Page 56 of Before We’re More Than Friends (When We Faced the Music #1)

Raina

B eing at the dog park wasn’t the same without Penrose and Houston, but the cold evening air welcomed us back as we stepped out of the car.

I knew that when I got home, I’d ask Arielle about what happened with Hayden and let her cry on my shoulder if she needed to, but I didn’t want to think about the downfall of our band. Not now.

Not when I’d finally found a distraction from the rest of the chaos in my life.

Dallas and I sat on our bench for a few minutes, but we didn’t talk much. I listened to his shallow breathing as he studied the stars.

“Remember that black cat from the shelter before she got adopted?” he asked as he looked at the half-moon.

“Moonlight? I loved her.” I smiled, remembering feeling bittersweet when I found out a young couple had adopted her and Sunshine. They deserved a loving home, but I enjoyed playing with them so much. Like they were my own cats.

“I know. She and her sister were awesome.” Dallas wrapped his arm around me. “Since then, the moon reminds me of you. ”

“Because it’s beautiful?” I asked as I rested my head on his chest, hearing his steady heartbeat.

“And because it’s the biggest source of natural light in the dark,” he whispered in my ear. “And that’s who you are to me.”

“Just like you outshine everything in the daylight, my sunshine,” I whispered back before pressing my lips against his.

The soft touch never failed to send a shiver through my spine, the butterflies in my stomach fluttering away.

Even in a moment like this, I could kiss him for hours.

I craved the way he made me forget about all our problems, the way he took my breath?—

My ringtone went off, and we both jumped out of the kiss. “Shoot, I thought it was on silent,” I said before picking up the phone to see Arielle’s face on my screen. I answered the call and held my phone to my ear. “Hello?”

“Raina—” A noise I couldn’t detect came from the other end of the line. “Hold on.”

“Is everything okay?” I asked, but from the muffled noises that followed after, I figured she was doing something else.

“What’s going on?” Dallas asked me, worry in his eyes. “Why is Arielle calling?”

“I-I have no idea.” My blood pounded in my ears as the muffling noises became louder through the line.

There was a blaring noise that I couldn’t decipher, but it was consistent.

The other noises were voices, one sounding like a man.

Had Arielle gone to a party and gotten in trouble? “Arielle?” I said after a few moments.

“S-Sorry,” she said.

“Who were you talking to? Are you at a party?”

Her words came out in a rush. “I-I was talking to the paramedics.”

My heart dropped. “What? Paramedics?”

“Paramedics?” Dallas echoed, his eyes widening.

I put the phone on the speaker. “Arielle, tell me what’s going on.”

“It’s—” Arielle let out a panicked breath. “Mom overdosed.”

“ What ?” My insides plummeted to the ground as I shot up from the bench.

Dallas gasped beside me, standing up as well.

“I-I think she did,” Arielle said. “I don’t know. When I got home, she wasn’t inside. I went to the gazebo to see if she had been drinking again, and she . . . she was throwing up everywhere. But it was much worse than when she’s hungover. I think she either overdosed or got poisoned.”

“W-What is happening to her now?” I asked, worried I’d throw up myself.

“She blacked out and came back, but she’s still sick. I-I . . .” She sniffled. “She’s pale and shaking and isn’t breathing right . . . They’re wheeling her in now.”

Dallas cursed. “What hospital is she going to? I can drive Raina there.”

“The one on Spring Drive.”

“Okay, we’re on our way.” Dallas took my free hand before we made a beeline for the car. We weren’t fast runners, but he sprinted so fast that I had a hard time keeping up.

I tripped over a rock and tumbled into the grass, the itchiness irritating my skin. Please don’t tell me I’m hurt, I pleaded to no one in particular. Please, I can’t do this. I should’ve checked on Mom. I should’ve made sure she was okay. I should’ve stayed home tonight. I should’ve ? —

Dallas cursed again and helped me up. “You’re okay. Physically.” He brushed me off before taking my hand again and running to his car with me. It felt like we were in a movie, running in slow motion to save someone with terror on our faces.

As soon as we got in the car and buckled our seat belts, Dallas turned on the GPS app and searched for April Springs Hospital on Spring Drive before rushing out of the parking space.

And, bloody heck, Dallas could drive fast. He went almost seventy miles per hour, passing all the cars on the road.

“Don’t get a speeding ticket,” I told him, trying to control my breathing as nausea poured through me.

“I’m being careful,” he said, looking in his mirrors. “I’m taking the fastest route.”

“Where are you guys now?” Arielle asked, still on the line with me. “I’ll be there in around five minutes. I’m on Robin Road.”

“We have six minutes left on the GPS,” I said. “We’ll be there around the same time. Where do we check in?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never been there before.” Her words made the pain in my chest expand. “But I guess we can meet out front.”

“Okay.” I ran a hand through my hair, probably making it a mess.

“Freaking cops,” Dallas muttered to himself as he slowed down, blue-and-red lights flashing in front of us.

“You don’t need to be speeding,” I told him, tears stinging at the back of my eyes. “We don’t want to get hurt.”

He reached for my hand as he approached a red light, where two cop cars were hanging out. “I’d never let you get hurt when I’m behind the wheel.”

My insides melted at his words, a small wave of peace washing over me. I’d be okay as long as I had him.

But whether or not Mom would be okay was a completely different story.

True to the GPS, we arrived at the hospital a few minutes later. Arielle was out in the front on her phone, pacing around with her other hand in her hair. When she saw me, she hung up and ran over to us.

