Chapter 8
Seventeen
I’ve dated a multitude of boys over the past year. My dad kept a careful eye on me for the fear that he’d catch me having sex in the penthouse again. My mom took me to the doctor and had me put on the pill. She told me not to mention it to my dad because he wouldn’t understand. I hadn’t had sex since my little romp with Brody, because of all the guys I’ve dated, none of them were worthy. London and I went to the mall practically every day after school. We’d sit in the food court and watch the hot guys walk by. We were on a mission, or should I say, I was on a mission to find the perfect boyfriend because London was still dating Rob, who I couldn’t stand. He was only using her for her money and for sex. As much as I tried to tell her, she would just tell me that I was jealous. I was really concerned because he used drugs and, sometimes, when I’d see London with him, she looked high as hell.
I had an art competition coming up in a few days, and I needed to finish the painting that I was entering in the contest. The prize was a $15,000 scholarship to Columbia University and the winning portrait would be displayed on the wall in one of their most prestigious halls. I really wanted to go away to college, but when I mentioned it, I saw the hurt and sadness in my dad’s eyes. He told me that he would support whatever decision I made. I like to tease him, so one day, I told him that I had applied to a university in Italy. He went on a rant and threw his hands up in the air; it was funny to see him get all worked up. Later that night, I overheard him talking to my mom, and he told her that if I was serious about going to Italy, then he was going to start looking for a house, and they’d live there for the next four years. I quickly told my dad that I was joking and that I wanted to go to Columbia, here in New York, so I didn’t have to leave him or my home. He wrapped his arms around me and held me so tightly, I could barely breathe.
“You have no idea how happy I am that you decided to go to Columbia,” he said as he kissed me on the head.
“Yeah, Dad, I think I do,” I said as I tried to take a breath.
He broke our embrace and I told him I had to go down to the art studio to put the final touches on my painting. He smiled at me and told me not to stay down there too late. I loved the art studio because when I was there, it felt like my own apartment. The best part of painting at night was when the light from the moon shined into the big windows and onto my canvas. I loved sitting behind my canvas at night, painting and looking out at the brightly lit up city. One final brushstroke, and I was done. The painting for the art contest was finally finished and would be ready for submission in a few days. I looked at the clock on the wall and it was midnight. As I was cleaning up my paints and brushes, my phone rang. I looked over to where it sat on the counter and noticed it was London calling.
“Hello,” I answered.
“Hey, is this London’s best friend?” a strange male voice asked.
“Yeah. Who’s this?”
“My name is Garrett and I think you need to come get your friend from my party. She’s really strung out.”
My mind was in a state of confusion as I tried to process what Garrett had just said. “Where do you live?” I asked.
He rattled off his address as I wrote it down on a piece of paper. I started to feel sick and I had no idea what to do. I couldn’t get her by myself because if my parents were to check up on me, like they frequently did, I’d be grounded for life.
“Thanks. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Please hurry. She’s in really bad shape,” Garrett said as he hung up.
I locked up the apartment and ran up to the penthouse. My mom and dad were sitting on the couch, watching a movie. I opened the door and my dad looked at me.
“I was just about to come down and get you,” he said.
“Dad, Mom, we have to go get London. Someone named Garrett just called me and said she’s at his party and she’s really strung out and I need to come get her.”
My mom looked at my dad and both of them got up from the couch. My dad grabbed his keys as we went down to the parking garage, and we climbed into the range Rover.
“Do you have the address?” my dad asked.
I rattled it off to him as he punched it into his GPS. My mom turned around and looked at me as I sat there on the verge of tears.
“Honey, did you know she was going to this party?” she asked.
“No. God, Mom, I hope she’s okay.”
“She’ll be okay, sweetie,” she said as she reached her hand back.
We arrived at the house and I got out of the Range Rover as soon as my dad put it in park. I ran up to the door, and when I walked in, I saw people everywhere. Couples were making out all over the house, and the stench of alcohol filled the air. I asked some of the people around who Garrett was and they told me he was upstairs in one of the rooms. My parents and I ran up the stairs and knocked on one of the doors, calling Garrett’s name. Finally, the door I knocked on opened.
“Are you Garrett?” I asked.
“Yeah. You must be the best friend.”
“My name is Julia, you idiot, and where the hell is London?”
He pointed to the bed where her half-naked body lay. She didn’t have any underwear on. I ran over to her and saw that she was passed out. My mom and dad ran into the room and my mom covered her lower half with the sheet. As my dad bent down and looked at her, he yelled for us to call an ambulance.
“What did you do to her?” I screamed at Garrett as I grabbed his shirt and pushed him into the dresser.
“I didn’t do anything. I found her like that. I came in here to lie down because I drank too much and she was like that. I scrolled through her phone and you were listed as her best friend, so I called you. I can’t believe you brought your parents.”
