His eyes went wide fearing he’d be stuck here for years. She held up a hand. “Not bad enough to keep you here, but lingering side effects. You almost died, Tommy.”
“It was just a few party drugs.” He didn’t do them that often. A pick-me-up here or there, a relaxant when he couldn’t get his brain to turn off.
She set the pizza box on the bed in front of him. “Can you eat? I’ll go see if I can get those papers? Maybe you’d like to see your friends? Your mom? I know they’d like to see you.”
Tommy slid the box open and stared at the pizza. The one with his small bite still sitting there. “I’ve been throwing up a lot.” He hated the idea of eating it and feeling worse. But he picked up the slice and began to nibble. “Everyone else is okay? Dane? Ru? Adam? Bas?” The faces of two girls swirled through his head but he couldn’t remember their names. Why was he forgetting stuff?
She got up. “I’ll be gone only a few minutes. Out to the desk and back. Since you have the food, one of the attendants will have to sit in here with you.”
What was he going to do with the food? He nibbled through the slice and closed the box, not wanting to try his luck. “Maybe take it with you?”
Her look was sad, but she picked up the box and headed for the door. Knocking and waiting for a minute to be let out. Yeah, it felt like prison. He laid down to wait, slipping into that weird almost sleep he had learned to master over the past few weeks. A reboot of his brain, shutoff, and back on, sometimes seemed to take place in an instant, other times he floated on the edge of the shutdown for hours. He wasn’t sure which he preferred. He hadn’t slept or dreamed in months, but he would take what little rest his brain would allow when he could get it.
