AN: Hey! Again, I am absolutely LOVING the reviews! I'm happy to have such amazing readers :) this is chapter 43, I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 43
I slowly began to open my heavy eyes, my sight blurred. As I came to, my vision cleared and I noticed I was in a bleak hospital room. I looked down at my body, jerking the restraints that bound my wrist.
"What the hell?" I mumbled. The events of the previous night started to come back to me.
I turned my head after I analyzed the cuffs, and saw Spencer sitting in the car to my right. He was hunches over, elbows resting on his knees, with both hands gripping the back of his neck. He bounced his leg aggressively.
"Spencer..." I spoke up, defeated. He let out a sigh, unfolding his body and sitting back in his seat. His face was drooping as if it had aged a hundred years.
"What the hell Jenna?" He spewed, rather cold.
"Spencer, please just let me explain-" I pleaded.
"Yeah, yeah you're going to explain. And you better not lie, either" He shot back, cutting me off. I took a deep breath, trying to recount the previous night.
"I didn't really go to Ari's. I went to the cast party with her and Matthew, along with the entire cast, crew, and pit. I wasn't drinking, I stuck close to Matthew who wasn't drinking either. Kids were doing all sorts of drugs all around us, but I didn't voluntarily join in on any of it" I started, getting a bit worked up.
"Next thing I knew, my heart was beating really fast and I was panicking, and then I started to hallucinate...a-and then Matthew drove me to the ER and now I'm here" I finished, tugging at the restraints.
"And I guess I got violent because now I'm stuck in these" I added, irritated.
"Really? That's everything that happened?" Spencer replied skeptically. My eyes widened out of his chilly approached.
"Yes, that's what happened Spencer. Come on, you have to believe me" I replied frustrated. He wasn't handling the situation as well as I thought he would.
"Ya know what, I don't really know what to believe anymore. You're not exactly making this easy for me" He retorted, his face noticeably fed up.
"Easy for you? Spencer-" I began heatedly, only to be interrupted by a woman in a white coat entering the room.
"Oh good, you're awake" She greeted, looking over my chart.
"Here, let me remove those" She stated, freeing my wrists from captivity.
"Thanks" I replied, rubbing the irritated areas.
"Alright Jenna, I need to ask you a few questions. Would you like to discuss this privately, or would you like your brother to stay with you?" She asked kindly.
"No- he can stay" I said, glaring at Spencer out of the corner of my eye. If I was going to convince him of the truth, it may as well be in front of a witness.
"Alright. We ran a tox screen, and we found PCP in your system-" The doctor stated.
"Wait- PCP? How the hell did that get in my body?" I shot back, confused.
"Well that's what we're trying to find out. Now, have you consumed any alcohol within the past twenty four hours?" She asked.
"No, no I haven't" I responded, glancing at Spencer.
"Were you drinking any non-alcoholic beverages around the time you had your reaction?"
"Yeah, I had a diet ginger ale. But I didn't set it down and I kept it in my sight the entire time" I recalled.
"Were you using any other drugs?"
"No, no" I shook my head.
"Did you accept any food from anyone? Maybe even a cigarette?"
Shit. The cigarette.
"Yeah, yeah a girl gave me a cigarette" I replied, seeing Spencer shift position out of the corner of my eye.
"Okay, that seems to be how it got in your system. I'm going to have a nurse come in a check your vitals to make sure you're okay, then you should be able to go home" She told me, grinning.
"Alright, thank you" I responded as she walked out of the room, leaving me alone with Spencer in silence. I sat there picking at my nails nervously.
"I want you to see a therapist" Spencer informed me blankly, starring at the ground. My stomach dropped.
"What? No! I'm not letting a stranger shrink my head" I protested. I had been sent to a shrink once before, and it did not go well.
"I'm not giving you a choice, Jenna" He replied, tears sparked from my eyes. I really, really screwed up. I didn't bother putting up a fight, I knew I would only make matters worse.
"I'm sorry" I choked out through the lump in my throat. I felt absolutely terrible, not just because I was dealing with the aftermath of a horrible drug reaction, but because I was causing Spencer more pain and frustration than I could deal with.
"Yeah? Me too" He groaned.
"Room for one more?" a voice peaked in from the opened door, it was Emily. I wasn't entirely surprised, I should have known Spencer would contact her.
