"Liz! Where are you?" I yelled as I pushed open the bathroom door and found her lying on the floor. She was bleeding from a cut on her forehead and was mumbling incoherently.
"Alex, where are you?" Cam called as I grabbed a towel and blotted the blood on Liz's head.
"In here! Call an ambulance!" I shouted as I cradled Liz in my lap and spoke softly to her. "C'mon Liz, stay with me. You're going to be okay. I promise."
"It hurts, Alex," she cried as I held the towel to her head.
"I know, sweetie," I said as I stroked her hair and gently rocked her.
"They'll be here shortly," Cam said as he appeared in the doorway. "Is she high?"
"Shhh," I said, shaking my head. "I don't know."
The paramedics arrived a few minutes later to assess the situation. Cam talked with them as they scooped Liz up and prepared to take her to General. I hugged her before they wheeled her to the elevator and told her I'd be at the hospital when she woke up.
"Not good," Liz mumbled as she shook her head. "I'm not good."
"You're fine, Liz," I said as tears welled up. I squeezed her hand and then the paramedics motioned that they had to go. After they left, I pulled together a bag of clothes and things for Liz in case they decided to admit her to the hospital, and as I did it, I searched her drawers looking for evidence of drugs.
"Do you think she's using drugs?" Cam asked as we drove to the hospital.
"It seems like it, doesn't it?" I said as a nagging doubt entered the picture. "But there wasn't any drug paraphernalia at the apartment, and I've never seen her do more than get drunk."
"Maybe she's drinking?" he suggested as we pulled into a parking spot.
"You don't have to go with me," I said as I opened the door.
"Nonsense, of course I'll go with you." He smiled. "And when everything checks out, we'll go back to my place and eat the dinner I fixed. I'm sure we'll be hungry by then."
The receptionist at the front desk recognized me and waved me through. Liz was in an exam room lying motionless on the bed when I sat down and took her hand.
"They took blood and they're running tests," Leslie said as she came through the curtain to start an IV. "Did she take anything that you know of?"
"No, I've never seen her take drugs or anything," I said, shaking my head. "She's been acting strange for a while, though. I wondered if she was using something, but she denied it, so I let it go."
"We'll figure it out," Leslie said with a reassuring smile. "She'll be okay. Can you call her parents?"
"I can try, but they're missionaries who live in Chile," I said. "I'm her emergency contact here in the states."
Leslie nodded before heading back to the nurses’ station to make notes on Liz's chart. I looked up at Cam, who put his hand on my shoulder and kept it there.
"Liz, can you hear me?" I said, leaning forward as I took her hand. "Liz? If you can hear me, squeeze my hand."
"Alex," she said as she weakly squeezed my fingers. "Help me."
"I'm here, Liz," I said, smoothing her hair as I held her hand. "We'll figure this out, and you'll be okay."
Liz smiled as she drifted back to sleep.
#
Leslie came back into the exam area a little while later and said they were moving Liz up to a bed in the psychiatric unit.
"She's not crazy!" I protested. "She's sick!"
"Look, I know it seems tough, but she's presenting with all the signs of someone with a drug addiction," Leslie said, patting my arm. "We'll get the results from her blood work and move her up there until she comes around. Then we'll get her started in the recovery program."
"It's not right," I said, shaking my head. "She's not doing drugs!"