DIRTY LAUNDRY

27

Got my heart in your hands, like a time bomb ticking •

Two hours passed and Jack was still resting. His hand flinched a few times but I'm guessing he was dreaming. I was sitting next to him all this time, talked to his mom when she called me and had a cup of coffee. Mom went back home because of Oli and said to keep her posted. Every time I looked at Jack's face it made my stomach churn. I felt incredibly guilty, even though rational explanation said otherwise.

I lifted myself up from the chair, demanding some answers. It was almost 6pm and I went looking for a doctor or a nurse, anyone that could give me a more detailed explanation.
I stepped up to that blonde receptionist I spoke to before.

"Excuse me, is there a doctor here? I'd really like to know what happened to Mr. Barakat." I asked politely and quietly.

"Oh, yes of course. I can fill you in on some information but for anything more you're gonna have to wait for the doctor. He should be here in an hour or so." She replied, grinning.

"I'll take what I can get, thank you." I said. She walked to the other side of the counter and grabbed a file.

"Come on." She signaled me to follow her back to Jack's room.
When we stepped in, he was still sleeping. She closed the door and took a seat at the small table next to the window. "Please." She pointed at the chair opposite her's.
I went over and sat down.

"Now... I already asked Jack's family, but you spend more time with him and I think you'll be able to help me." She started. I silently gulped and nodded.

"Okay, now I need you to be honest and tell me... was Jack using any drugs? And I mean hard drugs, marijuana and alcohol excluded." She asked. I was genuinely shocked by the question.

"No. Never. I mean we had a drink or two occasionally but that's it." I surely said.
"Why would you ask that?"

"Well, we found quite a solid dosage of Rohypnol in his system." She said and I gave her a strange look. "It's a medical term for a date rape drug."

Now I really looked like she was speaking chinese. "A date rape drug?" I repeated.

"Yes. It's pretty serious. We assume he took the sleeping pills after he was drugged." She explained. "Which is why we need to know if he had any kind of addiction, if not, this could be an attempt to purposely hurt him."

"No, Jack never did any drugs. Oh my god." I buried my face into my palms.

"It's okay. I know it's hard but he'll be okay. I promise." She reassuringly said. I just nodded.

"His mother did mention having problems with some girl, do you think she could be able to hurt him like this?" Bingo. She was with him that evening but I didn't tell that to Jack's mom yet. I also wasn't positive Andie would actually be able to pull this off. Well, she'd be able to but did she really?

"Uhm, I'm not sure. She's capable of many things. I actually know for sure that they were together last night." I told her.

"You're absolutely sure?" She asked me again.

"Yes, he sent me a picture, I have it on my phone." I pulled my phone out and showed her the picture.

"Okay, thank you very much! You've been very helpful. Hold on to that picture." She told me. "Do you know her full name?"

"Andie Miller." I shot out.

"Great." She wrote it down. "Oh, another thing..."

"Yes?" I asked.