Motors

16

ASHER:

It was around two o'clock in the morning and Cara still wasn't home. The boys were sound asleep and Quentin had showed up at the apartment.

"Where is she?" I asked no one in particular.

"If you want I'll keep an eye on the boys while you go look for her." Quentin said.

"Okay, I'll be back before lunch." I said leaping up and running out the front door.

I rode all around town, to all the places I knew Cara went when she needed a breather. I showed up at the cemetery last, the sun was behind heavy grey clouds and it was pissing down with rain, I walked past my mums grave, noticing that Cara had been there and put daffodils on her grave, so the only other place she would be was with Tara.

I ran through the cemetery, to the back, where Tara's grave was. Inside the little fence around the grave there were Jack Daniels cans everywhere, burnt out joints and cigarettes all over the ground, and Cara was sleeping with her back to me. I walked over and rolled her onto her back... She wasn't sleeping, she overdosed. She was pale, her mouth was frothing and she had a cut on her lip and forehead.

I picked her up in my arms and carried her to her car, which was left unlocked with the keys in the ignition. I lay her down in the back seat and rushed to the hospital. I carried her to the emergency room and called out for help. Immediately a nurse rushed out with a stretcher and got me to put Cara on it.

"Follow me sir." The nurse said.

I followed the nurse to a room where she moved Cara onto the hospital bed. She started poking needles into her, and inserting tubes in her throat and nose.

"What's her name, birthday, parents and siblings-deceased and alive-names, your name and birthday?"

"Her name is Cara Bridgette Erikson, her birthday is the 14th of February 1998 other is Phillipa Octavia Mallor, her father is James Robbert Erikson, Her siblings are Quentin James Erikson, Tara Louise Erikson, and Mara Eleanor Erikson. I am her fiancé, Asher Tyson Michaels, born July 3rd 1997."

"Cara, the same one that usually comes in every year overdosed... Poor girl. I treated her sister."

"You did?" I asked.

"Yes, Tara was such a lovely girl. If I didn't have other patients I'd probably have spend every day in her room. Beautiful girl, all three of them are gorgeous. Cara and Mara came in every day to see Tara. I saw the way Cara changed when her sister died. I was just outside. The good ones always die young." The nurse sighed.

"Do you think Cara will die?"

"Cara has always had a fighting spirit... Tara embraced death, but despite the fact that Cara keeps trying to bring death upon herself, she's not ready to die. Deep below the surface, there's a little girl, who's scared, she's lost... But she doesn't want to stop the fight, because she knows, that once she stops, she'll leave and never return."

"I can't lose her. I've lost my mother, I cant lose her too." I said.

"The good news is, this isn't even her worst overdose, she's had one or two worse. So she should pull through and be awake in a few hours, and discharged by tomorrow."

"That's a relief." I sighed. "I should probably call her brother and sister... She'll kill me, but I should call her mother too."

"I'll be just out at the nurses station, come get me, or press the call button if anything changes."

The nurse walked out of the room and down the hallway, leaving me alone with my thoughts and my fiancé. I didn't think I'd ever see her like this, so blank... So pale, so cold. I suppose it isn't that bad, because it's not like she's in the morgue. That aside I still didn't know what to do. I knew we were having issues, but I didn't think they were so bad as to almost kill herself.

"Cara, if you can hear me, which you probably can't... I'm so sorry. I'm sorry that I hurt you and drove you to do this to yourself. This isn't what Tara would have wanted, this isn't what my mum would have wanted... This isn't what anyone wants. We all love you Cara... Judah and Heath need you, you're like a mother to them now. I can't loose you Cara. I don't think I could handle loosing you... Not the day after my mum's birthday... Or ever for that matter. Don't leave me." I said not any louder than a whisper

---

I took in a deep breath, and watched Cara as she spoke to the director of a support group for recovering addicts. Thankfully, she pulled through. She was told by everyone that she needed help, so she signed up for one of those support groups where you sit around in a circle and tell everyone who you are and what drugs you do or did.

I'm proud of her. She's really taking a huge step.