Page 80 of Macon

Surveying the rest of the room, I notice all the men are now looking at me.

Rage instantly erupts inside me.

“Fuck yeah!” I declare, standing up.

I try to hold my shit together, but man, am I freaking out. Arm in arm, I follow Doc into the ICU area. All the nurses acknowledge her as we walk by.

“Is this the hospital you work at?” I ask. Even though I can tell by how the staff acknowledges her, she does.

Doc smiles softly and replies, “Yes. Greg—Dr. Wilson is my boss and good friend. Your sister is in good hands.”

When we turn the corner, I see Violet sitting in the hall. She’s bent over with her elbows resting on her knees and her face is buried in her hands.

Doc doesn’t say anything as we approach. Violet lifts her head, and when she realizes I’m with Doc, she jumps up and embraces us.

My sweatshirt hoodie falls off my head, but I don’t care. At this point, I’m done hiding.

Tears fill my eyes. I can feel it. Something’s wrong.

“Tell me!” I rush out.

When Doc and Vi pull away, they look at each other, but Vi speaks first.

“They should be done soon. They’re treating Ray for a drug overdose but are doing an overall evaluation on her right now.” She looks over at Doc. “LeeLee, why don’t you try to explain it better?”

Doc’s face is filled with worry. “I can’t really explain it. We just don’t know what they gave her. Since Greg pumped her stomach, she’s stopped vomiting. She’s been in and out of consciousness but not making any sense.”

I gasp, covering my mouth with my hand.

Oh God.

“Like I said, we won’t know until we see her test results,” Doc says, giving my biceps an affectionate squeeze.

“Lee!” someone yells from behind me.

I swivel around and notice a good-looking older doctor rush toward us. When he sees me, he stops in his tracks for a beat but recovers swiftly and continues his approach.

I should have put my sweatshirt hoodie back over my head to hide my face, but Doc said she trusted this man, so I didn’t move.

Doc moves toward him, but his eyes are on me. “Are you Raydene’s sister?”

I don’t know why people keep fucking asking that when I look fucking identical to her.

I snap, “Yes, I’m her identical twin.”

Feeling bad, I was sarcastic with him. I instantly reply, “I’m sorry.”

He smirks. “That’s all right, dear. Everyone’s emotions are high right now.”

Doc interrupts, “What’s going on, Greg?”

Greg looks over at Doc and says, “We have her in a room right now, hooked up to an IV, pumping her with fluids. Once we start getting some results back, we can move forward. Ray’s in and out of consciousness and isn’t making coherent sentences. Hopefully, once the medication and fluids start working, she’ll come out of it. Unfortunately, she can only have one visitor. But technically, Lee, you’re a doctor, so you can be there too.”

Violet squeezes me. “Okay, I’ll be out in the waiting room.”

I tug her back for a hug. These two women have been my sister’s best friends for as long as I’ve been gone.

Violet returns to the waiting room while I follow the two doctors to see my sister. It’s been almost five years since I have seen her in person.

---