Page 24

“No. I had nightmares all night,” I said as I held the hot cup between my hands.
“As soon as you’re ready, let me know. I’ll take you over to the hospital.”
“Thanks, Dad.” I smiled.
“Any time, princess.” He smiled back as he got up from his chair.
As I finished my coffee, I had a conversation with my mom, and then I ran upstairs to get dressed. My dad dropped me off at the hospital and went into the office for a while. They had moved London up to a room on the third floor. As I stepped off the elevator, I saw her mom walking toward me.
“Hi, Mrs. Fitzgerald,” I said.
“Hi, Julia,” she said as she grabbed my hands. “Thank you for your help last night and for getting your parentsinvolved. London probably wouldn’t be with us right now if you hadn't.”
“I just wish I could have done something sooner,” I said as I looked down.
“You did what you could, and I’m grateful. I’m going to get something to eat and grab some coffee. I’ll give you and London some privacy.”
I smiled as I thanked her and walked away. Walking into London’s room, I looked at her, and she turned her head to face me.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey.” I waved from the doorway.
“Save it, Julia. I know what you’re going to say. Frankly, I’m in no mood right now.”
I walked over to her bed and sat down beside her. “You almost died. Do you even get that? Do you have any idea what it was like to find you and see you like that?”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered as she turned and looked the other way.
“What happened with Rob? Wait until I get a hold of him!”
“I wasn’t with Rob. I haven’t seen him in a few days.”
I looked at her and shook my head. “Wait a minute. Garrett said you were with some older dude. If it wasn’t Rob, then who was it?”
“I don’t know.” She started to cry. “He was at the party, and we started talking. He asked me if I liked to get high, and I told him, yeah, and he took me into the bedroom, and we−"
I put my hand up. “I know what you did. You got high, and you had sex with him.”
“I don’t remember having sex,” she said as she looked at me pathetically.
“You didn’t have any underwear on when I walked intothe room. The doctor examined you and said you recently had sex. Did he rape you?”
“I don’t know.” She continued to cry.
I leaned over and wrapped my arms around her, holding her tight.
“You need help, London. You have to stop the drugs. Look what it’s doing to you,” I said as the tears fell from my eyes.
“I know, and I’m going into rehab after they release me. My mom’s making the arrangements with a rehab facility in California.”
“California? No. Why can’t you go to rehab here in New York?”
“Because the rehab facility in California is one of the best, and it’s only for teenagers,” Mrs. Fitzgerald said as she entered the room. “I just got off the phone with them, and we’re all set. You’ll leave the day after tomorrow.”
London shook her head and began to cry again. I pulled out my phone and sent my dad a text message.
“Dad, please come to the hospital right away. I need to talk to you.”