“No, I just got here,” I replied, numb. She’d overdosed. Holy shit. I ran to the bathroom and found two empty prescription bottles in the sink. Too many pain killers. “FUCK!” I roared. A paramedic was beside me taking the bottles from me.
“We need to get her stomach pumped. Are you family?” he asked.
“Brother,” I managed to get out.
“You’ll do. Let’s get her out of here. You can ride in the ambulance,” he replied.
I watched in a daze of disbelief as they put Nan’s unresponsive body on a stretcher and began carrying her out of the room. I followed. My phone rang in the distance but I left it. Right now I had to save my sister.
Six hours later I sat beside Nan’s hospital bed. She hadn’t woken up yet but the doctors said they thought she’d have a full recovery. Apparently, I’d found her in time. She’d just passed out from the pills when I’d arrived.
I didn’t have my phone and I needed to call Blaire. She’d be worried about me by now. I hadn’t been ready to talk to her just yet. This wasn’t Blaire’s fault but I had been too sensitive to talk to anyone. I had needed them to tell me Nan would live before I could think about anyone or anything else. Now, I felt guilty for not calling Blaire.
Leaving my phone at Nan’s hotel hadn’t been smart. I had just been in a state of shock and nothing made sense at the time. I was going to get Nan some help and then I was getting Blaire out of LA and back to Rosemary. I needed to call my mother. She should be dealing with this. Not me.
Kiro wasn’t going to do anything about it. Nan wanted something she would never have. It was time she let it go. A nurse opened the door and walked in. I looked up at her and decided it was time I gave up trying to be everything to Nan because I sucked at it.
“I need to speak with the doctor. When she is ready I want her admitted into a facility that will help her get a grip on things. She needs help I can’t give her,” I said aloud for the first time in my life. I was admitting I’d failed my little sister. Instead of feeling guilty, I felt a huge burden lift from my shoulders.
“Doctor Jones will be in shortly. He’ll want to admit her as well. She does need help; I’m glad you’re in agreement. That always makes these things easier.”
Nothing about this would be easy but it was what was best for everyone.
BLAIRE
Rush still wasn’t back. He hadn’t answered my calls or texts. I’d been at the doctor for over four hours and he hadn’t once checked in with me. My baby was okay but the doctor said that I needed to rest, drink more fluids, and eliminate stress. The next step would be bed rest if I didn’t comply with this. Staying here and dealing with Nan wasn’t going to help me. I had to leave.
I glanced at my phone to make sure I hadn’t missed a call since the last time I’d checked it three minutes ago. I was trying not to worry about Rush. I needed to decrease my stress. My baby needed me to.
Harlow had been so quiet in the car. I knew she didn’t know what to say. Rush had never shown up or called. She’d tried to call him too. Her silence had been what I needed. I didn’t want to talk about it.
Going back to Rosemary didn’t sound appealing. Right now I wanted distance from Rush too. Rosemary would just make me miss him and think about him. A knock on my door broke into my thoughts and I opened it. Dean was standing on the other side looking tired.
“Rush called Kiro and he let him know that he’s called Georgianna to come here. We should be expecting her soon. Not sure how long it will take her to get here or where she was to begin with. I just thought you might want a heads up that the wicked queen was on her way here.”
Rush had called Kiro was all that I heard. The rest didn’t matter. “When did Rush call him?” I asked.
“An hour or so ago I guess. He just told me.”
Rush was fine. He had his phone. He was just choosing not to respond to me. Once again I was faced with the brutal truth that Nan was more important. I nodded and closed the door.
I scrolled through my list of contacts until I found my dad’s number. He answered on the second ring.
“Blaire?” His surprised voice only reminded me of how little I called him. I could hear the wind from his boat.
“Daddy. I need to get away. Can I come visit?” I asked refusing to cry. I had made a call like this once before and although he had let me down in the end I’d thought I had found real happiness. I wasn’t so sure anymore.
“Of course. What’s wrong?”
“I just can’t take it anymore. I need somewhere to think.”
“You come to the Key West airport and I’ll be there waiting on you. Just let me know when your plane will land.”
“Okay, I’ll call you with the info as soon as I know. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. I’m your Dad. It’s what I’m here for.”
I squeezed my eyes tightly closed and hung up the phone. I was really going to leave Rush. My heart was breaking at the thought. I went to the Delta app on my phone and found the first flight out of LAX headed to Atlanta. I’d have a layover there before I got on a plane for Key West. After booking my flight, I packed my clothes quickly and called for a cab.
I knew that the grownup thing to do would be to leave Rush a note but I was too mad at him right now. I’d text him later. Maybe after he decided that returning my phone call was important.
No one saw me as I left the house and climbed into the cab. I was thankful. I didn’t want to explain myself. I shouldn’t have to.
RUSH
Georgianna was headed to LA. She was going with Nan to admit her to the facility that the doctor suggested for her. Our mother would probably make sure it was the trendiest once she got here. I had already made sure it was the best medically. Georgianna would be more concerned with appearance than Nan’s mental well-being. Something was off with Nan and she needed someone to help her. I had a family to take care of. I couldn’t keep being responsible for my sister.
Once Nan had woken up and talked to me some I had told her that Mother was on her way. When she’d fallen back to sleep I had left and gone to get my phone. Blaire had called me several times along with Harlow. I had worried her and I had a lot of making up to do. I clicked on the first text from Blaire.
Harlow brought me to her doctor. I was having cramps. They’ve given me an ultrasound and I’m in a room being monitored.
My stomach dropped. The baby. Oh God no. I started running for the elevators as I pulled up her next text.
Where are you?
NO! I needed to know if she was okay.
“Are you okay?
Fuck! Was she okay? That was it. No more texts from her. I clicked on the first one from Harlow.
Blaire is cramping and bleeding. I brought her to my doctor and they are keeping her here a few hours to observe her and make sure she is okay. Call me, I’ll tell you where we are.
That was eight hours ago. FUCK! It was also the only text from Harlow. It was why she’d been trying to call me. NO MORE! NO FUCKING MORE! I was taking Blaire home tonight.