“What happened?”I swallow, a slightly inflamed sensation in my throat.
Mom glances at Jaeger, then back to me.“You passed out.Your coworkers called nine-one-one, but you got sick and breathed it in.”
I glance at Jaeger.I might be embarrassed by some of this if I didn’t feel like such a train wreck.
“They’ve put you on powerful antibiotics, but your lungs…” My mom’s lips pinch together, then she bites the top one.“You need rest, honey.”She pats my hand.“Lots of rest for your body to heal.”
“But Mom, what happened?”I think back to this morning.“I ate a muffin and had a mocha.I felt fine until I walked into work.Then… I don’t remember.”
“They discovered”—her voice catches—“oxycodone in your system—Percocet.They found more pills in your purse.”
I process her words.The doctor mentioned that too.“What’s Percocet?I didn’t have anything in my purse.”
She lets out a choked, quaking breath.“Cali, why are you taking drugs?All the stories I told you about the casinos, how drugs and alcohol ruin lives—” She shakes her head.Tears streak her cheeks.“I just never thought you’d do it.Never thought you’d get caught up in that mess.”Her voice cracks the way it does when she’s emotional or has just woken up.
God, I hate that croaky voice.It means my mom’s seriously upset or seriously tired.Neither makes me feel good.
“Mom, I don’t do drugs.”Okay, that’s a lie.“I smoked pot a couple of times in college,” I correct.“That’s it.I don’t know why they found that stuff in my purse, but it’s not mine.”
“Honey, the doctors ran blood tests.You had remnants of the drug in your system.And that wasn’t the only one.They found ecstasy as well.”
“What?” I try to sit up, but think better of it when my arms collapse.
“I don’t understand,” she says.“Were you experimenting?”
“No.”The strangeness of this morning fills my head.I was happy because of Jaeger and our little text exchange, and then really happy after I drank that mocha.
The one Brad gave me.
Why was Brad there, again?He’s a strange guy.And he gave me the drink.Leo said his roommate was into stuff?—
“Mom, it wasn’t me.Look, this morning I got a ride from Leo.”
“Yesterday morning.”
“Yesterday?”
“You’ve been in the ICU for twenty-four hours,” she says.
I lost an entire day?God, this is crazy.“Mom, check with Leo.Maybe he knows something.His roommate Brad was there and he wasn’t supposed to be.He gave me the mocha.I—I think there might have been something in it.Leo’s expression this morning—yesterday morning—and what Leo said about Kate?—”
“What?”The dark voice comes from Jaeger.“How is Kate involved?”On the surface, Jaeger’s question sounds concerned, but the edge is threatening, as if he’d like nothing more than to have another reason to wring Kate’s neck.
“Leo said he’s seen Kate at parties that his roommate has thrown.He said his roommate was into stuff, but he didn’t explain.I honestly didn’t care at the time.But what if he was referring to drugs?Kate’s boyfriend is involved in that stuff.I don’t know why Brad would put something in my drink, but he wasn’t supposed to be there yesterday.Do you know what I’m saying?”I can’t tell if anything coming out of my mouth is making sense.My head is not exactly sharp.
The lines around Jaeger’s mouth turn white.“What is Leo’s number?His full name?”
I direct Jaeger to my purse, which the hospital placed beside my bed.He finds my phone and Leo’s number.He seems reluctant to leave, and kisses my forehead.“I’ll just go outside for a minute to make the call.”
I nod and he walks out the door.
Mom takes his seat.“That boy’s been sitting here since I arrived.I was at the end of the bed because there was no room beside you.Didn’t have the heart to ask him to move.”
She’s right.There’s a screen and no chairs on my right.Jaeger had the only spot for visitors.
“Don’t be fooled by his overgrown size,” she says.“He was terrified.We all were.The doctor said he was optimistic.That with your general health you’d recover, but until you woke, I didn’t know, honey.I didn’tknow.”Her head dips, mouth pressed to our clasped hands.Her shoulders rise and fall on quiet sobs.
This is all so crazy.One minute everything was fine and seemingly working out, the next, all hell has broken loose.
