Chapter 12
12
CASH
Britt’s phone dinged with a notification and I grabbed it for her from the side table, but the headline from Star Nation had me reading the screen:
Surrender’s drummer, Silas Hale, rushed to the ER after an apparent overdose
“Oh, shit,” I breathed, causing Britt to look over at me.
“What?” she asked. It was her Friday and since I didn’t have a client, we were spending some much-needed time together. The argument from a few nights before had been put on the back burner.
“Your brother.” I handed her the phone and her eyes widened.
“Oh, my god.” She scrambled off the couch. “No, no, no,” she muttered. “I need to call Elliott. He’ll tell me how bad it is.”
Britt put the call on speaker. It took a few beats before Elliott picked up. “Britt.”
“Oh my god, Elliott, what happened?” she rushed out. “Is he okay?”
“He’s stable,” Elliott responded. “He did some coke that was laced with fentanyl after our show tonight and Mal found him passed out on the bathroom floor afterward.”
“Coke? He was doing coke?”
“Yeah,” Elliott whispered.
Britt closed her eyes briefly. “I need to be there.”
“The guys and I have him,” Elliott assured her. “I’m taking him home as soon as he’s discharged, and I’ll stay with him.”
“I can’t just sit here and do nothing. He needs me.”
I put a hand on her arm. “He just said your brother is stable. Right now, the best thing you can do is let them handle it. He doesn’t need a crowd around him because he’s probably already scared enough.”
Her eyes flashed with frustration. “I can’t just act like everything’s fine, Cash.”
“I’m not saying that. As you know, he’s gonna be feeling like shit—physically, emotionally, all of it. If you rush out there, he’s gonna feel cornered. You need to give him space.”
Her shoulders sagged.
Elliott sighed on the other end. “We’ll keep you updated, I promise.”
Britt pressed her fingers to her temple. “Okay.”
When she hung up, she sat and stared at nothing on the floor below her. I sat next to her and rested a hand on her back.
“He’s still here,” I reminded her. “That’s what matters.”
“I didn’t even know he did drugs.”
I hesitated, because I thought about lying. Maybe I should’ve. But the image of Silas in their parents’ kitchen flashed through my mind.
I exhaled sharply. “I knew.”
Her head snapped up, eyes wide. “What?”
“Before our flight back to Texas after the holidays. I saw him throw away a baggie,” I admitted. “He tried to brush it off, said it wasn’t what it looked like, but I knew better. I gave him my card and told him he could call me if he needed help. He swore he had it under control. ”
Britt balked slightly. “And you didn’t tell me?”
“I promised him I wouldn’t.”
“But he’s my brother.”
“I understand, but there wasn’t anything you could do about it.”
“I could have gotten him help.”
I shook my head. “He would have lied to you just like he had lied to me. He didn’t think he had a problem.”
“I guess.” She took a deep breath. “I need to call my parents.”
Britt called her mom, putting it on speaker again.
Her mom answered the call in a hushed tone. “Britt. Honey. Is everything okay?”
“No … Um … Since you were sleeping, I guess you didn’t hear the news.”
“What news?”
“Silas OD’d after his show tonight. He’s in the hospital.” Her voice cracked, and she had to take a steadying breath.
“Oh my god, what?” Melissa shrieked.
“He’s stable now. Elliott and the guys are with him.”
“We need to go to LA.”
“There’s nothing y’all can do,” I stated. “He needs to detox.”
“But he’s my baby,” Melissa cried.
“I understand, but he’s also on the other side of the country.”
“Then we catch the next flight out.” Britt stood.
I blinked. “Okay …”
She had just told Elliott she was going to give Silas space and let them deal with her brother.
“Mom, you and Dad pack a bag. I’ll book our flights.”
They hung up, and I followed my girlfriend to our bedroom. She got both of our suitcases out of the closet.
“Here. Start packing while I find a flight.”
“I’m going too?” I asked, taking the luggage from her.
“Of course you are. Out of all of us, you’re probably the one who can help him the most.”
What he needed was rehab .
“I thought you were going to give him space? I told you he needs time to recover.”
“He needs his family,” she stated. “He needs you to help him too.”
“The only thing I can do is suggest rehab.”
“Then do that.”
I watched as she completed the transaction to buy plane tickets on her phone and then, not wanting to argue anymore, I started packing for California.
The early morning flight to LA was quiet. I tried to catch a few hours of sleep, but the concern on Britt’s face made it impossible because I kept checking on her. I didn’t blame her, but until she saw her brother was fine with her own eyes, I didn’t think she could sleep.
When the plane landed, we grabbed our bags from the overhead compartment and then the four of us made our way to a rideshare. The drive to Silas’s apartment felt too long, though it was only about thirty minutes. During the ride, I’d taken the time to look up a few rehab places in the area so I could go over them with him if he agreed to go.
Once we arrived, Britt and her mom quickly got out of the car and headed to the building. Kevin and I followed them inside with the bags, and without a word, Britt knocked on the door, and we waited in the silent hallway.
Elliott opened the door, his eyes immediately widening when he saw us. He stepped back, clearly surprised. “I thought you weren’t coming?”
Britt didn’t waste time with an answer, stepping past him into the apartment. “We changed our minds.”
Elliott stepped aside, letting the rest of us in. “He’s still sleeping.”
“How’s he doing?” Melissa asked.
