Page 29 of Addicted to You

“Like shit,” I grumbled.

“Not surprised after what you’ve been through tonight, but your vitals look good.”

When I didn’t reply to that, she continued. “I’m going to let Dr. Martin know you’re awake. She wanted to speak with you once you woke up. In the meantime, your friends have been asking for an update on your condition. If you give us permission, I can let one of them back.”

It had to be the guys. “That’s fine.”

A few minutes later, Rina stepped around the curtain, her face lined with worry. “Hey.” She gave me a kind smile.

She wasn’t who I expected to come in, but I was still happy to see her. “Hey. Are the guys here too?”

She nodded. “They’re out in the waiting room. How are you?”

“My head is killing me but I guess I’m okay. To be honest, I’m still not sure what happened.”

“You overdosed and Malachi found you,” Rina confirmed.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, knowing I had a lot of people I needed to apologize to.

“You should be,” she said, though her tone wasn’t harsh. “You scared the shit out of everyone.”

I looked away, unable to meet her eyes. What if I hadn’t woken up? What if the media found out what happened and were posting articles already? Would the guys want to kick me out of the band?

A few minutes later, Dr. Martin came in. “Mr. Hale, how are you feeling?”

“Like I was hit by a truck,” I answered the question for the third time.

“That’s to be expected.” Dr. Martin’s gaze flicked to Rina and then back to me. “There are a few things I want to discuss with you. Is it okay to do so with her present?”

I nodded. “That’s fine.”

“Okay. Based on the information the EMTs gathered at the scene, you had used cocaine before losing consciousness. Is that correct?”

I nodded again.

“Well, what you experienced isn’t consistent with the symptoms of a cocaine overdose, and since you responded to Narcan, I suspected the drugs had been laced with fentanyl. Your blood test confirmed that to be true.”

Fentanyl? What the fuck?

“So, what happens now?” I asked.

“We’re going to keep you here a couple more hours for observation, then we’ll discharge you.”

“Already?” Rina balked. “Isn’t that a bit soon?”

“It’s standard procedure. However, we’ll also provide you with some resources should you want to seek additional help. For now, get some more rest. One of the nurses will let you know when it’s time to head home.”

Once she was gone, Rina stood. “I’m going to update the guys.”

“Okay.” My eyelids were starting to feel heavy again.

“Maybe you should consider letting one of them stay with you at home. I’m not sure it’s a good idea for you to be alone after you leave the hospital.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” I agreed before letting sleep take over once again.

Sometime later, the nurse returned to go over my discharge instructions. Just as she was finishing up, Elliott stepped into the room.

“You ready to get out of here?” He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.