Tease (Tease 1)

I bundled Beth into the car, panicking. Should I take her to the hospital? Or just home?

“Beth? Can you tell me what you’ve taken?” I asked her gently.

She roused, and looked at me. “Just some coke. No big deal,” she muttered, falling back to sleep.

Shit.

Starting the car, I took off toward the hospital. I dialed Mia on the way.

“Where are you?” she asked, annoyed.

“Don’t be angry, but think Beth might have overdosed. I’m taking her to the hospital.” I braced myself for the anger I was expecting her to unleash on me.

“Shit. Okay. Call me later. Love you,” she said, her voice worried.

“Okay, love you.” I hung up the phone and pulled into the emergency parking lot. I parked in the first available spot, jumping out and racing around to the passenger side. I lifted Beth out. She didn’t stir.

My heart raced as I carried her into the ER.

“Can I get some help!” I yelled, approaching the nurse behind the desk. She called out to an orderly to get a trolley.

“Bring her back here. What’s wrong with her?”

“She told me she took some cocaine,” I said, my voice shaking. The orderly wheeled the bed over. I lay her down, her body limp. Doctors raced over as the nurse led me away. I glanced back, desperate to make sure she was okay.

“Come with me. The more you can help me, the better your friend will be.” I let her sit me down in a cubical.

“Now, what’s your friend’s name?” she asked kindly.

“Bethany Masters,” I replied.

Her eyebrows shot up.

“Yes, that Bethany Masters.”

“Right,” she said, jotting it down. “Do you know how much she took? Were you there when she overdosed?”

I shook my head. “No. She came over to see me and I could tell something wasn’t right…” My voice trailed off.

The nurse stood up. “I’ll pass on this information to the doctors, and find out how she is, okay?”

I nodded, my body numb.

I had noticed her behavior had changed; why the hell hadn’t I done or said something earlier? I knew Beth. She didn’t do drugs. She never touched the stuff.

I sat there for what felt like hours before the nurse reappeared.

“Your friend is okay. They need to keep her in overnight, just for observation. She’s asking for you.” She nodded for me to follow her. Beth was in a bed in the corner, a curtain drawn around her.

“She’ll be a bit out of it. Don’t stay too long, she needs her rest.”

I nodded. The nurse left us alone. I sat down in the chair beside the bed and reached for Beth’s hand. It was cold. I rubbed it in between my hands, trying to warm it up. Her eyes fluttered open. She looked away, embarrassed.

“I’m sorry, Coop,” she muttered.

“What the hell, Beth? Since when do you do drugs?” I spoke with much more frustration than I’d intended.

She shrugged weakly. “It was stupid. I’m sorry.”