“I think as good as can be,” Elliott responded.
“I’m going to go check him out,” Britt stated. She and her mom started down the hall that I assumed led to his bedroom.
“Let him rest,” I argued.
Neither woman acknowledged what I had said as they disappeared into a room.
“Sorry to just barge in,” Kevin finally spoke.
“It’s not me you need to apologize to,” Elliott stated.
“I’m Cash, by the way. Britt’s boyfriend.” I stuck out my hand and Elliott took it. Even though we went to the Toronto concert and briefly attended the after party, I hadn’t met the guys because Britt and I quickly left to have alone time.
“Nice to meet you.”
I stood there for a moment, feeling the tension in the room. Silas needed help, and not just from his family or friends. He needed serious help, the kind only professionals could provide.
The sound of footsteps broke the silence, as Britt and her mom returned from Silas’s room.
“Is he awake?” I asked.
Britt shook her head. “He’s still out. They gave him lorazepam to help him sleep.”
I nodded, glancing at Elliott, who seemed just as drained as everyone else. I wasn’t sure if it was from dealing with Silas’s downward spiral, or maybe because he’d had a concert the night before. Either way, I knew what needed to be said, but I also knew it wasn’t going to be easy.
“Elliott, I need to talk to him when he wakes up.” I sat next to him on the couch. “He can’t keep doing this. He needs rehab—some kind of structured support system—to help him through.”
The look in his eyes said he knew it was coming. He leaned against the back of the couch and exhaled slowly. “You’re right. I don’t know how to get him to go, though. And we’re not done with the tour. We still have about six weeks left.”
“Can you cancel the tour?” Kevin asked. “Or replace him?”
Elliott’s eyes widened. “We can’t replace Silas. I’d rather cancel the whole damn thing and get him the help he needs.”
“Then do that,” Britt urged.
“It’s not up to just me.”
“The boys will understand,” Melissa stated .
“It’s not just them either, Mrs. Hale. We have a manager, our label, and all the crew involved with the tour. It’s a lot of people. And that’s only if he agrees to go. He doesn’t think he has a problem.”
“I can try to encourage him to go to rehab,” I suggested. “But, yeah, it’s on him. He has to make the decision.”
Elliott sighed. “I’ve been thinking about that too. Last night was enough to scare me, and it had to scare him as well. I know we’ve all been turning a blind eye, but if he keeps going like this …”
Britt crossed her arms, her expression hardening. “How long have you known?”
“A while,” he admitted.
She let out a bitter laugh, shaking her head. “Unbelievable. You’ve been watching him fall apart and you just let it happen?”
“I didn’t let anything happen,” Elliott argued. “I tried to keep an eye on him, but?—”
“That’s not enough!” she snapped. “You should’ve done something! You should’ve told us!”
“Elliott,” Melissa said quietly, and he flinched at the disappointment in her tone.
“I know.” He raked a hand through his hair. “I know I screwed up. I thought I could manage it. I thought—” He exhaled, shaking his head. “I don’t know what I thought.”
Britt crossed her arms, glaring at him. “You thought wrong.”
“We can be angry later,” Kevin stated. “Right now, we need to focus on Silas.”
Britt didn’t look at Elliott as she nodded. “Fine.”
I swallowed. “When he wakes up, he needs to know no one is ignoring this anymore.”
Elliott nodded. “I’ll back you up. I just hope he’ll listen.”
The door to Silas’s room creaked open, and I turned to see him standing there, bleary-eyed but awake. He looked lost, like he wasn’t sure where he was or how he’d gotten there.
Britt rushed over to him and threw her arms around his neck. “ How do you feel?”
He rubbed his eyes, shaking his head. “Like I got hit by a truck,” he muttered. “What are you all doing here?”
His parents engulfed him in their arms and then his mom said, “You overdosed. Of course, we came as soon as we could.”
“How long have you been using?” his father asked him.
He rubbed the back of his neck and looked at the floor. “It’s been a while and mainly when I’m partying, but it’s never been a problem before. I only OD’d because the coke was laced?—”
I stepped forward, cutting him off. I didn’t want to hear his excuses. Especially given I could have done something back in January. “You’re lucky you’re still here,” I clipped. “This is serious, and you need help. I’m not talking about just sleeping it off. You need to go to rehab.”
“I don’t need rehab,” he mumbled and rolled his eyes.
“Yes, you do,” I said firmly. “You need to get sober for your family, for your bandmates, for everyone who loves you. But most importantly, for yourself, and you need to do it now before it’s too late.”
He took a shaky breath, his eyes darting between me and Britt. His shoulders sagged, and he rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know if I can,” he admitted.
“You can.” I stepped closer. “You don’t have to do it alone. We’re here for you, but you need to make the choice. You have to want it.”
“I’ll talk to the guys and Rina. See if we can postpone the tour or something,” Elliott chimed in.
“We can get you in a place in Malibu,” I suggested. “They have a thirty-day program.”
“You can do thirty days, Son,” Kevin said.
Silas was quiet for a long moment. Finally, he nodded. “Okay. I’ll go.”
Britt exhaled in relief, stepping forward to hug him. “Thank you. And we’ll all be here for you to help you through your recovery.”
I stood back, letting them have their moment. This wasn’t the end, but it was a step in the right direction. Silas had made the decision. Now, we just had to make sure he stuck to it.