On Tour

Chapter 20 - Regret

GABRIELLA

By now I've memorized the press release Erica wrote about Joel. Every single media outlet has published it and the requests for additional coverage have been limited. 

Joel Anderson, 28, drummer of the famed rock band Pinch of Postal has been hospitalized after the last show of the first leg of the Maniac Stamp tour. His condition is critical, but stable. The medical team confirmed that Anderson was given an alcoholic drink laced with an extremely high dose of the date-rape drug known as Liquid Ecstasy during a night out at a local café. The situation is under investigation by the police and it is not clear yet if the drink was intended for Anderson. More information on his health status and the impact on the shows of the second leg of the tour will be shared in due time by their management.

Erica just sent me another email with more links of the coverage, but I don't bother opening them anymore. I was interested on any additions to the text, and when one media outlet went too far and published a compilation of all the news and photos of last year showing Joel in the worst light, it pissed me immensely. 

The police has been taking recounts of the night when Joel got drugged. Yesterday, they raided the bar but found nothing. Only Joel's phone appears to have been stolen. He had left it atop the bar and probably was taken during the chaotic moment. The bar tickets had been mixed, so unfortunately, the drinks order couldn't be traced to a specific group of people either. By now it all seems that Joel had bad luck taking a drink that was not meant for him or Lexy.

The whole team has been working behind the scenes on a contingency plan to continue the tour without Joel until he gets better. I always get mixed feelings when it comes to making decisions on these matters. Without Joel there's no Pinch of Postal, but the contractual obligations are serious and could mean lawsuits if we don't go through with the tour. Also many fans have been waiting for a year, and in some cases longer, to see the band in concert. Daan said that continuing the tour last year while Joel was in rehab saved everyone many headaches along the way.

Joel moves in bed and I hold my breath. He's been doing that since yesterday and Tess confirmed that it's a good sign that he'll wake up soon. We can only hope that there are no lasting damages from his heart stopping.

JOEL

It's so fucking bright in here, but I can't lift my hands to shield my eyes because they feel like they weigh a ton. It also reeks of alcohol and not the good kind. I'm so thirsty.

"Joel..."

Gabriella watches over me and supports me when I try to sit. My stomach still feels sore and I put my hand out to push her away because I feel I'm about to hurl, but it's a false alarm. 

"Hospital..." It's all I manage to say since my mouth feels like cardboard.

I have an IV in my hand and follow the line to see bags of medicines hanging from a rod. Gabriella presses a button on the wall and then serves me a cup of water from a pitcher nearby. I drink it greedily and motion for one more.

"Lie down. Your doctor should be here soon to check on you."

I'm not one to do what Gabriella tells me but I do it this time because I don't have the energy to keep sitting. My surprise is big when I see Tess wearing a doctor coat coming inside the room and accompanied by a nurse.

"Welcome back, Joel," she says in a kind voice.

"What did you do to me?" I try to laugh, but a strange noise comes out.

Tess listens to my chest and examines me further. She explains that I went into cardiac arrest at the bar after the overdose, and is checking my brain activity and coordination. She determines that I'm doing well among the circumstances. I'm still trying to process what she just said when she says that she'll come back before her shift ends.