Chapter 13
13
Ryan
I got Morgan to the hospital in record time and whipped Court’s SUV into the parking spot reserved for emergency department patients. Hurrying to the passenger door, I opened it and offered my sister my hand to help her.
“I’m fine,” she mumbled as she slid out and followed me to the emergency department entrance.
A couple of people stood in line in front of us as we waited to check in with the receptionist. I shifted my weight back and forth on my feet, trying to release the anxious energy coursing through me. Morgan was doing better than when we found her, but she was pale and lethargic, and I was worried things could change quickly.
“Will you calm down?” she whispered. “People are staring.”
“Do you really expect me to be calm right now?” I huffed, but I did it as quietly as possible.
She glared at me, and it seemed she wanted to say something, but then it was her turn to sign in. She kept her head down as she explained to the receptionist why she’d come in, and I could tell she was embarrassed by the situation.
As soon as she mentioned the OD and getting Narcan, the receptionist picked up the phone to call someone, and before we realized what was happening a nurse came around the corner and started leading Morgan back to a room.
When I didn’t move to follow her, Morgan turned toward me, her eyes filling with tears. “Aren’t you coming with me?”
“I didn’t want to overstep,” I explained.
She grabbed my hand. “I don’t want to be by myself back there.”
We were placed in a small room across from the nurse’s station, and the nurse introduced herself.
“My name is Theresa. How about you tell me what happened tonight?” she asked as she handed Morgan a gown to slip on.
I spun around to give Morgan some privacy as she changed, and she explained to the nurse what had happened. When she climbed onto the bed, the nurse worked quickly to hook up several monitors and asked a few more questions. I filled in the details that my sister didn’t know or had been unconscious for, like how Court suspected the Molly had been laced with fentanyl.
The nurse reviewed Morgan’s health history, all while bouncing around the room setting up equipment and things I had no idea what they were for.
“I’m glad you had someone nearby to administer Narcan. For now, we’re going to start an IV to keep you hydrated, and we’ll continue to watch your vitals to make sure you remain stable after the Narcan wears off.”
“Are you going to call the police?” Morgan asked as she wrung her hands.
“No.” The nurse shook her head. “Our concern is ensuring you’re safe and not suffering any more effects from what you ingested. We aren’t interested in seeing you get punished.”
Morgan let out a shaky breath. “Okay. Thank you.”
A few seconds later a doctor came in and explained they would be keeping Morgan for several hours for observation, and if she remained stable, they would be able to discharge her.
Once it was just the two of us in the small room, I asked her the question I’d been wondering since Court told me she was in trouble. “Why in the world did you think taking drugs was a good idea? Did Donnie force you to do it?”
She rolled her eyes. “No, Donnie didn’t force me. We thought it would be fun to ... well, you know.” She didn’t go into detail, but I knew exactly why people took Molly, and I didn’t need her to tell me more than what she’d already said. “Everything would have been fine if it hadn’t been laced with something.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Well, it’s never happened before,” she admitted.
I jerked my head back. “This wasn’t your first time taking Molly?”
“C’mon Ryan. We’ve gone to the same parties. Are you so naive as to think people aren’t doing drugs on a regular basis?”
“I’m not naive. I just thought you had better sense.”
“You sound super judgmental right now,” she snapped.
I scooted my chair closer to the bed and reached for her hand. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be an ass, but seeing you passed out like that freaked me out. You’re my baby sister, and I don’t want anything bad happening to you.”
“I know, and I really appreciate you being here for me tonight. But how did you end up at Donnie’s?”
“Your boyfriend asked his bouncer for help instead of calling 911 like he should have,” I huffed. “And I was with Court when he got the call. You’re lucky we were in the area because I hate to think what would have happened if we hadn’t gotten there so fast.”
“I’m sure Donnie was just freaked out, but I wonder why he thought Court could help.”
“Supposedly one of the strippers at the club had OD’d recently and Court took care of her as well.”
Morgan nodded. “See, then Donnie knew what he was doing.”
I shook my head. “You’re letting him off too easy.”
She shrugged and laid her head back against the pillow. “Accidents happen and I love him. It’s fine.”
It wasn’t fine but I wasn’t going to argue with her anymore.
It didn’t take long before her eyelids grew heavy, and she fell asleep. Since she seemed to be doing a lot better, I pulled out my phone to text Court:
Just checking in. Morgan is sleeping but seems okay. Are you still with Donnie?
I was still pissed at Donnie. Not only had he provided her with drugs, but he had taken off instead of getting her to the hospital. If that had been my boyfriend overdosing, nothing would have kept me away from him until I was sure he was out of the woods. But I was even more worried about why he insisted on Court going somewhere with him.
