An hour had passed and there was no news on Melissa’s condition. Dr. Newman thought it would be for the best to not let anyone see Melissa till she was stable. Everyone waited in the waiting room, praying that their friend would make it through this.
“I can’t stand here and not do anything!” Nick stated as he paced back and forward.
“Nick, Dr. Newman is doing everything he can to help Mel.” AJ replied walking over to him.
“I need to be with her AJ. What if she wakes up and doesn’t know where she is and gets scared. I need to be there with her.”
“Dr. Newman said he would come and get us when she’s stable. I’m sorry Nick, but all we can do is wait.”
“I just got out of the hospital and now I’m back. And there’s a chance that my best friend could die.” Jonathon said feeling the tears coming.
“I’m just as worried as the rest of you, but we need to think positive. Mel is a fighter; she has proven that over and over. She’ll get through this.” Julie responded standing up.
“Jules is right.” Alyssa said leaning her head on Howie’s shoulder.
“When Mel and I were about five years old, I had this bully who would constantly pick on me. He would push me and hit me. Mel saw him hit me one day and I can remember her walking over to him. She told him to leave me alone or he would be sorry. The bully didn’t back down, so Mel pushed him, causing him to fall into this pile of mud.” Jonathon started to laugh. “She told him if he didn’t leave me alone that she would tell everyone that a girl had beat him up. He never bothered me again.”
Jeni smiled and shook her head. “That sounds like Mel.”
“That is one of the things I love about her. She has this amazing heart. She loves her family and friends with every fiber of her being.” Nick said sitting down.
“I can remember the first time Nick mentioned Mel to me.” AJ stated. “You called me from Illinois. I couldn’t see your face, but I could tell you were smiling.” Nick nodded in agreement. “Do you remember what you said to me?”
“I told you that I found the one.” He said smiling.
“What about the first time we met Mel? She apologized for what happened with Nick, even though we knew she did it out of love.” Howie replied.
“What about when AJ hit on her before he knew who she was?” Jeni stated smirking.
“You hit on Mel?” Nick asked with a laugh.
“I didn’t hit on her, I was just friendly.” With that comment everyone started laughing, even AJ. The laughter quickly stopped when Dr. Newman entered the waiting room.
Nick swiftly walked over to him. “Can we see Mel?”
“Yes, you can see her, but only three at a time. I’ll take the first group back.”
“Nick, Jules, Jonathon, you guys go first.” AJ said.
“Yeah, give Mel our love.” Alyssa added.
“She’s still unconscious, but try talking to her. There are findings that show it helps. You only have a couple of minutes.” Dr. Newman acknowledged as they reached her room. Nick went in first, followed by Jonathon who was holding Julie’s hand.
“Hey, my brown-eyed angel.” Nick enclosed her hand in his. “I’m here Mel and so are Jules and Jonathon.” Jonathon and Julie held Melissa’s other hand. “You gave us such a scare, but you’re going to be okay.”
“Everyone’s in the waiting room and they want to see you. We all want you to get better.” Jonathon stated.
“You have so much to look forward to. Your graduation from college, getting married to Nick, making a future with him, so please wake up Mel.” Julie said trying to control her tears.
Suddenly Melissa’s heart monitor went off, causing Dr. Newman and two nurses to run into the room.
“I’m sorry, but you have to leave.” One of the nurses ushered them out of the room.
“What’s going on?” Jonathon asked her.
“The doctor will be out to talk to you as soon as he can.” She rushed back into the room. They stood and watched their friend slowly die.
“Her heart is failing; we need to tube her now!” The doctor yelled as he hurriedly inserted a tube down her throat. “Okay bag her.” The nurse placed the oxygen bag over the tube and squeezed, causing oxygen to reach her lungs.
“Get me the paddles. Charge them to 100.” The nurse quickly followed his instructions.
“CLEAR!” He shocked her, making her body to jerk.
“No response.”
“Charge to 150! CLEAR!”
“Still no response.”
Jonathon held Julie as she cried into his shoulder. She turned away when they started to shock Melissa.
“This can’t be happening, she can’t be dying!” Jonathon stated out loud. Nick watched the woman he loved fight for her life. “Angel. Please don’t leave me.”
“Charge to 200! CLEAR!” They all looked at the heart monitor. “Come on Melissa.”
“We have a rhythm.” The nurse said with a smile.
“Okay, hook her up to the respiratory machine. And get me those test results NOW!” One of the nurse hooked Melissa up to the machine, while the other rushed to get the test results from the toxic screen. The doctor noticed Julie, Jonathon, and Nick watching from the hallway. He exited the room, knowing he had bad news to tell them.
