Rise Up

Lin

Talie seemed to avoid me a lot the next few days, both at home and at school. She didn't look at me during class and didn't participate. Most of the time, her hoodie was up and she was hunched over her desk. She was getting her work done, though, so I left her alone.

Vanessa had tried talking to her. It still seemed to bug Talie that other kids now knew that she was living with us. I got that in high school kids were worried about their image. One morning on the way, I ask her if she was getting teased at all. She said some kids made comments but she was trying to ignore them.

One day, she was particularly morose. She went through the motions in class, but had a glassy look in her eyes. I wondered if this arrangement was still a good idea. Maybe I needed to insist that she at least go see her father in London. She was in a funk she couldn't shake. I didn't realize how bad it was until 6th period that day. I got a phone call, and the secretary was frantic.

"Lin, we need you in the second floor bathroom," she said. "Talie's in there. She's....she's unconscious."

My heart dropped and I raced up the stairs, where there was a teacher standing guard, making sure no kids went in. The teacher had a look on her face that said this was serious. I rushed in and found the nurse crouched down next to Talie, who was laying on the floor. There was a small pile of vomit next to her and she looked pale.

The nurse looked up at me. "I think she swallowed a bunch of pills," she told me. I crouched down on the other side of her and gently shook her arm.

"Talie, sweetheart," I said, my voice full of worry. "It's Lin. Just keep breathing. You're gonna be alright."

"We already called an ambulance," she told me. I took Talie's hand and held it. It was cold and clammy. Talie moved her head a little bit and groaned in discomfort.

"Talie, did you take something?" the nurse asked her. She just moaned in response. It seemed like it took forever for the EMTs to come. It was torture seeing her laying there, almost unresponsive. What had she done? Why had she done this?

Finally, then arrived and started checking her vitals. They loaded her up on the stretcher. The principal had called a lock-down, so no one was allowed out of the classrooms. I hopped into the ambulance with Talie and they worked on making her as comfortable as possible.

I texted Vanessa on the way there. We agreed she should stay home with the boys and I'd stay with Talie. I'd call her dad as soon as I knew more about what was going on.

When we arrived at the ER, the doctor determined she needed her stomach pumped. Talie was still out of it when they put the tubing down her throat and started to remove what was inside. They tested the material and it turns out she took a bunch of vitamins. They didn't think it was a suicide attempt, but it was definitely a cry for help.

They pumped her up with pain meds and she slept most of the afternoon into the evening. I stayed by her bedside, watching over her.

Around 5:00, I decided I needed to call her dad with the updates. He was obviously very concerned. I said I hadn't gotten a chance to talk to her yet, but would when she came to. Diego said he'd book the next flight out and be in New York the next day.

Around 8:00 that night, Talie started to wake up. I scooted close to her bed and gently rubbed her arm.

"Hi, sweetheart," I said gently. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit," she said groggily, rubbing her eyes. She realized she had an IV stuck in her arm and she whimpered a bit. "What happened?"

"A student found you on the floor in the bathroom," I said. "Apparently you took a bunch of vitamins and got pretty sick and passed out. Do you remember doing that?"