My mom called 911 and my dad tried to wake up London. “What did she take?” he asked as he looked at Garrett.
“Seriously, man. I don’t know. Like I said, I just found her like this. When I walked in the room, she whispered something to me and then passed out.”
“What did she whisper?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I couldn’t understand her.”
“Who did she come here with?” my mom asked him.
“I don’t know who he was; some older dude,” he replied.
Two paramedics came through the door with a stretcher and went right over to London. They started asking a bunch of questions that we didn’t have the answers to. They said her vitals were bad and they needed to get her to the hospital right away. I started shaking and crying as my dad walked over and hugged me.
“It’s going to be okay, baby. We should call her parents.”
“I’ll call them right now,” my mom said as she pulled out her phone. After several tries, she looked at us. “I can’t get a hold of her mom or dad.”
“Her dad is out of town on a business trip and her mom is probably passed out in some guy’s bed,” I said.
“Julia, that’s not nice,” my mom said.
“Well, it’s true, Mom. I should’ve seen this coming. I knew she was using drugs, but she told me that she’d stop because it was messing her up.”
“Please tell me you’ve never done drugs with her, Princess,” my dad said in a panicked tone.
“No, Daddy, I’ve never done any drugs.”
He let out a sigh of relief as we walked to the Range Rover and headed to the hospital.
****
We waited in the waiting room until the doctor came out and spoke to us.
“London should be fine. We sent some blood work to the lab for testing, and we pumped her stomach. I’ll be honest with you; she almost died. Her test results showed her positive for cocaine, crystal meth, marijuana, and a lot of alcohol; her levels were off the charts. I would suggest you keep trying to get a hold of her parents. I’ve ordered a psych evaluation and she’s going to have to go into a rehab program. I’m sorry this happened,” the doctor said as he turned and walked away.
My mom and dad put their arms around me as the nurse took us to the room where London was. My eyes started to fill with tears when I saw her lying there. She was pale and looked like death. The beeps of the machines made me cringe, as did the smell that infiltrated the room. I walked over to her bedside and placed my hand on hers. Tears started to stream down my face as she slowly opened her eyes. She tried to talk, but she couldn’t. Tears fell from her eyes as she looked at my mom and dad.
“It’s okay, honey. Don’t be scared,” my mom said as she leaned over her and pushed her hair from her forehead.
“I’m sorry,” London whispered as she looked at me.
“We can talk about it tomorrow. You need to rest now,” I said to her.
London closed her eyes and turned her head. “I’ll stay with her. You two go home and get some rest,” my mom said. “Connor, you need to try and get a hold of Joan.”
“I’ll go to their apartment now,” he said as he kissed my mom on the head. “Come on, Princess, let’s go see if we can track down her mother and then go home,” he said as he put his arm around me.
I started to walk out of the room, then I stopped and turned around and stared at my best friend, who I almost lost. I looked down as my dad pulled me closer into him and we walked out of the room. When we arrived at the building, we took the elevators up to the fifteenth floor where London’s apartment was. My dad knocked on the door and London’s mom surprisingly answered it.
“Connor, Julia? It’s almost three a.m. What the hell is going on?”
“Didn’t you get Ellery’s message, Joan?”
“Message? What message?” she said as she shook her head.
Suddenly, we heard a man’s voice from the other room, asking her if everything was all right. She told him to go back to sleep. The voice wasn’t Mr. Fitzgerald’s.
“London is in the emergency room from an overdose of drugs,” my dad said.
“What? She’s spending the night at her friend Ruby’s house. She told me she was spending the weekend there.”
“She lied to you, Joan. Ellery’s there with her now. We both tried calling you, but you didn’t answer your phone and neither did Ron.”
Tears filled her eyes as she told us thank you and shut the door. My dad looked at me and shook his head. We went up to the penthouse and I grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator. My dad walked in behind me.
“Listen, Princess, I want you to go upstairs and go to bed. I’m going to get your mom at the hospital. I’ll take you back tomorrow so you can visit London,” he said as he kissed me on the head.
“Okay, Dad. I’m scared. What if?"
“No what if’s, baby. She received medical attention in time and she’s going to be all right,” he said as he hugged me. “Now, go to bed.”
“Good night, Daddy,” I said as I walked away.
It didn’t matter what my dad said; I was still scared and worried that London wasn’t going to be okay. I knew she had been using drugs and I had tried to stop her, but I couldn’t. I should’ve told my parents. Maybe they could’ve helped her before it got this far. I laid my head on my pillow and, when I closed my eyes, the only thing I saw was London’s half-naked, lifeless body, lying on the bed.
A few hours later, I awoke, drenched in sweat from a nightmare I was having. I lay there as my heart was pounding. I saw the door open from the corner of my eye and I turned my head to see Collin standing there.
