Read Online Viral by Alex Van Tol - Free Book Online

really burned out from all this stress, I realize. She’s had a brutal week.
    I sit on the side of the bed, feeling nervous. Which is dumb, because how many times have we sat together on this bed and worked on projects? How many times have we studied for tests here?
    I reach a hand out and gently stroke her shoulder. “Linds,” I say. “It’s me.”
    She doesn’t move. I shake her a bit. “Linds.” A few strands of hair have fallen over her face and I tuck them behind her ear. “Linds, wake up.”
    But she doesn’t.
    Suddenly I’m filled with a bad feeling.
    I pull back the covers. She’s fully clothed.
    Then I see the empty medicine container in her hand.
    No.
    I grab the plastic jar and turn it around until I can see the label. Lorazepam. Lindsay told me her mother is afraid of flying. I’m holding her bottle of tranquilizers for when she travels.
    It’s a big container. And it’s empty.
    â€œNo!” I shout. I give Lindsay a hard shake, enough to flop her head off the pillow, but she’s unresponsive. I stare wildly around for the phone before remembering I have my cell with me. I snatch it out of my pocket and dial 9-1-1.
    The dispatcher listens as I fluster through explaining the situation. He takes the address and tells me that an ambulance will arrive within six minutes. His voice is flat. Calm. Maybe he figures that’s reassuring to people who are losing it.
    Like me.
    â€œIs there a suicide note?” Flat-Voice Man asks me. “Any message you can see?”
    I stare around. The word suicide ricochets around inside my head. Suicide? Are we really talking about suicide? What the hell ?
    I look on the bedside table. Under the covers. Under the pillow. On the floor.
    The dresser. The bathroom. The kitchen.
    Nothing.
    â€œNo, nothing,” I gasp. I feel the tears threatening to overtake me. “There’s no note.”
    She meant every bit of this.

Chapter Seventeen
    The ambulance comes. Damned if I’m not going to ride along with Lindsay. The paramedics are fine with it.
    I sit as close as I can to her, holding her hand. As I watch her chest rise and fall, I start making bargains. Please, God, if you’re out there, don’t take her away from me. Please. I’ll do whatever it takes. Just make sure she’s okay. I’ll work hard in school. I’ll help Mom more. I’ll be so good to Lindsay.
    I hate that this has happened. I hate that I didn’t leave school right away to go to Lindsay’s place. But then, I had to take care of Josh. And I was so ready to tell Lindsay all about it. I had no idea what she was thinking. How bad things had gotten.
    What if I had arrived ten minutes later? I shudder and look out the rear windows.
    It’s started to rain.
    Like my heart, the streets are cold and empty as we fly toward the hospital, siren screaming.
    As soon as we roll to a stop, the doors open and Lindsay is wheeled out by two waiting attendants. The paramedics hop down and help. They whisk her off through the sliding doors and down a corridor, out of sight.
    A nurse tells me she’ll need to have her stomach pumped.
    She’s little, this nurse. Mom’s age. Tight-lipped, but warm. Her nametag says Joanne . She holds her clipboard precisely and asks me a million questions about Lindsay. Has she tried to commit suicide before? Whose drugs were they? Did her mother use drugs often? What happened to make Lindsay want to harm herself?
    I answer most of the nurse’s questions honestly. But I lie and tell her I don’t know any reason why she would take the pills. That’s for Lindsay to talk about. If she makes it.
    When she makes it. I’m not going to believe that she’s not going to make it.
    I wonder how she’s going to be feeling when she comes around. Will she be pissed to find herself still here? Will she be mad at me for pulling her back from the Big Sleep?
    Will she