"Oh, uh, yeah. Emily-hey" I said, wiping the tears from the underneath of my eyes and sitting up.
"I'm going to go talk to the front desk about releasing you" Spencer stood up abruptly and walked out of the room with a substantial amount of anger in his step.
"I take it he isn't handling this well?"Emily assumed, raising an eyebrow.
"What do you think?" I huffed out.
"I stopped by your apartment and grabbed you a change of clothes, I hope that's okay" Emily told me, handing me a plastic bag containing a pair of light wash skinny jeans, a black and white striped sweater, socks, plain black cotton underwear, a nude bra, and a pair of black keds. I wasn't exactly comfortable with people rummaging through my drawers and touching my undergarments, but given the circumstances I thought it was alright.
"Oh- thanks, this gown feels like it's made of sandpaper" I moaned. Emily sat at the end of my bed, the two of us silent.
"I fucked up" I declared in the quiet room.
"Well, I can't exactly disagree with that" Emily responded.
"What exactly happened? I mean, how?" She asked.
"I lied to Spencer and went to a party, and I accepted a cigarette that was unknowingly laced with PCP and had a violent reaction and well, now I'm here" I explained for the third time. Emily tilted her head and her expression showed genuine sympathy.
"And I wasn't drinking, or taking part in the immense amount of drug ingestion going on around me, well not voluntarily at least, and Spencer doesn't believe me and he's just being flat out mean. I get that I've been putting him through more than enough, but the stuff that I'm dealing with isn't exactly easy and he's acting like he's the only one being affected" I ranted, speaking all too fast.
"He's new at this, he's still getting a lay of the land" Emily spoke.
"Listen, I'll talk to him about letting up a bit. Sound good?" she patted my leg, looking me directly in the eye.
"Yeah, yeah that would be great" I grinned, relieved that at least one adult was on my side.
There was a knock on the door, and to my liking it Matthew and Ari.
"Good, you're alive!" Matthew sighed, the two of them entering the room.
"I'm not sure that's an excellent thing to be right now" I rolled my eyes, realizing how true the statement was.
"I'm gonna go find Spencer, I'll see you later Jenna" Emily smiled and left the three of us alone. Matthew and Ari took the seats beside me.
"Hold on, before anyone says anything, I'm changing out of this mildly humiliating gown" I announced, rolling out of the bed and taking the three steps to the bathroom.
As I removed the uncomfortable fabric, I noticed bruises scattered across my body, presumably because of the fall I had taken. I also discovered the shallow claw marks running down my arms.
"Great" I huffed, not needing anymore scars. I quickly changed into the clothes Emily brought me, and didn't even bother looking in the mirror at my assumed hideous face.
"Alright, I'm ready" I declared, emerging from the door way and sitting down cross legged on the bed, facing my two best friends.
"Jenna, I'm really sorry I wasn't able to be there for you" Ari confessed, visibly upset.
"Ari, seriously, it's okay. You were having the fun you had been waiting for, I wouldn't have wanted you to get wrapped up in this" I consoled her, speaking true. My words seemed to ease her distress.
We sat in silence for a moment. I never thought the day would come, but I actually began to hate the stillness. I was met with it all too often.
"Jenna, you could have died" Matthew spit out, bouncing his knee the same way Spencer did, but his tone was much softer.
"No I couldn't have. At least not on your watch" I smirked, producing knowing smiles from Matthew and Ari.
"Jenna-" Matthew began, but I knew what was coming and cut him off.
"Can we save the lecture for another time? I've gotten enough of those today" I begged lightly.
"Here, both of you come up here, we're watching a movie. I need a taste of normalcy" I announced, moving over so Matthew and Ari could fit onto the hospital bed. The three of us somehow squished ourselves comfortably and flipped on the television, settling on an old black and white film. We added our own commentary of course, even letting out a few laughs.
I almost forgot the reason that brought us there.
"come on Jenna, it's time to go home" Spencer leaned into the room and declared, monotone.
"Oh- uh, alright. Guess this is goodbye until tomorrow guys" I stood up and straightened out my clothes. Matthew and Ari pulled me into a giant hug, squeezing me nice and tight.
"We're really glad you're alright" Matthew whispered into my ears, then kissing the top of my head and the two of them released their hold.
Spencer and I exited the hospital without a peep, sending us home to embarking on another unfamiliar journey.