“Is London going to be okay?” he asked.
“The doctor said she is,” I replied.
“Good. When you go and see her, tell her I said hi.” He smiled.
“I will. Are Mom and Dad up?”
“Yeah, they’re in the kitchen, having coffee.”
I threw back the covers, climbed out of bed, and headed downstairs to the kitchen. “Good morning.” I yawned as I grabbed a cup from the cupboard.
“Morning, Princess,” my dad said.
“Good morning, honey,” my mom said as she kissed me on the head.
I poured coffee in my cup and sat down next to my dad.
“Did you sleep well?” he asked.
“No. I had nightmares all night,” I said as I held the hot cup between my hands.
“As soon as you’re ready, let me know, and I’ll take you over to the hospital.”
“Thanks, Dad.” I smiled.
“Any time, Princess.” He smiled back as he got up from his chair.
As I finished my coffee, I had a conversation with my mom and then I ran upstairs to get dressed. My dad dropped me off at the hospital and he went into the office for a while. They had moved London to up to a room on the third floor. As I stepped off the elevator, I saw her mom walking towards me.
“Hi, Mrs. Fitzgerald,” I said.
“Hi, Julia,” she said as she grabbed my hands. “Thank you for your help last night and for getting your parents involved. If you hadn’t, London probably wouldn’t be with us right now.”
“I just wish I could have done something sooner,” I said as I looked down.
“You did what you could and I’m grateful. I’m going to get something to eat and grab some coffee. I’ll give you and London some privacy.”
I smiled as I thanked her and walked away. Walking into London’s room, I looked at her and she turned her head to face me.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey.” I waved from the doorway.
“Save it, Julia. I know what you’re going to say and frankly, I’m in no mood right now.”
I walked over to her bed and sat down beside her. “You almost died. Do you even get that? Do you have any idea what it was like to find you and see you like that?”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered as she turned and looked the other way.
“What happened with Rob? Wait until I get a hold of him!”
“I wasn’t with Rob. I haven’t seen him in a few days.”
I looked at her and shook my head. “Wait a minute. Garrett said you were with some older dude. If it wasn’t Rob, then who was it?”
“I don’t know.” She started to cry. “He was at the party and we started talking. He asked me if I liked to get high, and I told him yeah, and he took me into the bedroom and we?"
I put my hand up. “I know what you did. You got high and you had sex with him.”
“I don’t remember having sex,” she said as she looked at me pathetically.
“You didn’t have any underwear on when I walked into the room. The doctor examined you and said you recently had sex. Did he rape you?”
“I don’t know.” She continued to cry.
I leaned over and wrapped my arms around her, holding her tight. “You need help, London. You have to stop the drugs. Look what it’s doing to you,” I said as the tears began to fall.
“I know and I’m going into rehab after they release me. My mom’s making the arrangements with a rehab facility in California.”
“California? No. Why can’t you go to a rehab here in New York?”
“Because the rehab facility in California is one of the best and it’s only for teenagers,” Mrs. Fitzgerald said as she entered the room. “I just got off the phone with them and we’re all set. You’ll leave the day after tomorrow.”
London shook her head and began to cry again. I pulled out my phone and sent my dad a text message.
“Dad, please come to the hospital right away. I need to talk to you.”
“I’m on my way, Princess,” he replied.
I told London that I’d be right back, and I went and waited for my dad in the lobby. As I saw him walk through the doors, I ran up to him and threw my arms around him.
“Baby, what’s wrong? Did something happen?” he asked.
“Mrs. Fitzgerald is sending London to a rehab facility in California, Dad. Please try to talk her out of it. Please!” I begged.
“Julia, I know you’re upset, but it’s none of our business. London is her daughter and she can make whatever decisions she wants,” he said as he kissed my head and led me over to the couch to sit down.
“But, Daddy, she can go to rehab here. You can find out which one is the best and tell Mr. and Mrs. Fitzgerald. You’re always finding out what’s best. Please, don’t let them send her away.”
“Calm down, Princess,” he said as he pulled me into him. “Let’s go and see London and we’ll take it from there.”
I wiped my eyes and blew my nose with the tissue my dad handed me. I took his hand and we went up to the third floor where London was. When we walked into the room, Mrs. Fitzgerald got up from her chair and walked over to us. I could tell she always had a thing for my dad.
“Connor, it’s so nice to see you again,” she said as they hugged lightly.
“Hello, Joan.”
I walked over to London and sat down on the edge of the bed while my dad and her mom talked.
“If you’re sending London off to a rehab in California, then I’m offering you my plane and we can take the three of you to California.”
“It’s only going to be myself and London going. Ron is still on his business trip and he can’t fly back. I can’t ask you to do that, Connor,” she said as she put her hand on my dad’s chest.
