What Happens in Glastonbury

Taking her home

It was nearly a week before Zoe came home. She responded well to the treatment to reverse the effects and the damage that the cocaine and alcohol had caused, which I later found out was the cocktail that led to her cardiac arrest. Thank God for the paramedics that resuscitated her.

Sam had actually left his wife. I was surprised, I honestly thought he wouldn't have the balls. She had moved out of their home, but Sam had hardly been home anyway, he'd stayed at our house helping me take care of Zo. She was still fragile, still recovering, she needed rest but mostly we felt like we needed to be on suicide watch 24/7, neither Sam or I felt able to leave her alone, we hadn't had the conversation with her about why yet, so we didn't know how she was feeling or what she might do. She still wasn't herself.

Zoe's parents found out that Sam had left his wife, so they hadn't come by, not even once to see Zoe, not at the hospital or at home. What fucking pricks they were! They didn't deserve to have her in their lives anyway.

Thankfully Zoe did recover after a few more weeks of Sam, Jee, Katy and I helping her to get back on her feet, she was back at uni with me and almost back to the Zoe I knew. We had the conversation about why. That was tough, we both cried a lot. She told me she honestly didn't want to die, she was drunk and high, so in love with Sam and so heartbroken that she couldn't have him that she made a stupid spur of the moment decision made under the influence when she wasn't thinking rationally. She wrote a goodbye note, but she told us she never thought she had taken enough to kill herself. She was terrified when we told her she'd had a cardiac arrest and that she had technically been dead until they resuscitated her, thank God they did! I think it was more of a cry for help than a serious attempt at ending her life.

It was a wakeup call for her too, a warning to sort her life out and she did start trying to. She started dating Sam, properly, they took it slowly, they stayed living apart and gave each other space but he was there for her, they went out on dates, something I know she had always wanted to do, she seemed happy, she definitely laughed more and smiled more, it was nice to see. All of us were still really cautious, keeping an eye on her, talking to her regularly, just to make sure she was ok.

Things were finally going ok for all of us.

It got to Easter, and we all went home to our families for the break, Zoe didn't. I hadn't seen her parents at all since before Christmas, they still hadn't come to see her, but I actually don't think Zoe lost anything and she was happy so that's all I wanted for her. Instead of going home like the rest of us, Sam took her to Bali for two weeks, they always wanted to travel together, it was so lovely to see them making all the dreams they had had for years, come true, together.

Jiya was leaving Uni after Easter, just like she told us on New Year's Eve, she needed a gap year to travel and to know what she really wanted to do with her life, her parents were pretty mad, I think they had pushed her into uni in the first place, but I was used to dealing with annoying parents by now!

"Just send 'em to me!" I said rolling my eyes

"I can deal with disappointed parents, it's within my specialist skill set now" I joked, thinking of the number of times I'd disappointed my own parents, of which they liked to remind me often.

"I'm gonna miss you so much Jee" I gushed, hugging her at the door, her parents were waiting in a car outside, boxes of her stuff were piled next to the door, I helped her carry them down to the car, after the second trip back and forth, all her stuff was in the car, I gave her another hug next to the car

"Have an amazing time! I'm so jealous! Send me

Postcards! From everywhere!" I said

"I will. I love you Ols" she replied. And just like that, she was gone.