“Raina!” She wrapped me into a hug, rubbing my back as we finally broke out into sobs. The dam of emotions inside me burst.

When we broke apart, Arielle hugged Dallas. “Thank you so much for driving her,” she said, appreciation shining in her voice.

“Of course.” He rubbed her back, her long hair catching on his fingers. “I’m so sorry about your mom. I really hope she’ll be okay.”

“Me too.” She sniffled before letting out another sob. “She’s all we have.”

I joined their hug, and the three of us sobbed together, our chests heaving as we held on to each other. I hadn’t felt this level of pain since Dad had gotten arrested.

Arielle was right—Mom was all we had left of our family.

“W-We need to go inside,” Arielle said as she broke out of the hug. “Check in.”

We nodded before following her into the hospital, where we checked in and waited where they told us to.

Nothing about the hospital was familiar.

My friends had been patients here—Caleb when he’d gotten his arm amputated, and Gracelynn when she’d broken her leg last winter, but I hadn’t visited either of them.

I never thought I’d be in this waiting room of impending doom for my mom.

Dallas and Arielle sat on either side of me, holding my hands.

I wanted to pass the time and do anything but watch the stupid clock, but I couldn’t.

My thoughts were racing with what I could’ve done to prevent this, even though I knew it wasn’t my fault.

Arielle and I hadn’t failed our mom like my mind tried to convince me .

But we still failed.

Our efforts meant nothing now.

After an hour and a half of agony, a nurse came out with her clipboard. “Vermont?”

“That’s us,” Arielle said, getting up from her chair.

“You may visit your mother, girls,” the nurse said. “She’s doing better now but is still a little sick. We have to give her some treatments, so make the most of your time.”

“Thank you.” Arielle nodded at me before I got up.

I took a moment to take in her appearance, and it was like I was staring back at myself.

Cold blue eyes, tan cheeks stained with mascara, bronze waves with loose strands.

I could see our pain all over her, and it shattered my heart to know that hers was shattering too.

I gave Dallas a painful smile before following Arielle and the nurse into the room where Mom was stretched out on a bed, hooked up to several machines. When she saw us, a smile broke out on her pale face, her heart rate spiking. “Girls,” she squeaked.

“Mom,” I said, my chest aching from how sick she looked. Her dark eyes looked dazed, and her breathing was uneven. I couldn’t have imagined what Arielle had seen earlier.

“Why would you do this?” Arielle asked, her eyes glassy again. “I thought you stopped.”

“I did,” Mom said. “I just gave myself a few drinks today.”

“A few would not do this !”

“It’s best not to yell,” the nurse said, shaking her head of dark hair. “She had an alcohol overdose. She just stopped vomiting twenty minutes ago.” She stepped out of the room. “I’ll be here if you need me.”

“Thank you,” I said before facing Mom again. “Mom.” I reached over to hold her hand. “What happened?”

“I was just missing your dad, princess,” Mom said softly. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.” She gagged, and I was scared that she was going to throw up on me. I jumped back. “I couldn’t take it. I wanted the pain to go away.”

“Mom.” Tears streamed down Arielle’s cheeks again as she held Mom’s hand. “You can’t do this. You were getting better.”

“I wasn’t.” Mom frowned. “I was just getting better at fighting. But I didn’t stay sober that long—I don’t even know when I broke it. I really tried this time.” She sighed. “I promise that I did. But I couldn’t be strong.”

“Gosh, Mom,” Arielle wailed. “We tried everything to help you. What else can we do? You’re not going to last like this. You’re . . .” She let out a deep sob, one from her chest. “I can’t do this. It’s like repeating Dad but with alcohol instead of money. You both didn’t stop.”

“I did stop,” Mom said, reaching for Arielle’s hand. “And unlike your dad, I didn’t do this to myself on purpose.”

“I know you didn’t.” Arielle pulled her hand away. “But everything is still broken.”

“Arielle . . .” Mom burped before her cheeks turned green, and I looked away as she grabbed her bin and threw up. She’d lasted for a good twenty minutes.

The nurse frowned when Arielle brought her back into the room. “She’s getting worse again,” the nurse said. “We’re going to take care of her. You can stay for a few more minutes . . .”

“We’re done,” Arielle said, her voice clipped.

I didn’t want to leave because of how long we’d waited, but I knew I couldn’t listen to Mom retch her guts. Not when I felt like doing the same myself.

We both said goodbye to Mom before we went back into the waiting room, where Dallas was texting on his phone. He looked up at us, worry in his dark eyes. “That quick?”

“She’s still sick,” I muttered .

“It’s too much to handle right now,” Arielle said, her voice shaking. “Sorry that we wasted your time waiting here.”

“It’s never a waste of time.” Dallas got up from his seat. “You two going home together?”

“I’ll drive Raina home,” Arielle said. “Thank you for bringing her here again.”

“Of course.” Dallas pulled me into a tight hug. “Let me know if you need anything. I’ll be there in a heartbeat.”

“Thank you.” I sniffled before the tears started flowing again. He wiped the tears from my cheeks and gave me a quick kiss on the forehead. “I love you,” I told him, my chest heavy from the emotions that swarmed inside me.

“I love you, too.” He brushed my hair out of my eyes. “And I really hope this situation ends well. It kills me to see this happen. To see you this devastated.” He let out a sharp breath, wiping his own eyes. “Sorry, I’m just . . .”

“I know.” I squeezed myself against him. “I just hope it doesn’t . . .” I bit my lip, not wanting to say the words out loud. I couldn’t bring that destructive thought into the world. “I just hope it isn’t over. For any of us.”