"Fine. Whatever. You ready?"
"I'm staying here," she said, crossing her arms.
"What?" Collins asked.
"I'm staying here. I'll sleep in the waiting room."
"Maureen—"
"No, Collins, it's fine. Really. I think someone should be here for Roger." She stared at Mark as she said each word.
"Um, Mark?"
The filmmaker's jaw tightened. "Fine. Whatever. I'll be back in the morning. Collins, you staying over?"
"Yeah, no classes tomorrow. Mind if I crash at the loft?"
"Not at all. See you tomorrow, Mo." Mark turned and headed back towards the elevator before she could say anything.
"Bye," she whispered.
"You two okay, Maureen?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Fine. Just….we're fine. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Okay, bye."
They hugged and Collins darted down the hall to the elevators.
Maureen dozed in a waiting room chair. A scream jolted her out of sleep. She jumped to her feet. A nurse ran towards the scream. It was a man.
"Roger," she mumbled.
Maureen rushed past the nurses' station, not giving a damn about their visiting policies. In Roger's room, she saw him thrashing about on the bed. His eyes were clenched tightly, forehead wrinkled with fear.
"Miss, please—" a nurse said, trying to edge past her.
Maureen ignored the woman's request and went to Roger's side. "Roger?" She shook his arm.
"Miss—"
"Roger? Wake up! Roger!"
He gasped as he sat up, eyes full of tears. Roger's legs kicked out. His screams quieted, but the tears continued and his fear seemed to grow. Sweat dripped down his forehead, pale against the bed. Maureen shrank back against the wall and let the nurse slide past her. The nurse checked his vitals and made a few notes. Shaking her head, she strode out. Maureen started to follow.
"Maureen? Maureen, don't go," Roger said.
She turned and went back to him, trying to hide her own fear. "It's okay, honey. I'm here."
"Maureen, you have to help me."
"What? What is it?" she asked, sinking to his bedside.
His clammy hand held hers tightly. "My clothes are in the closet over there. There's twenty bucks in my wallet. You gotta go to the alley by the loft. The one across from the Cat Scratch Club. They, um, there's a guy there. Ask if he's The Man. He'll sell you some stuff. I need you to get as much as you can with twenty—"
Maureen jerked her hand from his. "Rog, what are you asking me? What is it you want me to buy?"
"Drugs."
Maureen stood up, shaking her head.
"Maureen, please. I need it. I-I can't do this. It hurts. It hurts."
"Roger, I can't."
"Mo, please…I-I need you. Please. Just a little bit. Please."
Maureen shook her head again, wiping her tears. "I'm going now, Roger."
"Maureen…."
She went back to the nurses' station, not trusting herself to stay any longer. The nurse behind the desk seemed to be waiting for her. A sympathetic look washed over her face when she saw Maureen's tears.
"What's wrong with him? Why was he shaking like that?"
The nurse bit her lip. "That information isn't—"
"I'm on his next-of-kin list or whatever the hell you call it."
"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't realize….what did you say your name was?"
"Maureen Johnson."
The nurse flipped through a few pages of the chart, verifying that she was on Roger's contact list. "Mr. Davis is in withdrawals. That's why he was shaking and why he was having the nightmares."
"Withdrawals?"
"Didn't the doctor tell you?"
"No. Tell me what?"
The nurse frowned. "The results must've come in after he spoke with you."
"What results?"
"When Mr. Davis was brought in, he tested positive for drugs."
"Yeah, aspirin. He overdosed—"
The nurse shook her head. "Miss, he tested positive for heroin."
Maureen's tears froze. "What do you mean?"
"I mean there was a blood test that showed Mr. Davis was on drugs, not just aspirin. When the doctor questioned him he confessed to being a heroin addict."
Maureen felt the color leaving her cheeks. She took a deep breath. "I…um…okay."
"Are you all right, miss?"
"Yeah, yeah, I just, um, I didn't know."
"Would you like to speak with the doctor?"
"Maybe tomorrow. I'm going home for the night."
The nurse nodded sympathetically. Maureen tucked her purse under her arm and headed for the elevator. She thought about calling Mark, but couldn't bring herself to tell him something like that on the phone. Instead, she stepped into the cold night air and started the walk home to the loft.
Maureen jogged up the stairs to the loft. She slid open the door. Collins stood in the kitchen pouring a drink. Mark sat on the couch, yawning. They looked up at the sound of the door.
"Maureen, you changed your mind," Collins said with a smile.
Maureen tried to smile, but couldn't. Mark looked up from his camera and frowned.
"What's the matter? What is it, baby?"
"There's…Roger….he…"
She wasn't crying anymore, only stammering. Her body was stiff and her eyes blank. Collins set down his glass.
"Maureen? What happened? Is Roger okay?"
She shook her head and stepped away from Mark. "Did you know he's on drugs?"
"What?" Collins asked.
"Drugs. Did either of you know Roger's on drugs? That he shoots up?"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about Roger being a heroin junkie!"
Mark's jaw dropped. His knees buckled and he sank back down to the couch. "Are you sure?"
"He's in withdrawals. I, um, I was in the waiting room. I heard him screaming. Nightmare. So I went and he, he was shaking. Like, shaking more than I've seen anyone shake before. And then he woke up and he saw me and….and he asked me to go buy him some…some drugs."
Mark looked over his shoulder at Collins. The professor swallowed hard and moved to the armchair.
"How do you know it's heroin?"
"The nurse, um….after he asked me to buy drugs, I left. I couldn't….I had to go…I just, I didn't know what to think. So I asked the nurse and she told me he tested positive for drugs and told the doctor it's heroin."
"Are you okay?" Mark asked.
She nodded. "Yeah, um, yeah. I'm fine."
Maureen stood up slowly from the couch. Mark started to stand but she waved him off, saying she just needed to use the bathroom. The bathroom door clicked shut and Collins stared at Mark.
"Did you know?" Collins asked.
"What?"
"About Roger. Did you know?"
"I knew he'd smoked pot."
"Aw, hell, Mark, all of us do that!"
"Exactly. It never crossed my mind that he would do anything harder. You have any idea."
Collins shook his head. "I'd have beat his ass if I'd known."
