𝐃𝐀𝐃𝐃𝐘 𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐔𝐄𝐒 | jj maybank

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR: YOU DON'T REMEMBER, DO YOU?

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with a very confused look around the room at her surroundings, elsie groggily asked jj, "what happened?"

"i don't know, darlin'. just how much alcohol did you drink last night?" the boy eyed his girlfriend, who still looked sickly pale. elsie tried to think of an answer to his question, but she could barely remember. nothing of the previous night was coming to her brain. "you don't remember, do you?" jj's eyed her, knowing that she probably had more to drink that he hadn't known about.

"i really don't, but i feel like there was something bad that happened, t-that caused me to be like that, y-you know? to drink a lot?" elsie innocently responded, completely clueless.

"john b and sarah, they-" jj trailed off before a doctor came into the hospital room, interrupting them.

"hello elsie, how are you feeling?" the middle-aged man inquired. "i'm dr. smith."

elsie simply shrugged, "could be better i guess. can i ask, what the hell is going on?"

"that's what i'm actually here to talk to you about. first of all, we have been unable to contact any family members," he explained, which was anything but surprising for the teenage girl. elsie's aunt never answered the phone. "i assume the answer is yes, but do you give consent for this young man to know your medical information and visit you? it's protocol."

"of course, yes."

"alright, good. now that that's out of the way, we ran many tests. you went unconscious for a decent amount of time. and we happened to figure out that this was because of a large amount of alcohol consumed at one time. but in addition to that, we found underlying issues from drinking a lot over time. you know, for a child your age-"

"yes, i know it's bad," elsie stopped the doctor. she didn't need to hear a lecture; hell, that wasn't going to help her. "believe me, i'm aware."

"i don't doubt that, elsie. but it has caused internal issues to parts of your body. like your liver. with how small you are, and how young you are, it just makes it that much worse. you just turned 16 two months ago. i'm not trying to be harsh, but it's got to stop. there's no other way."

"or what, i'm gonna die?" the girl replied, sitting back in the bed.

"don't talk like that, darlin," jj chimed in, just the thought of that causing him to be uneasy.

"listen, elsie," the doctor dismissed her question, seeming more sympathetic. "you're a teenager, you're gonna drink. i get that. for your own good though, you've gotta cut down. a lot. and i can tell that you don't only drink. is that right?"

"sure, yeah-- whatever," the girl shook her head, there not being any point as to denying the fact that she was not only had alcohol coursing through her veins, but drugs too. the blonde next to her looked at his feet, almost as if he was trying to ignore it. "so um-- how long do you think i'll be staying here?"

"it all depends. that's the answer i'll give you right now," the man made his way out of the room, leaving the two lovers alone. jj then eyed the girl.

"how are you actually feeling?" he asked elsie, knowing her all too well. "and d-don't give me some bullshit answer, darlin."