“How is she?” Jonathon asked, still holding Julie.
“Her heart failed, so we had to shock it. We inserted a tube down her throat to help her breathe. She’s stable now, but…”
“But what?” Nick questioned Dr. Newman.
“Her body is shutting down. If we don’t find out what is causing this, there is good chance she will die.” His beeper went off. “I’m sorry, I need to answer this.”
Nick walked away from Jonathon and Julie, heading back to the waiting room.
“Nick? Nick, how’s Mel?” Howie asked once he appeared. Just hearing her name set him off. He grabbed a chair and threw it across the room. “DAMN IT!!!!” He went for another, but AJ and Howie stopped him.
“Nick, please calm down!” Howie said grabbing his friend as AJ took the chair out of his hands.
“What the hell happened?” AJ asked Jonathon.
“Mel’s heart failed, they had to shock her.”
“She has a tube down her throat. Dr. Newman said her body is shutting down.” Julie stated as tears fell.
“I’m losing her Howie. I’m losing my Angel.” Nick replied softly as he fell to the ground. Julie walked over to him and kneeled in front of him.
“I’m scared too Nick.”
“I can’t lose her Jules; I don’t think I can go on without her.”
“I know right now it is hard to not think about Mel leaving us, but we have to be strong. For Mel.”
Nick looked into Julie’s eyes. “I need her Jules, she’s my everything.”
“I need her too, Nick. I need her too.” She said as she hugged him.
“WHAT?!” Adam yelled once he heard what happened to Melissa.
“She’s in the hospital.”
“What happened? The amount she should have taken should have knocked her out, not kill her.” Adam stated pacing back and forward.
“I think I gave her too much.”
“How much did you give her?”
“All of it.”
“You idiot! You were supposed to only give her half, so you could carry her out of the house without anyone noticing.”
“I was hurrying so no one saw me.”
“If she dies, you will wish you were more careful.”
“Dr. Newman, I have the test results from Ms. Barnes’ toxic screen.” The nurse stated as walked over to him.
“Finally.” He read over the report till he spotted what he was looking for. “Alright, here is what we are going to do.” Dr. Newman gave the nurse strict instructions on Melissa’s health. Now he was going to tell her friends what he found out.
The gang sat in the waiting room, hoping for any news on Melissa’s condition. Nick stood up and stretched his long body.
“I hate this! It has been hours and we haven’t heard anything.” Nick stated walking over to the window, looking at clear blue sky. “When are we going to hear something?”
“How about right now, Mr. Carter?” Dr. Newman replied, causing everyone to look at him.
“How is she?” Nick asked walking over to him.
“We found out what drug has been causing Melissa’s condition. It’s a drug called gamma hydroxybutyrate, better known as GHB.”
“The date-rape drug?” Nick questioned him.
“Yes, the dose she took was lethal and it was what caused her body to fail.”
“I can’t believe this is happening!” Julie said standing up. “No one in that house would have drugged Mel with GHB.”
“What’s next?” Jonathon asked, holding Julie.
“We have already given her a drug that will counteract with the GHB. If all goes well, Melissa should be wake in a couple of hours.”
“Are there going to be any complications?” AJ asked standing next to Nick.
“Her heart rate is back to normal and she is breathing on her own. Physically she is doing much better, but I won’t be completely certain till she wakes up.”
“Can I be with her?”
“Mr. Carter, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“That woman is my life and I need to be with her. Please Dr. Newman, please.”
Dr. Newman saw the love shining in his eyes and then knew he couldn’t say no. “Alright, but only you.”
“Nick, please let us know the minute she wakes up!” Jonathon stated. Nick nodded and then followed Dr. Newman to Melissa’s room.
He entered her room and saw her resting in the bed. She was no longer hooked up to the heart monitor or the respiratory. The IV was attached to her right arm and the oxygen mask was replaced with a thin one that went around her ears. Her color was better, but still pale. He brought a chair over to her bed and sat down. He reached for her hand and placed it in-between his.
“Mel, I’m here baby and I’m not going anywhere.” He brushed back her hair. “You are going to get through this and I’ll help you every step of the way. I love you Angel.”
As the day came to an end, the gang headed home to rest. Nick promised he would call them right away if there was any change in Melissa’s condition. He sat by her side and watched her sleep like he did so many times before.
“Please open your beautiful eyes, Angel. I need you in my life. I’m not the only one who needs you. There’s Jules and Jonathon, they want their best friend back. And what about your parents? They love you so much, so please come back to me, to all of us. We all need you.” He waited for a response or even a movement, but nothing. All the feelings that he kept buried finally came to the surface.
