Chapter 2 - The Toxicology Screen
I woke beneath fluorescent lights.
Not our kitchen.
Hospital.
Something pressed against my nose.
Oxygen.
My mouth tasted bitter.
A monitor beeped beside me.
For several seconds I could not remember how I got there.
Then I remembered Mom saying:
Stop pretending.
My eyes filled.
A nurse noticed.
“Emma?”
I turned.
“You’re at Mercy Medical Center.”
“What happened?”
“You had a serious respiratory emergency.”
“Can I sit up?”
“Slowly.”
Pain moved through my chest when I shifted.
The nurse raised the bed.
“Your stepfather is outside.”
“Daniel?”
“Yes.”
“Mom?”
The nurse hesitated.
“She’s speaking with police.”
My heart sped up.
“Why?”
Before she answered, the same paramedic from the kitchen appeared at the door.
She had removed her cap.
Dark blond hair pulled back.
Her name badge read:
JULIA REEVES.
“Hey.”
She stepped inside.
“How are you feeling?”
“Like someone parked a truck on me.”
“That’s an improvement.”
I almost smiled.
Then she became serious.
“Emma, do you remember taking any medication today?”
“No.”
“Anything for anxiety?”
“No.”
“Pain?”
“Tylenol two days ago.”
“Prescription medication?”
“No.”
She sat.
“Do you remember having something stuck to your neck?”
I touched the irritated skin.
“No.”
“Patch?”
“No.”
“Bandage?”
“No.”
“Did anyone put anything there?”
My stomach tightened.
“I don’t know.”
The door opened.
A doctor entered with another nurse.
“Emma, I’m Dr. Patel.”
He explained slowly.
My oxygen level had fallen dangerously low.
My breathing had become shallow.
My blood pressure dropped.
They gave emergency treatment in the ambulance and again after arrival.
Then toxicology.
Preliminary screening showed a powerful prescription pain medication in my system.
Not something prescribed to me.
My hands went cold.
“I don’t take that.”
“We believe you.”
“How much?”
Dr. Patel avoided specifics.
“Enough to cause a life threatening reaction in someone without tolerance.”
I stared.
“How did it get inside me?”
“We’re still determining that.”
Julia pointed toward my neck.
“The skin mark suggested a medicated adhesive patch may have been there recently.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“You don’t remember one?”
“No.”
Then something surfaced.
Afternoon.
I had fallen asleep on the couch after helping Caleb with homework.
Ray had been over.
Mom had been cooking.
I remembered waking because something cold touched my neck.
I thought Caleb had thrown a wet paper towel.
When I opened my eyes, nobody was there.
Maybe memory.
Maybe not.
“When was the last time you remember feeling normal?”
“Dinner.”
“What did you eat?”
Chicken.
Mashed potatoes.
Green beans.
Same as everyone.
“What did you drink?”
I stopped.
“Iced tea.”
“Did everyone drink it?”
“No.”
Mom drank wine.
Daniel soda.
Caleb milk.
Ray beer.
My glass had already been poured when I came downstairs.
Julia and Dr. Patel exchanged a look.
I noticed.
“What?”
“Nothing yet,” Patel said. “We’re testing further.”
The police wanted my statement.
A detective named Officer Megan Ruiz? User prompt says Officer? In this story female paramedic only. Could use Officer Ruiz same? But prompt didn't name officer. We can introduce Detective Elena Ruiz perhaps okay, but perhaps user likes consistent. Let's use Officer Ruiz, 40s, from video? Actually current prompt only female paramedic and no named police. Wait video characters omit police. Fine to introduce Detective Nolan? Better maybe "Officer Reeves"? no. Let's create Detective Laura Brenner. But old format doesn't need strict names? Fine.
Officer Julia? Let's avoid too many names. A Cedar Rapids officer named Officer Grant came.
He asked:
“Has anyone ever given you medication without explaining what it was?”
I almost said no.
Then remembered.
Mom had given me “calming tablets” twice over the last year.
Small white pills.
Ray brought them.
He said they were herbal.
I told the officer.
“When?”
“Months ago.”
“What happened?”
“I slept almost twelve hours.”
“Prescription bottle?”
“No.”
“Where did they come from?”
“Uncle Ray.”
Silence.
Then I added:
“Mom gave them to me.”
The officer wrote that down.
My stomach twisted.
“She thought they were supplements.”
Did she?
I had never asked.
Then Daniel came in.
His face looked wrecked.
“Hey, kid.”
He stood awkwardly near the door.
“Where’s Caleb?”
“With your Aunt Nicole.”
“Mom?”
He looked away.
“Police are talking to her and Ray.”
“Did Ray leave?”
Daniel’s mouth tightened.
“He tried.”
“What?”
“When the ambulance came, he said he needed cigarettes.”
“He doesn’t smoke.”
“I know.”
Police stopped him in driveway.
Then Daniel reached into his pocket.
“I found this under the kitchen table.”
A torn piece of silver backing.
Like the paper peeled from an adhesive patch.
Julia took it immediately without touching the surface.
“Don’t handle that.”
Daniel raised both hands.
“I used a bag.”
Good.
There was tiny printed text on the backing.
Not enough for me to read.
Julia’s expression hardened.
Then my mother appeared beyond the glass window.
Crying.
A police officer beside her.
Mom looked at me.
I looked away.
May you like
Because for the first time in my life, I did not know whether the person who called me a liar had simply failed to protect me.
Or had helped put something inside my body.