“You’re not asking, Joan. I’m insisting. In fact, since the girls won’t see each other for a long time, we’ll travel with you.”
“Really, Dad?!” I exclaimed.
He looked over at me and smiled.
“If you insist, Connor, then who am I to say no to your generosity.” She smiled.
Ugh. She was coming on to my dad, and I was going to have to have a talk with my mom. My dad walked over to London and kissed her forehead.
“How are you feeling, sweetheart?” he asked her.
“I’m okay, Mr. Black. Thank you.”
“We’re going to make sure you get the help you need so you can put this behind you and move on with your life.” He smiled.
“Thank you,” she said as a tear fell down her face.
****
The day had come to take my best friend to rehab. The once beautiful, dark-haired girl with the big blue eyes looked sullen and lost. I wasn’t allowed to see her until we boarded the plane. Mrs. Fitzgerald said that they had too much to do to get ready for California and that she and London needed some time alone. I put my arm around her as we boarded the plane.
“How are you?” I smiled.
“Not good, Julia. As much as I’m trying to forget about the drugs, I can’t, and I’m craving them so bad.”
“It’ll get easier. I promise. The doctors are going to help you and you’re going to get better. I feel like I’ve let you down and I’m really sorry.”
London took my hand. “You didn’t let me down. You tried to get me to stop using and I did nothing but lie to you. You’re the only person in my life who cares about me and I let you down, Julia.”
My dad walked over to where we were sitting and gave London a hug. “People make mistakes, London. I know firsthand about mistakes. The people who truly love you, forgive you, and would do anything in the world to help you.” He smiled.
“I wish you were my dad,” she whispered.
He looked at me as he kissed her on the head. My dad was the most amazing person I knew. Collin walked over and sat with us while my dad set up his laptop on the table. I watched as Mrs. Fitzgerald walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him.
“I just can’t thank you enough for doing this for us,” she said.
She was just a little too close to him and, from where I was sitting, I could smell the fresh alcohol on her breath. She must’ve been drinking when she disappeared for fifteen minutes in the bathroom. I looked over and saw my mom staring at her. The look in her eye was one that I’d seen many times before when she was getting pissed off. My dad took Mrs. Fitzgerald’s arms and removed them.
“Like I said before, Joan, I wanted to do this and you’re welcome.”
She took it upon herself to sit down in the chair next to him. She placed her hand on his leg and my dad looked at her. I was just about to get up and say something when I saw my mom leap out of her seat.
“Hey, Collin, Julia, why don’t you take London in the back and show her the view from the window in the bedroom.”
Collin and London got up and started to walk to the back bedroom.
“Are you coming?” London turned around and asked.
“Yeah, I’ll be there in a second,” I said.
My mom was going to let Mrs. Fitzgerald have it, and I wasn’t about to miss it. She looked over at me and winked as she approached her and my dad.
“Joan, how’s Ron doing?”
Mrs. Fitzgerald quickly removed her hand from my dad’s leg. “He’s fine, Ellery. He’s on an important business trip. He’s sorry that he couldn’t be here.”
“Really? I would imagine any father that loves his child would be there for her in her time of need,” my mom said.
“It’s really none of you concern, Ellery.”
“See, Joan, it is my concern. It became my concern when you started trying to get my husband to sleep with you many years ago.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mrs. Fitzgerald said as she looked away.
“Ellery, that’s enough!” my dad said.
“Connor, this is between me and Joan. Butt out!”
Oh, this was getting good. My mom was letting Mrs. Fitzgerald and my dad have it!
My dad looked at me with that look, and I smiled. He shook his head and got up from the table. My mom continued her rant with Mrs. Fitzgerald and told her she was an alcoholic and that she needed to go to rehab as well. She also told her that she and my dad were more of a mother and a father to London over the years than she and Mr. Fitzgerald were. Mrs. Fitzgerald got up from her seat and stormed off to the bathroom. I watched as my dad walked over to my mom and looked at her with his “are you serious” look.
“Really, Ellery? Of all days to say something to Joan, you pick today?”
“She made it today the minute she put her hand on your leg. I will not apologize for telling the truth. Get over it, Connor, because you would have done the same damn thing, if not something worse, if it was Ron who put his hand on my leg.”
My dad sighed and kissed her on the head. “I guess you’re right, baby,” he said as he walked away.
I laughed as I walked over to my mom. “You sure told Mrs. Fitzgerald off.”
She smiled at me, tilted her head, and pushed a strand of my hair behind my ear. “Sometimes, you need to remind some people of what’s yours, and yours alone.”
The pilot alerted us that we were in California and to take our seats for landing. I sat down next to London and grabbed her hand. Little did I know that when I said goodbye to her at the rehab center, it would be the last time I ever saw her. She passed away right before my eighteenth birthday of a drug overdose. The rehab center could offer no explanation of how or where she got the drugs.