as the way comes

Chapter 8

When I turned on my phone, I saw that I had 13 missed calls. All of them were from the unrecognizable number. Aha! Tabetha! I knew she was real.

"hey" I texted. No answer. I waited 10 minutes and, still. No answer. What the hell? Ok, so she calls me several times and then the moment I text her, she just ignores me?

I texted again. "what the hell was that about last night?"

After waiting another 10 minutes, I decided to do something else for a change. But I realized I had no idea where I was. I knew I was in a hospital, but as to which one, I was clueless. Of course, it only took me a few moments to see the glaring wall art of "Oeaune Hospital." Yes! I was in my hometown.

But then I realized the reality of my situation. Holy crap. I was gone from home for at least two days. Yet, no texts. No calls. Nothing. My uncle and aunt take care of me now, and they didn't even care that I was gone. That's when I realized I had nowhere to go. So, I tried calling Tabetha. Even though she has caused me great distress in these past few days, she was the only one who can save me now. So, I went to my "Phone" app and clicked the most recent missed call. I called her back.

She picked up after a few rings. Ok. Don't get mad.

"Yeah, hi." I said.

"Hello?" She responded as if she didn't recognize the voice.

"Yeah, um, can you pick me up. You know, from the hospital. I don't even know how I got here."

I heard a repetitive tap in the background. "Yeah, uh...sure. Wait, why don't you just call an Uber or something?"

"Seriously, Tabetha? I have no money. I missed school and now I can't even go home. I'm not exactly in an ideal situation here." I explained. "Wait. How exactly did you get me here?" My memory came flooding back. "Yeah, weren't we like both, ehehem. You know," I coughed briefly to hide my words. "On drugs? Like, whoever found me knows about our situation."

"Yeah, don't worry. There's always someone onsite for if something bad happens." I tried recalling a single sober soul in that room. Nothing came up.

As if she's telepathic, she responded. "They observe from a hidden distance. And they discreetly get help if something happens." Tabetha went on to explain that she forgot about her first experience. How the body rejects the drug and how, shortly after its effects, at least for the first use, it gets bad.

"But you said." I emphasized. "You specifically said there would be no negative effects." I felt my fists clench and my blood pressure rise in anger.

"Ok, look. I'm sorry. I know you need a place to stay." She was trying to change the subject. "You can stay with—"

"No! No, no, no, no, no. You have been nothing but trouble! I'll figure things out on my own." I instantly regretted that.

"Just...let me help you."

Then I really thought about the trouble that I was in. I essentially skipped class to get high, it looked like I ran away from home, I had no money, nowhere to go, and shit. I looked at my phone and it was at 10%. "Yes, please help me." I then remembered the hospital bill, too. "Also, I need 5-grand for my hospital bill." While my uncle and aunt could pay it, they clearly didn't care that much about me. And they're smart people, too. While they didn't necessarily care I was gone, they undoubtedly knew it. They would probably nag at me until I told them where I'd been. They're nosy like that.

"Alright, I'll be on my way."

So, I stepped out of the hospital into the dark, cold outdoors. And I waited for Tabetha.