He mumbled something unintelligible and started moving his feet again.
The front lobby was abandoned at this hour save for an overnight attendant who seemed wholly unprepared to deal with the situation I’d delivered.
“Oh my God, is he okay?” the young attendant asked, running over to us to help place Jamie on one of the benches.
“No. Call an ambulance right away,” I told him, surprised at the steadiness in my voice. Now that I knew what I had to do, my mind was focused on the task. The attendant nodded and rushed back to use the phone at the front desk.
I kneeled beside Jamie. “Jamie, stay with me. Don’t pass out.”
The singer moaned. I tried to think of things to ask that would be helpful for the paramedics to know when they arrived. “What did you take?”
“The usual. And a Xanie,” he said so lightly that I had to put my ear closer to his lips.
“What is the usual?”
“Coke.” He swallowed. “Vodka.” His head fell to the side and when I tried to rouse him, my slapping and pinching had no effect.
Shit!
The panic returned, ready to pounce from the edges of my consciousness, but I forced myself to breathe deeply and hold it at bay. “Where are they?” I called to the attendant.
He hung up the phone. “They said they’re a few minutes away. Let me grab him some water.”
I held Jamie’s chin with one hand while I grabbed my phone out of my back pocket. He looked so pale, so…vulnerable. I tore my gaze away and typed a message in the group chat with Bleeding Moonlight.
“Emergency. Somebody come to hotel lobby RIGHT NOW.”
We tried to get Jamie to drink the water, but he was out cold. I went as far as pouring the entire glass on his head, which earned me a weak grimace from the singer.
“Ivy!”
I looked up to see Abel and Ezra running toward me.
“What happened?” Ezra asked, his face alarmed. “We came as soon as we saw the message. The others are sleeping.”
“I found him in the stairwell in this state.” I waved at Jamie. “Ambulance should be here any minute. He told me he mixed cocaine, vodka, and something called a Xanie?”
“Xanax. Does Oliver know?” Abel checked the singer’s pulse.
“No, but Jamie said he just wanted to be taken to the hospital. He didn’t want to get Oliver involved. Maybe he’s worried he’ll be angry with him.” I said the words even though they didn’t add up. Based on what Oliver had told me about Jamie, I didn’t think this episode would shock him all that much. Was it really possible that Jamie had never been in a situation like this?
“I think we should tell him anyway,” I added. “I can go find him now that you’re here.”
Abel shared a look with Ezra. “There’s no time. I’ll go with him,” Abel said. “Help take care of everything at the hospital.”
Ezra nodded, “Okay. I’ll get Ivy back to her room.” He raised a brow at me. “Unless you want to go with them.”
I shook my head, remembering the things I’d said to Jamie right before he… No. I didn’t need to go with him. We weren’t friends, and some selfish part of me didn’t want to get any more involved in this ordeal than I already was.
The hotel doors slid open as the paramedics rushed in. Ezra helped me off the ground, and we backed away to make room for the stretcher. Abel was talking to one of the paramedics, probably telling him what Jamie had taken. A hiccup escaped my throat, and Ezra’s hands tightened around my shoulders. “He’ll be fine. He’s lucky you found him and sent for help. Do you want to go back up?”
I chewed on my nail. The paramedics had strapped Jamie onto the stretcher and were carrying him out. Abel shot us a look and waved goodbye as he followed them.
“Yeah,” I responded to Ezra. “Let’s go.”
We called the elevator and the drummer fixed me with a worried look. “I’m sorry you had to see that, Ivy.
I didn’t answer. I was numb. The past twenty four hours had felt as long as a month. It was hard to believe that less than twelve hours ago, Oliver and I had been in that storage closet, and I’d been trying to figure out what would happen after I left.
