked on the door. “Hutch, honey, are you in there?” I swallowed nervously. “I’m coming in,” I announced before I pulled the door open.
Hutch was face down on the bed, dressed in nothing but his boxers. “Jesus Christ.” I rushed to his side. “Hutch?” I tried to turn him over, but he was too big. I tried to feel for a pulse, and when I found a faint one, I let out a sob. “Baby, tell me what you took,” I begged as I let my eyes move around the room. Beer bottles were everywhere. I didn’t see anything that might have made him like this, but he was so out of it he couldn’t even make a complete sentence.
He only seemed to be muttering nonsense at me while his eyes rolled back. Hutch’s hand came out to grab at my arm when I yanked my phone from between my boobs where I kept it when I had my leotard on. I needed to call someone. He shook his head, but couldn’t make eye contact with me. I felt my stomach drop when I realized what he was trying to tell me.
“I’m sorry, Hutch,” I whispered as I dialed the number.
“Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”
“I’m at my friend’s house and he took something. He won’t wake up,” I sobbed.
I could hear her clicking away in the background. “And you don’t know what he took?” she asked.
“No! I just got here, and he’s in his bed. I can’t even turn him over. His eyes keep rolling around, and he’s muttering about gibberish I can’t understand.” I let out a low moan. “Can you send someone here, please?” I gave her the address as she requested before I burst into tears and sobbed into my hands. No, I had to get myself together. I couldn’t be a mess like this. I had to be...fuck. I had to call Pat. Probably Madison too, because she would need to know what was going on. I could hear the sounds of the ambulance as they grew closer amidst my own meltdown.
I pressed my lips against Hutch’s cheek. “You’re going to be okay, Hutch, I promise.”
***
Hutch had swalloweda bottle of sleeping pills. The thought made me so angry I wanted to punch a hole in the wall, but the doctor that was treating him told me that if I hadn't gotten there when did, Hutch mostly likely wouldn't have survived. Was I happy that I saved his life? Yes, but Hutch wasn't so happy. He was refusing to see me even though I had been sitting outside in the waiting room for two days. I even canceled my classes, just hoping he would talk to me.
"I'm sorry," Pat whispered as he sat down next to me. Jo had gone home to shower, but would be back soon.
I leaned my head against his shoulder. "I should probably just go home, right? I mean, he hates me and doesn't want me to visit him. I should just go back to living my life." I just wanted to see Hutch and tell him I loved him. That he wasn't alone. I didn't want to yell at him or give him shit for what he did.
