Crescendo

Chapter 11

*Trigger warning: mentions of overdose and suicide present.

Soundtrack for this chapter:
Change My Mind—One Direction
Swing Life Away—Rise Against
I'm Not Okay (I Promise)—My Chemical Romance

11

Jules

Somehow, Theo got us to Parnassus in under fifteen minutes.

This was unlike Katie. Katie was good at hiding her emotions, and she rarely allowed people to see exactly how she was feeling. Something wasn't right; the catalyst had to be more than just school stress.

On the phone, Dr. Benniger—Andy—said Katie's roommate called and said she was worried about her, that she hadn't seemed okay all weekend; Katie's lucky to have such a conscious roommate. Andy called Dr. Lydia Mellnor to go check on her; he called me when Lydia couldn't get Katie to open her dorm room door.

When I unbuckled my seatbelt, Theo spoke for the first time since getting in the car.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

I hoped I wouldn't—Katie wouldn't—need him, but I just wasn't sure. Not after her slip over the summer.

"Yes. When we get to her hall, just hang back. I'll call to you if I need you."

He followed me into the building, maintaining a distance of a few feet between us.

When we made it to her corridor, I gestured to some seating in the common area between hallways, and he sat down. Just before I turned away from him, I noticed him bring his hands to the back of his neck.

"Theo?"

He looked up at me.

"Thanks."

He gave me a small smile before I continued my path to Katie's room.

Outside of it, Lydia was talking through the door. When she noticed me, her voice perked up.

"Katie, Jules is here to talk to you. Can you let her in?"

There was labored shuffling beyond the door.

"Katie? We can chat about whatever's going on. Just let me in."

"Jules?" Her voice was muffled, almost strained, through the thick wooden door. Red flag. I mouthed 911 to Lydia.

"Already called."

My hand was on the knob, waiting to feel the lock unlatch. The moment it did, the door shook with a heavy thud. I found myself pushing it against some resistance, only to realize once it was open wide enough that Katie was slumped against it.

"Theo!"

Lydia helped me push the door the rest of the way, then ran down the hallway to meet the ambulance; the faint sounds of sirens carried through the open windows. Clothing, books, and papers were strewn across Katie's floor; an open bottle of sleeping pills laid sideways on her desk. I sunk to her level and lifted her head, trying to wake her.

"Katie. Katie, come on!" Her eyes rolled back into her head just as Theo came to the door. A flash of panic, a nanosecond of hesitation, and then he was crouched on the other side of Katie. "Ambulance is coming. There's a bottle of sleeping pills on her desk." Despite the adrenaline pumping in and out of my heart, I felt calm, in control.

Theo pulled back her eyelids, stood, grabbed the bottle, then rushed back.

"They're just OTC, no barbiturates." He pressed his fingers to her neck, then turned his eyes to me. "You may want to move back." He pulled Katie to a seated position, held her mouth open with one hand, and plunged two fingers into the back of her throat; she started vomiting almost instantly. Partially digested pills, coupled with yellow bile spewed onto her lap and the floor.