“There’s no easy way to tell you this. I have been told you and Sandy have become friends in the past few weeks. At first I thought it was a good thing because you were stepping outside your bubble to reach out to others. It’s a sign of trust and healing. But...”
“What happened?” Joely asked. Her grip on Dane’s hand tightened.
“Sandy left with her parents. She apparently snuck off to the bathroom to throw up the lunch she’d eaten. Her purging set off a cardiac event, which is not uncommon in cases like hers.”
A cardiac event? Something with her heart?
“Is she okay?” Dane whispered, knowing without even asking. She wasn’t okay.
“She’s passed, Dane. I’m sorry. The paramedics tried to revive her, but she was unresponsive. It was too much for her heart. She’d been battling bulimia for a while now, but…” not everyone could be saved. The last bit went unspoken, but Dane knew the statistics.
Dane shut his eyes and tried to breathe. He couldn’t breathe. He had lunch with her an hour or so ago. She’d been there smiling at him. Telling him to eat. No, telling him topretendto eat. His heart hammered in his chest.
Dead? Dead from throwing up? Her heart gave out. Dane felt himself shaking. Isn’t that why he’d admitted himself? He feared the worst? Oh God, he didn’t want to be alone anymore.
Joely held him, and the doctor spoke comforting words, instructing him how to breathe again. It took a long time, and any energy he’d gotten from the tiny bit of food he’d eaten was gone.
When Dane could finally speak, he said to Joely, “Can you call Tommy for me? Tell him I’m here? I need someone. Not Ru. Ru’s got a good life, he’s in love. Just Tommy.” Tommy still had room for Dane in his life, right? Dane had never felt inappropriately about Tommy. Tommy was like a big brother to him. Ru—Ru had been an unattainable dream that Dane couldn’t get past his fear of perversion to reach for. His manager nodded like it all made as much sense to her as it did to him. But it was all a bit of madness on his end.