Unfortunately, he didn’t respond right away, so I leaned back and closed my eyes to get some rest.
Several hours later, the nurse, Theresa, came in with Morgan’s discharge paperwork, and after my sister changed back into her clothes, we were allowed to leave.
While I drove, Morgan typed away on her phone, and I assumed she was texting Donnie. Since he was on my shit list, I didn’t care enough to ask. As we waited at a stoplight, I realized I hadn’t checked my phone since texting Court. I swiped the screen to open my messages and saw a message from him that he had sent two hours prior:
Glad Morgan is better. Donnie is driving me back to my place. Let me know when you guys get out of there
It was likely Court was asleep by now, but I replied anyway:
I’m heading to Morgan’s apartment now. I need to get your car back to you. Can we meet after you wake up?
I tossed my phone onto the console next to me and continued to drive, but another notification came through. “Can you check that for me?” I asked Morgan.
I gave her the passcode and she began to read his message. “I’m not worried about my car, but I’d like to check on you and Morgan in person. I can meet you at her place.”
Before I could tell her I was going to ignore his text for now, she began typing.
“What the hell are you saying to him?”
She shrugged. “Just giving him my address.”
“I was going to meet him later. There’s no reason for him to come over now. You need your rest, and I’m exhausted.”
“Well, Donnie’s on his way, and he’ll be staying with me so Court can drive you home.”
My hands tightened around the steering wheel. “So, the guy who couldn’t even be bothered to go to the hospital with you suddenly wants to come over now that everything’s okay?”
“It’s not like that.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re acting like he just left me to die. You said he called Court because he knew Court could help me. Things could have turned out a lot worse if it wasn’t for Donnie.”
“Whatever,” I grumbled. I doubted there was anything I could say to get her to realize her boyfriend had royally fucked up tonight. Would she have taken drugs if it weren’t for him?
When we arrived at Morgan’s apartment, I helped her to her door. Much to my surprise, Donnie and Court were already there waiting for us.
“Hey, baby.” Donnie pulled her in for a hug and kissed the top of her head. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine but tired.” She flashed him a grin. “I just want to take a shower and crawl into bed.”
“I can help you with that,” he offered as she unlocked her door, and we all followed her inside.
Morgan turned to Court. “Thank you for coming to my rescue tonight. I’m glad you knew what to do.”
He gave her a quick side hug. “Of course.”
She came over to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. “And thank you for staying with me. I love you.”
“I love you too. I’ll call to check on you later.”
Donnie offered his hand for me to shake, and I reluctantly took it, knowing it would upset Morgan if I didn’t. “Thanks, man. I owe you.”
“Just watch out for her and make sure we don’t ever have a repeat of tonight.”
He gave me a curt nod, and then I walked out with Court hot on my heels.
“You, okay?” he asked as we waited for the elevator.
“Yeah.” I yawned. “It’s just been a crazy night.” The doors opened, and we stepped inside before I turned to him. “What did you and Donnie go do? I can’t imagine what was possibly so important that he bailed on Morgan.”
He swiped a hand over his face. “He wanted to confront the dealer he bought the Molly from and wanted some backup. He knew Morgan was safe with you and you’d get her to the hospital.”
“What?” I reared back. “You went after a drug dealer? What were you thinking?”
He took a step closer. “Calm down. Nothing happened. We didn’t even find the guy.”
Well, that made me feel a little better. “Still, that was super dangerous,” I mumbled, looking at my feet.
“I know, but Donnie was upset about what happened, and to be honest, I can’t blame him. If anything happened to someone I cared about, I’d likely react the same way.”
The elevator doors opened, allowing me to avoid responding to his last statement. We walked across the lobby and outside to where I’d parked along the street, and I handed him his key. “Thanks for letting me borrow your car.”
“Aren’t I taking you home? That’s what Morgan suggested when she texted me from your phone.”
Even after a night in the hospital, she couldn’t help but intervene. “My apartment is out of your way. I can order a car.”
“Get in the damn car, Ryan.” He chuckled.
“You’re awfully bossy.” He opened the door for me, and I slid inside.
“You haven’t seen anything yet.” He smirked before shutting the door and walking around the vehicle to get in on the driver’s side.
After Court pulled onto the road, he reached over and laced his fingers with mine for the short drive to my building.
I turned to him when he signaled to turn into the parking garage. “You can just stop in front if you want.”
He tilted his head. “You don’t want me to come up?”
“No. I mean yes.” I took a breath. “You’re welcome to come up if you want to, but I was planning on passing out in bed. It’s been an exhausting night.”
He smiled. “That’s fine, but we didn’t get to end our date properly, and I’d like a chance to walk you to your door and kiss you goodnight.”
Damn, that was smooth. Maybe I could learn a few things from Courtland West.