Destined

19

An hour later I'm awakened by a tall figure who turns out to be Amber's Father once I opened up my eyes all the way. I guess I had fallen asleep again while I waited for him and her Mother to arrive.

"Hey Dj," he nudges me. Amber's Mother just stared at me blankly, her eyes had been red and puffy.

"Hello Mr and Mrs. Kole," I greet them while shifting in my seat. It was such an uncomfortable moment but I had to keep my composure. Adrian's eyes moved from me to his parents. "Finally you're up," he says. "They've been here for 30 minutes already."

"We were just filling out her information. No need to worry. We just wanted to make sure you were okay," Mr.Kole says, rubbing his wife's shoulder.

"I'm sorry this is all happening," I tell them. "I'm sorry I wasn't there with her, I should have been and I'm so, so sorry," I say. Tears were beginning to form in the back of my eye lids and my throat went from moist to dry within seconds. I gulped to relieve some of the dullness I was experiencing in it but it didn't help. I couldn't hold back crying, I needed to cry. Here Amber was lying unconsciously on a bed due to an overdose and I couldn't do anything to help her. I started to cry pitifully, covering my face with my hands. I couldn't keep it in anymore. I was trying to stay strong for Adrian but after seeing their Mother in distress I just lost it. I tried to breathe in and out to calm myself down but that just seemed to make it worse.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and another one against my back. I uncovered my face to realize that Adrian had stood behind me, assuring me with the light of his eyes that it was going to be okay. He didn't even have to tell me with words. Amber's Father had wiped away tears from the side of my face while Mrs. Kole handed me tissues. They were such caring people, and they didn't deserve to be here under any circumstances.

"Listen Dj," Amber's Mother, Betha begins to reassure me. "This isn't your fault. Just because you weren't there doesn't mean it's your fault. We thank you for even having an idea that Amber was in danger in the first place because we wouldn't have known," she takes a seat next to me. "We know you. We know how you feel about our daughter; hell, she feels the exact same way about you. I know you feel like you have a responsibility to protect her, but if anything that's our job and we failed tonight. We're her parents. We should have asked her more questions," she begins to wipe her nose, shaking her head. "It's not your fault Dj," she repeats.

"Yeah hun, we appreciate the lengths you went tonight to find her. When she wakes up, you're gonna be the first face she wants to see. This will only make the both of you much closer. I know she wanted to be found, even if she didn't think anyone would find her." Amber's Dad looks at his daughter. "Everything's gonna be okay, babygirl," he whispers to her while squeezing her hand.

Amber had now been wrapped in bed. All of her makeup had been off of her face and all you could see was her natural glowing skin.

"Adrian knew where to go," I tell them. "I probably wouldn't have gotten this far if I hadn't come to him first," I look at him, showing a dry but sincere smile.

"My baby boy," Betha exclaimed. "Now I know, you truly do love your sister no matter how much you deny it," she says, pulling him in for a gracious hug.

"Ofcourse he does," Carl laughs, rubbing the top of Adrian's head. "They love each-other, they're siblings."

"Not all siblings love each-other Carl," Betha says, still hugging Adrian. He was trying to stop himself from grinning by rolling his eyes.

"Well ours do, and that's all that matters," he tells her.

I smiled at the interjections the family had with each other. It was relieving to see them still acting the same despite what was going on.

A doctor comes in, interrupting the small scene we all were sharing in the room. His pale skin turned red when he seen all of us turn to him immediately.

"Hello everyone. We've finished running some tests. It's been confirmed that the patient had an unusual high amount of Amitriptyline in her system. Because of this she developed a severe case of serotonin syndrome. This contributed to her symptoms of being unconscious and having a high fever. We're lucky we got her here as quick as we did because this could have turned into something far more fatal. We've been keeping her hydrated with intravenous fluids and monitoring her heart for any cardiac issues. We want to keep her for a few days to ensure no seizures take place while she's getting the recommended rest she needs."

"What's Amitriptyline?" Amber's Dad immediately asks.

"An anti-depressant. She injested half of a bottle and each pill is about 50 mg."

I look at Adrian. Amber's Mother shakes her head.

"And how many days is a few Doctor?"

"72 hours is the recommended time frame. We just want to make sure no more issues arise while she's getting the necessary fluids back into her body."

"Alright," Carl answers for all of us.

The doctor nods as he starts to leave the small room without another word, closing the door behind him.

The 4 of us all take a seat surrounding Amber. Her Mother grabs both of her hands and begins to pray. We bowed her heads and joined once she finished with a "Amen."

She will be okay. I told myself. These words continued to play back and forth in my mind.