Rising Sun

Chapter Sixteen

"Lindsay has been stable this morning. We still want to monitor her for a bit, but her vitals are leveling out, and we'll keep her asleep for just a little while longer before we get her up to eat and hopefully talk to you all."

Skylar was in a waiting room for the second time in less than twelve hours. Her parents had sent her home with Tom shortly after they arrived, wanting her to at least get some sleep, even though everyone knew she hadn't. Tom had stayed for a while after taking her home, worried about leaving her alone.

She was currently sitting with her parents, listening to the doctors discuss Lindsay's condition. Her parents hadn't told her much of anything, and they were reluctant to let her come back in the morning. It was almost as if Skylar would break at the news.

"Will she be stable enough to go home today?" Carol asked hesitantly. Skylar studied her mother, noticing the faint lines under her eyes, and the small amount of gray laced through her hairline. She looked as if she'd aged five years in the night.

"We would like to monitor her for a few more hours; we'll wait and see how she's feeling in the afternoon." The doctor said, but Skylar knew it was a lie. They wanted to hold her overnight and make sure she didn't need to go to a facility. She'd heard her parents talking as she closed her eyes for a while on the chair earlier. As hard as she had tried, she wasn't able to sleep.

As her parents and the doctor talked, Skylar was wracking her brain trying to figure out why Lindsay would've been so stupid. Their whole lives, her parents warned about making such permanent decisions. She couldn't fathom the idea that her sister would want to become addicted to something. She knew her sister was going through withdraw; her heart rate was raised, she had a high fever, and she was irritable, from what she had heard her mother telling her father.

"Skylar, baby, let's go sit down." Her mother placed a gentle hand on her back, taking her from her thoughts as she softly moved her toward a set of chairs across the room.

"Mom, is Lindsay going to be okay?" Skylar blurted out after she was seated. She pulled her knees up to her chin and rested her head on them. "I can't believe I didn't know something was wrong. I knew she was acting defensive, but I never would have imagined this." She mumbled, her eyes welling up with tears.

Her mother's only response was a soft cry. Her body trembled as she tried to compose herself as beat she could.

"What do they think she used?" Skylar asked, afraid she already knew the answer.

Carol cleared her throat and sat up a little straighter. Her eyes were red, from a mixture of poor sleep and crying. She shook her head, staring at a spot on the floor.

"Cocaine." It was quiet, and had Skylar not been listening, she wouldn't have heard. As if it wasn't the word she'd heard in the back of her head all night. Hearing her mom confirm it only crushed her.

Skylar sucked in a breath, taken aback by the word. They'd talked about it once, in health class. It wasn't something she ever thought she'd have a firsthand - or secondhand, for that matter - experience with. She knew Lindsay had drank and occasionally smoked pot with her friends, but not this. Did anyone know? Was that what was wrong with Charlie when he picked her up?

"Thomas seems to think Charlie Eplin was also involved." Her mother said, and Skylar could see the rage in her eyes. "I guarantee your father is going to have a word with his father." She said in the most Carol fashion. Even when her family was being torn to shreds, she made sure every piece was taken care of.

"Mom, can I go see her?" Skylar asked, her voice shaky. She was nervous to see her sister in such a state.

"I don't think so, sweetheart. I'm sorry." Carol said, and her eyes welled up with tears again before she spoke. "There is a social worker coming to speak with your father and I here shortly."