Ecstasy

Gilinsky

I shouldn't have taken Jack to that party. I knew there was gonna be drugs, but Johnson usually only smoked pot and drank booze- he didn't inject LSD and take Ecstasy. I knew something was wrong from the minute I heard his voice and saw him; his voice was so garbled and slurred, it sounded like he was having a stroke. Then I turned on the lights, and he was shaking so violently... it was like someone had bewitched him. It scared me. I wouldn't ever want anything to happen to Jack.
I'm driving to the hospital, Sam in the backseat with Jack, trying to keep him still. Then I remember seeing Sam give Johnson the bag of Ecstasy.
"Hey, Sam? What was in the packet you gave Jack earlier?" I ask, even though I already knew the answer.
"What? Oh. I don't know, man. Jason gave it to me, and I wouldn't eat it. Jack usually has a knack for candy like that, so I gave it to him," says Sam.
I sigh. I knew Sam would never drug Jack on purpose, but I still can't help feeling like some of this is his fault.
I finally pull up to the emergency room, and I leave Sam to crawl up to the front of the car and park it while I grab Jack and carry him inside. He's shaking worse now, and he's muttering something about how Kanye West got eaten by a carnivorous carrot. Weird, maybe he was having an exceedingly bad acid trip.
I rush him to the front desk, and two nurses and a doctor take him away as I fill out paperwork. It is rather annoying, because it asks for stupid things like:

First Name: Jack
Last Name: Johnson
Date Of Birth: March 26th 1996
Injury: Overdose

And so on. Finally, I am able to fill it all out and I can go see Jack. Sam follows me, not saying anything. He was so quiet entering that I didn't hear him come in, or come to stand beside me.
I find Jack still shaking, but now he's asleep. Hopefully he doesn't dream of carnivorous carrots. I sit next to him on the chair in his room, and I watch him.
This is my fault. Not Sam's.
What will I tell his parents? I was supposed to be the one taking care of him, and I failed. I ask the doctor, who is a pretty young woman in her twenties, if I can stay overnight with Jack. She agrees to let me spend the night, but only until his parents get here. Once they file out of the room, leaving just me, Sam, and Jack, I take Jack's cold, shaking hand.
"I'm so sorry," I whisper to him.
"It wasn't your fault," Says Sam.
Shit. I forgot he was here. He needs to speak more sometimes, and less the others. What a creep.
"Yeah, it kinda was. I dragged him out there," I reply, and Sam shrugs.
"Okay, whatever bro. Guilt trip yourself if you want, it's not gonna help Jack."
I shake my head. Sam could be really smart sometimes. He was also surprisingly good at giving advice; there were just a lot of surprises about Sam.
"I know. Sorry. Are you gonna stay until his parents get here, too?" I ask him.
Sam glances and the clock then stands up. "Actually, I think I'll give you guys some time alone. Take care of him, eh?" As Sam walks out of the room, murmuring a goodbye to Jack, I dimly wonder if he's Canadian.
I sigh and bring my chair closer to Jack's. I really hope he will be okay, because if he did something like die, then I don't think I would ever forgive myself.
Not that I already could.
I play with Jack's fingers as he sleeps, curling each of them in and out individually. I put my hand into his limp one, twining our fingers together. I hope he wakes up soon.
I hear the door open, and I immediately drop Jack's hand. I pause to see who it is, then I take in a sharp breath.
"Mr. and Mrs. Johnson."