Never Too Late

Chapter Forty Four

"When the paramedics got to her, she was unresponsive and had no pulse or displayed any vital signs. They did the best they could for her, I'm sorry for your loss." A doctor told Johan, who stood rigid as a board, staring at him silently. He had rushed to the hospital where Liz was taken, hoping his friend Tony was wrong, but even as the doctor explained what happened to him, nothing made sense.

"Can I see her?" He said staring blankly past the man and down the corridor where double doors and a sign reading 'morgue' were.

"Only family is allowed to view the body." The doctor said solemnly with a pitiful expression.

"Oh," he murmured thinly, before turning on his heels and heading towards the door anyway.

He felt the doctor pulling him back and calling to him, but it was more of an annoyance than a deterrent. Why were they trying to stop him from seeing Liz? He understood she was gone but he needed to know for himself. It was all too unreal. Were they lying to him?

"Johan!" His mother's voice broke him from his daze and he realized that not only the doctor but security were pulling on him.

"I need to see her!" The voice that escaped him didn't sound like his own. Desperate, frail, broken. Tears welled in his eyes, and in a burst of anger, he wrestled himself from the men holding onto him before sinking to the floor.

"Johan, breathe," his mother said hugging him. "Please breathe,"

His breath left him in haggard waves as the reality of what happened came crashing down on him. He was with her only hours ago. How could she die?

He shook his head in disbelief as his mother held him close, then looked up at his dad who stood a distance away, choosing not to interfere and let Johan grieve.

When the news about Liz broke to him that morning, he tried to leave immediately, but his parents convinced him to let them go with him. Now, as he struggled to get to his feet, his parents were the only ones around, able to calm him down.

"I should've stopped her sooner! I knew she was back on drugs! I knew she would break her promise!" Johan shouted as he slammed his fist into a wall.

"Johan, you have to calm down." His father finally stepped in. "You couldn't have known."

"If I stayed with her she wouldn't have to die alone!" Johan trembled with rage, remembering the doctor's earlier words. Liz had overdosed on sleeping pills sometime during the night, and by the time she was found, it was too late.

"Johan, the doctor said that she only had a few pills in her stomach so no one knows if it was an accident or..." His father trailed off and looked away. A grim silence filled the room but Johan shook his head with denial.

His lips parted, but no words escaped; he couldn't think about it. He only wanted the nightmare he was experiencing to end.

"If she'd been taking her medication incorrectly, and frequently, that could've caused a buildup in her system and led to her subsequent overdose." The doctor revealed in an attempt to alleviate Johan's distress.

Johan staggered away from his parents and over to the door where he stared at it intently and without expression.

"She was my best friend," Johan's voice floated across the room so broken that tears welled in his mother's eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Johan," She sympathized but Johan remained still.

Turning to the doctor, his father inquired about her family. "Have you been able to contact any of her relatives. If they need help with her funeral arrangements we can help." He offered.