“I can’t lose you. Please come back to me. I want my Angel back.” He stated in between his sobs. Nick crawled into the bed with her and placed his arm around her. Then he kissed her forehead before resting his head on her shoulder. In minutes, Nick fell fast asleep.
“I’ll get it!” Jonathon yelled as he reached for the phone. “Hello?”
“Hello, this is Officer Garner. Can I talk to Ms. Barnes?”
“Officer Garner, this is Jonathon Bradley.”
“Hello, Mr. Bradley. How are you?”
“I’m doing much better thanks.”
“That’s great to hear, Mr. Bradley. Is Ms. Barnes available?” Jonathon sighed remembering where Melissa was and what had happened to her.
“No Officer Garner, she isn’t available. She’s in the hospital.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. What happened?”
“She was drugged with GHB.”
“How is she doing?”
“The doctor gave her something to thwart off the drug, but she isn’t conscious.”
“I’m so sorry that all of this is happening to Ms. Barnes. She is an amazing lady.”
“She is; I just hope she gets better. Is there anything I can help you with?”
“She asked me to find out if Mr. O’Neil had an alibi for the night you were attacked.”
“Did you find anything out?”
“Mr. O’Neil has a solid alibi. Three people stated he was at a bar during the time you were attacked.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. He probably had someone else do it.”
“Mr. Bradley, do you think Mr. O’Neil had anything to do with Ms. Barnes being drugged?”
“Yes, I do. He did it officer, I know he did.”
“Mr. Bradley I’ll keep digging, maybe I can find something.”
“Thank you so much Officer Garner.”
“You’re welcome. I hope Ms. Barnes gets better.”
“Thanks.”
“I’ll call if I have any news.” After that, they both hung up.
“Who was that honey?” Julie asked entering the room.
“It was Officer Garner; he wanted to tell Mel that Adam had a firm alibi for the night I was attacked.”
“Great, just the kind of news I wanted to hear this morning.” She replied sitting down on the sofa. Jonathon joined her and grabbed her hand.
“Worried about Mel?” Julie simply nodded.
“Me too, but we have to be strong for Mel. You said it yourself.”
Julie smiled at him and then rested her head on his shoulder. “I thank God for you, everyday.”
Jonathon kissed the top of her head and wrapped his arm around her. “Is anyone else up?” She shook her head. “Come on, let’s go and relieve Nick.” Jonathon and Julie headed to the hospital hoping for the best, but preparing for the worse. As Julie and Jonathon entered the hospital, they were greeted by Dr. Newman.
“Hello Mr. Bradley and Ms. Bates.”
“Dr. Newman, how’s Mel doing? Any change?” Julie asked nervously.
“I’m sorry, no change. Her vitals are strong, but she hasn’t woken up. Mr. Carter spent the night in her room. Never left her, not even for a minute.”
“Yeah, we came to give him a break.”
“That’s good; he needs to take care of himself. Excuse, I have rounds.” Dr. Newman hurried off in the opposite direction.
The sight they saw as they approached Melissa’s room brought tears to Julie’s eyes. Nick laying in the bed with his arms protectively around Melissa. His head was on pillow next to hers. By the looks of him, they could tell he had a hard night, not much sleeping, just tossing and turning.
Jonathon walked over to him and gently shook his shoulder. “Nick, Nick, wake up.” Nick wake up abruptly and looked over at Melissa’s sleeping form. “Nick, its Jonathon and Jules, we thought you would like to go home and get some rest.”
Nick rubbed his eyes and slowly got up. “I’m not leaving her.”
“Nick, you are exhausted and you should eat something.” Julie replied sitting in the chair by the bed.
“I won’t leave her.”
“Nick it would only be for a couple of hours, tops! We would call if anything happened.”
Nick stretched and then looked at Jonathon. “I’m not going anywhere. I need to be here when she wakes up. I want her to know that she is safe and loved. I can’t do that if I’m not here.”
“We understand that Nick, but you won’t be any good to Mel, if you don’t take care of yourself. You know Mel would be upset with you if she found out. We will be here the whole time, never leave her side.”
“You’ll call if anything, anything happens?” Jonathon nodded. Nick walked over to Melissa and caressed her cheek. “I love you and I will be back.” He once again kissed her forehead and then gradually he left the room.
“I didn’t think he would leave.” Julie replied grasping Melissa’s hand. Jonathon brought over another chair and placed next to Julie’s. “So what do we do now?”
“We wait and hope our friend wakes up.”
