Chapter 13
Emmett
Buzz Buzz Buzz
I stirred awake to the sound of my phone vibrating on my nightstand. Who would call at this ungodly hour? Haphazardly, I reached for it, patting down my nightstand until my hand landed on it. I turned onto my back, rubbing the sleep from my eyes before squinting to see the name on the caller ID. King Carson. That can’t be good.
“King Carson?” I answered, my eyes screwed shut again.
“Dr Barbato, we need you at once. There was an accident with Kelly. She is being taken to our general hospital as we speak.”
“On my way.” I said, already removing the covers and getting out of bed.
I got ready in record time, making my way over to the hospital to check on Kelly. I had no idea what happened, but I needed to prepare for anything. I was quickly guided through the hospital to the royal wing where Kelly was stationed. The king and queen were waiting outside her room, worry etched in their faces.
“What happened?” I asked, throwing on my labcoat.
“She was out riding her hoarse and fainted, her head hit a rock. Our patrollers found her, but we don’t know how long ago it happened.” Luna Carleigh cried.
I nodded and let myself into her room where two nurses were still getting her hooked up to machines. Kelly stirred and fluttered her eyes, groaning in pain and touching her head.
“Kelly, do you know where you are?” I asked while checking her pupils with my light.
“Hospital?” She squinted.
“Do you remember what happened?” I asked, listening to her heartbeat. She had a heart mummer.
“I felt dizzy and fell off my hoarse.”
“When?” I asked, noticing her skin looked more yellow than normal.
“Around sunset.”NôvelDrama.Org owns this.
“Alright.” I nodded, checking over her machines. “I’m going to sew up your head and then we are going to monitor you overnight. Your lab results from last week should be back soon, but I’d like to take another sample to test.”
“Fine.” She nodded, still out of it.
I did as I said I would, tending to her head wound first and then taking another b***d sample. I sent it off as urgent, hoping I could get the results sooner rather than later. By late morning, I had her results from last week in my inbox. I didn’t like what I was seeing. Her results indicated organ failure. I compared them to her labs from several months ago and it didn’t even seem like they could be the results from the same person. Her original labs looked great. The ones from last week looked like those of an old wolf. Could her labs have gotten mixed up? I guess today’s lab results will settle it.
It took the better part of the day to get the results in, but when they came in I was doubfounded. Kelly’s labs showed that she had multisystem organ failure. I immediately ran to get a bag of fluids so I could start flushing Kelly’s system. The sooner we could get the medication out of her, the better.
“Hey…can I have my pill soon?” Kelly asked the moment I entered her room. “Its ten minutes past when I normally take it.”
“No more pills.” I shook my head, getting the bag of fluids setup.
“What?!” Kelly hissed, sitting up abruptly.
“No more pills.” I said again. “Your body is going into multisystem organ failure. If we continue, it will kill you.”
“Keres will kill me!” She said, fury in her eyes.
“We will find something else, but it can’t be this, Kelly. I’m sorry.”
“I need them!” She practically growled.
I left soon after, not wanting to face her fury. She would begin feeling the withdrawal effects within a few hours. I need to prepare for that. King Carson will undoubtedly want her room to be heavily guarded while it happens. I still have yet to see the full repercussions of Keres, but what I have seen has metered additional security. What in goddess’s name was I going to give her after this? I have no clue. One step at a time. One day at a time.
– – – – – – – – –
Kelly
“We will find something else, but it can’t be this, Kelly. I’m sorry.” Emmett said, before leaving my room.
“I need them!” I yelled as he turned the corner, livid that he would cut me off.
This can’t happen. It wont happen. As long as I’m still standing, I won’t willingly let Keres out. Especially not in a hospital. I quickly started unhooking myself from all of the monitors and got dressed. Running back home, I went to the one person who I thought could help.
“Hey Kylie…” I said sheepishly, cracking her bedroom door open.
“What do you want?” She practically sneered.
“Do you know how to pick a lock?” I asked. She always knew how to do weird s**t.
“Yeah. Why?” She asked, crossing her arms in front of her.
“I need you to help me get a drawer open.” I said, trying to hide the desperation in my voice.
“What’s in it for me?” She asked, c*****g her head to the side.
“Anything you want.”
“Anything?” She chuckled, her eyebrows shooting up in surprise.
“Anything.” I nodded.
She hesitated a moment before standing up straight and naming her price. “Stop picking on me and I’ll do it. No more name-calling or eye-rolling or bullying.”
As if I didn’t feel shitty enough about my life right now, now I feel guilty about this too. She could have asked for a car or a house and I would have made it happen. I would have dressed like a clown and put on a show, if that’s what she wanted. But simply for me to stop being mean to her? I feel like an even bigger monster now.
“Deal.” I nodded.
“Where is this drawer?” She asked, grabbing a small leather case.
“I’ll show you…and thank you.”
She nodded and followed closely behind me at my frantic pace. I could feel her getting uneasy as we waltzed into Emmetts’ office but she bit her tongue and unlocked the drawer I asked her to. The drawer that Emmett kept my pills in.
“Is that all?” She asked, an unsettling tone in her voice.
“Yes, thank you.” I nodded, quickly popping a pill and then counting how many I had left.
Four. I only had four left. Goddess help me. What was I going to do?
“Kelly…is everything okay?” Kylie asked, her eyes glassy.
“I’m fine, my wolf is just a bit high strung. The pills calm her down.” I shrugged. “Emmett is busy right now, so I figured I wouldn’t bother him about grabbing it.”
“Okay.” She nodded, wiping her eyes.
“Hey don’t cry, I promise I’m good.” I said, pulling her in for a hug for the first time in…ever.
We parted ways a few moments later. I don’t know where exactly Kylie went off to, probably back to her room. I went back to mine and packed a bag before grabbing my keys and getting in my car. I didn’t know where exactly I planned on going. I just knew now might be my only chance to leave.
I had to find something comparable to what Emmett was giving me. I didn’t care what it was or how much it cost. Anything to keep her quiet. Anything to keep my freedom.
– – – – – – – – –
Five days later
– – – – – – – – –
I could already feel the withdrawal beginning. The familiar chills and shakes put me on edge. I was running out of time. Hopefully, the human I found a few days ago could be of some help. He was sketchy to say the least, but seemed to know a lot about drugs. He said he had something to help me settle down, but it would take time and a small fortune for him to get the three-month supply I was looking for. We were supposed to meet soon so I could pay him and collect my illegal purchase. Not my finest moment, but sadly not my worst either.
“Hey dolly.” Jasper winked, coming over to my car door and resting his arms on the edge of the window.
“Do you have it?” I asked hopefully.
“Money first,” he whispered.
I discretely handed him a wad of cash and he took it, leaving something in my hand. I looked down to see a small plastic bag filled with tiny squares with smiley faces on them.
“I don’t understand.” I frowned.
He chuckled and shook his head, taking the baggie from me and pulling out one of the tiny squares. “Open.” He said, flicking his head towards my mouth.
I hesitantly opened my mouth and he placed it on my tongue. It dissolved in just a few seconds. “That’s it?” I asked as he took my keys out of the ignition and threw them into the back seat somewhere.
“That’s it. Have fun dolly.” He winked again before pushing off my car.
“Wait-what is it?” I asked.
“Newbie” he chuckled, continuing on his way.
Whatever. He said it would help calm me down. And right now, that is good enough for me.