"SAM! SAM PLEASE WAKE UP!" I scream, the fear evident in my voice, the tears building, threatening to fall. My best friend is unconscious on the bathroom floor and it's my fault. If I had my eyes on her the whole time, if I hadn't left her alone with this Dan guy, none of this would have happened. If anything happens to her, I won't be able to forgive myself. I'm going to kill Dan first though, obviously. The ambulance arrived 5 minutes later and two paramedics climbed up the stairs to us.
"Everyone move!" The younger of the 2 yelled. I couldn't leave her alone, and didn't move. "You too young lady" the same man told me.
"I can't leave her, she's my best friend" I choked out, the tears falling free.
"You need to let us move her"
"Please let me go with her" I beg him and wait anxiously for his reply.
"Fine but you need to move so we can carry her out" I nod and move aside and watch them lift her up gently and transfer her on to the stretcher.
The paramedics and I walked towards the ambulance and I moved out of the way as they pushed her in.
"Sit on the bench at the side" The young paramedic told me. I obeyed and sat next to Sam.
"Please hurry" I beg, my voice cracking from crying . The ambulance started when the older paramedic got in and stared working on her with the younger one driving.
"What happened? How much has she had to drink?" The older man started asking me all these question.
"I don't know, I wasn't with her" I reply, a sob escaping my lips. "What's wrong with her? Why isn't she waking up?" I ask anxiously holding her hand tightly, panic and fear rising within me.
"She's suffering from alcohol poisoning, vey fatal if not treated quick enough" he answered. He must have seen the fear on my face, because he tried to calm me down. "Don't worry, we'll help her, she's in good hands" he smiled. "I promise" I was in utter shock listening to what he was telling me. My best friend could die.
"Please drive faster!" I almost yell, my eyes wide with fear.
We finally arrived at the hospital. It felt like we'd been driving forever. The paramedic that was sat in the back with me, had been working on Sam the whole time. I never once left her hand go. She needs to wake up, just so I can yell at her for being so stupid. We came to a stop the paramedics got Sam out of the ambulance and ran towards the hospital doors.
"We have an emergency here!" The oldest of them shouted walking into the ER while I followed behind them. "Excessive alcohol consumption, she needs her stomach pumped, now" he rushed.
"Ok, we'll take it from here, thanks Ed" An ER doctor told him with a smile, and rushed to Sams side. "On my count" she announced, the other doctors around her nodded as she counted to 3. Sam was then lifted off the stretcher and put on to a bed. "Ok, so she's had a little too much to drink, let's get her into trauma room 1 and get started" she ordered. Sam was rolled away and I began to follow, but a nurse stopped me.
"I'm sorry, you can't go in there" she told me softly.
"Please, she's my best friend" I beg. The nurse sighs and puts her hand on my shoulder.
"Why don't you go to the cafeteria, grab a drink and try to calm down?'' She smiled at me.
"I can't, I just can't leave her, what if something happens to her and I'm not here'' I replied, my tears falling again.
''Your friend is in the best hands possible, I promise." She told me gently. "Plus she might be in there a while" she added. "How about I wait with you?" she suggested when she realised I wasn't going anywhere. I looked at her and nodded.
"Company would be good" I half smile. We'd been in the waiting room for about half an hour, with no word on how Sam is. "It is my fault" I thought out loud, breaking the silence that now surrounded us.
"What do you mean?" The nurse, I now know to be called Beth asked.
"I didn't protect her like I should have, I should have stayed with her, by her side to stop her from drinking so much. My best friend could die and it's all my fault" I told her, the tears now streaming down my cheeks, like a river.
"It's not your fault, Sam should have controlled herself. You can't be with her all the time taking care of her 24/7, you're both young woman who need to be more independent and make the right choices for yourselves" She told me "You have to think of yourself first"
"You don't get it, she had an alcohol problem 2 years ago, I should have stopped her" I cried. She sighed and put her arm around me, trying to comfort me. She was understanding and just let me cry.
"No-ones perfect Mary, we all make mistakes, lets hope Sam learns from hers" She told me. "She'll be fine, like I said she's in the best hands" she reassured me.
"Thanks Beth" I smiled, lifting my head off her shoulder and whipping my tear stained face. "I think I'll go get that drink now" I told her.
I replayed Beths words over and over in my mind while I went to get my drink, and after thinking about it for a while, I realised that she might have been right. Sam is old enough to take care of herself now and when she wakes up I need to tell her that. She needs to know how to be independent. I drank my drink then decided to make my way up to Sam. I climbed the stairs and sat in the waiting room, praying that she'd be ok. It'd been almost 2 hours since the doctors took Sam into trauma room 1. I started getting worried. Why isn't she out yet? What the hell is taking so long? Did something happen? I hope everything is alright. I can't stop the bad thoughts creeping into my mind though.
"Mary Jones?" the doctor that was in charge of Sam called, making me jump. A serious look on her face.
"Yes?" I answered my face full of worry, as her distressed gaze made me freeze. Why does she look like this? "What happened to Sam?"
