19

On chemistry exam day, Lle arrived at school an hour before they were to write but Sophie was nowhere to be found. He asked around and nobody had seen her.

Nicklaus told him to relax and that she was probably on her way, so he tried to calm down. Thirty minutes went by and there was still no sign of her. His calls kept going to voicemail. 20 minutes down and he's panicking, thinking that maybe she got into an accident or something happened to her. He looked around and couldn't see Emily as well.

"Shit."

"Please line up alphabetically," one of the invigilators said, indicating that they are going in. He knew that once they sat down and they got their exam paper, they were not allowed to leave the exam hall unless they turned their paper in for grading.

His mind was racing with a million thoughts. Feeling like he had no choice left, he felt if his car keys were in his blazer. He noticed that other students had already entered the exam hall so he dialed Sophie's phone one last time.

He went straight to voicemail, so he tried Emily's but it was busy. Looking back and forth between his car and the queue becoming shorter and shorter, he made his decision. He ran to his car and got in, switching the engine on and driving out of the parking lot at a speed he's never driven before.

The traffic was medium, but it still felt like he was wasting more time. He reached Sophie's house in fifteen minutes and relief washing over him when he saw Emily's car in the driveway. He looked at his clock and knew that by this time all the students got their exam papers.

He stormed into the house, calling out their names as he headed up the stairs. He barged into Sophie's bedroom and froze at her unconscious body laying on the ground. His eyes darted to a hysterical Emily on the phone. He rushed over to Emily, who looked relieved to see him.

"She's not waking up," she said between sobs. "And the hospital says they will send the nearest paramedics but it could take a while."

He nodded, taking her phone, ending the call and tossing it on the bed. "Go prepare the bathtub with hot water."

Emily ran to the bathroom to do what she'd been told. Llewellyn knelt beside Sophie and counted her blood pressure. She was shaking in her sleep, probably from the cold floor, and her eyelids and fingertips were blue. He observed the cuts on her wrists and the blemishes on her arm.

Upon closer inspection, he concluded that it's where she injects herself. He clenched his jaw tightly and tried to clear his head. He picked Sophie up and carried her into the bathroom, placing her in the tub. While he was at that, he asked Emily to get Sophie's school uniform out and lay it on the bed.

Emily did all of that, even putting stationary in the pockets of Sophie's blazer. Just when she was done, Llewellyn emerged from the bathroom with his blazer in his hand and his white shirt rolled up. She noticed he looked pissed so she tried to explain herself.

"We had an argument last night. I stopped by in the morning to apologize and I found her laying here unconscious. I couldn't get a pulse and I thought-"

"Why didn't you tell me she uses drugs?" he interrupted.

"I- She didn't want anyone to know."

"Fucking great. And what happened today? You couldn't call me?!"

"I'm sorry, I thought the hospital was more important!" she snapped back. He remained quiet for a while, pacing back and forth.

"I really thought you knew since you guys are close," she said defeatedly, sitting on the bed with her head between her hands. She heard him sigh before the bed dipped next to her.

"We aren't that close, Em. What did she take?"

"I'm guessing coke," she said, looking up at him. "I don't know where she keeps the whole thing, but I've seen smaller ones in her school bag a few times."

"You didn't find anything when you arrived? No syringe or pill bottles?"

"She was already passed out when I came. My best guess is that she had been on the floor all night. Her hair was damp too. Her entire body was cold," Emily recalled. She felt like he was somehow blaming her for what Sophie did to herself.

"I noticed that," he said, looking at the ceiling as he sighed. "The fact that you knew she was on drugs and didn't tell me is absurd. What would you have done if she overdosed, Emily?"

Was he actually putting this on her?

"Excuse me, but last time I checked I wasn't her babysitter. You cannot possibly think I am responsible for what she does or what she injects herself with. I've tried so many times to help her but do you know how fucking tiring it is to have your effort thrown back in your face? I also have my own shit to deal with. If she wants to gamble with her life, then I really cannot do anything about that any more."

He pinched the bridge of his nose and looked at her, this time with sympathy. "You're right. You're not responsible for what she does. I'm sorry for yelling at you," he said. He just hoped that whatever she took could easily be flushed out of her body. He tossed his blazer to the side and engulfed Emily in a tight hug, which took her by surprise but she immediately returned.

"I'm scared. What if she doesn't wake up?"

"I'm scared, too. But she will wake up. And after that, we'll take her to the hospital."

"Good luck with that," she said, knowing full well Sophie was the last person on earth who would voluntarily seek help. They heard sobbing sounds and rushed into the bathroom to find her sitting in the tub with her head between her knees.