Drake’s phone rang, and he looked at the number, his finger hovering over the Ignore button. It was the Red Onion.
I touched his arm. “Go ahead and take it.”
The last week of normalcy had felt like a reprieve as issues had begun to stack up against us. There was still a sense of dread lingering in the air, like we were waiting for something else to happen. Stepping away, he took the call, keeping his voice low.
Hayden asked, “How are you holding up?”
“Okay. I had no idea how far gone Teagan was. I mean, I sensed something was off, but it’s always been that way with her. I don’t know. My head was a mess being back here, too. I had only been there to sleep, really. And she hadn’t been home.”
“Hang in there. What you and Hollis did tonight was impressive. It’s because of you two she has a fighting chance.”
I gave a sad smile. An overdose wasn’t how I envisioned our first emergency. “Thanks. I just hope she wants to be saved. Once she’s stable, we can’t keep her here if she doesn’t want help. And we’re not an addiction-treatment facility. It’s not going to be an easy road for her.”
And Donnie was dead. That alone could be enough to send Teagan spiraling to the point of no return.
Drake returned from his phone call. “That was Crete. News of Teagan and Donnie is spreading. Everyone’s talking about it. The Twiner sisters sent a newsletter.”
I groaned. “Why can’t they just wait?”
They’d already sent out three newsletters this week about how marvelous the clinic was. They’d even posed in their gold-digger uniforms on the front porch. These ladies were exhausting at times.
“The focus of the newsletter was Raquel. Apparently, she called Elvira with her new anti-drug campaign since Skagway now has a growing drug issue.”
Anger flared within me. How dare she? How dare she turn this into something about her?
A person’s—a very sick person’s—life hung in the balance, and Raquel wanted to turn the situation into something it wasn’t. If Teagan chose to fight to get better, it would nearly be impossible for her to stay here. Raquel would do everything she could to make Teagan feel uncomfortable, which was the worst combination for a newly recovering addict. The negative often outweighed the positive in an addict’s mind.
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath. “I’ll deal with her later. I’m going to check in on Teagan and keep Hollis company.”
Drake started to follow, but I put my hand on his chest. “Spend time with your brother. I need time to cool off before I take a baseball bat to Raquel’s car. Stupid cow.”
* * *
About twenty to thirty minutes later, Teagan stirred. She rolled her head to the side, and I stood beside her bed, waiting for any further reaction. Hollis opened the door to the hallway where Drake and Hayden sat. “She’s awake.”
Drake and Hayden came in for support. At any moment, she might become violent or unmanageable.
Softly, I said, “Hey, there. You’re at the clinic. We found you in your apartment—you overdosed, Teagan.”
“I did? That can’t be right.” Her eyes were glazed. She cleared her throat, and I brought a wet sponge to her lips.
“Suck on this.” She gave it more of a lick, but at least she got some moisture. So far, she seemed calm. “Dr. Fritz is going to a check you for a few things. Do you care if I hold your hand?”
She gave another weak cough. “Will it hurt?”
Hollis already had on white surgical gloves. “Not at all. May I call you Teagan?”
“Sure.”
With gentle movements, he touched the inside of her wrist. “I haven’t had the pleasure of officially meeting you, but I’ve heard so many nice things.”
To that, she gave no response.
Hollis checked the basics, explaining everything he was doing as he was doing it. From the lag in her responses, it was possible the drugs had created an adverse effect on her, neurologically. My heart hurt.
With a nod from Hollis, I asked, “Teagan, when did you start using heroin?”
She took a deep breath, still a bit out of it. “I don’t know. While ago. He gave me all I wanted.”