Page 8 of Letters to Lily

“Mom, you still have the messages between you and dad with him begging you to take him back saying he left his girlfriend behind?”

“Y-yeaah,” she managed to huff out through a fresh onslaught of tears.

“Fantastic, they’ll come in real handy for the fraud charges we’re about to go file. I think we should stop by the builder’s office and have a chat with him too about the check he almost took this morning.”

“You wouldn’t!” The panic in my father’s voice almost made me giddy.

“Being an asshole who doesn’t give two shits about what happens to his family is hereditary, I guess.” I offered up in explanation of my threats before I dragged my mom back out to her rental car and tucked her inside.

We were halfway back to our hotel before she even thought to question what I’d said. “Can we really do that? Sue him, I mean? Or have him arrested, or whatever?”

“Hell if I know, mom. I was bluffing, but it’s certainly a question to ask Mick. Although, I’m sure that would involve needing an attorney to represent you here. I’m sure Mick’s not licensed in Nevada.”

I got my mom back to the hotel and left her in her room while I took off for mine. My first priority was to get a shower and put some clean clothes on. I was still wearing the same rumpled up shit that I had put on when I left for Vegas. The stress definitely had me all knotted up and tense, so I took a little longer than I normally would, allowing the hot water to loosen the muscles that stress had bunched up tightly. By the time I was done, dressed, and teeth brushed I was itching to get my hands on a cell phone so I could call Sasha.

I decided it was probably best to let my mom know I was headed to what she dubbed the “phone store” since she needed to replace hers as well. I knocked once, and didn’t get an answer, so I knocked again, louder this time. When I heard a loud thump come from the other side of the room, I grew concerned. I turned and went back to my own room to dial up the concierge. “I think my mom may have fallen in her room and she can’t get to the door,” I told him. I didn’t honestly think that. I thought she was in there knocking back every available liquor in the hospitality bar, but I couldn’t convince him to bring a key to open her room with that concern.

“We’ll send someone right up, sir.”

Less than five minutes passed before I heard the distinct ding of the elevator and saw a man in a suit, with an earpiece fitted to his ear, moving down the corridor. “I’m Smith, hotel security. Our concierge suggested you were concerned about the welfare of another guest?”

“My mom,” I stated as he continued to take me in. “I heard a thump when I knocked, but nothing since. She’s not really well right now, so…”

He wrapped his knuckles firmly on the door. “Security ma’am. If you can hear me, call out and let me know if you need assistance.” Nothing. Suddenly, I was more concerned about her actual well-being, rather than just the minibar bill she might be racking up. If my mom thought there was an authoritative figure on the other side of the door, no matter how hammered she was, she would most definitely respond to them. “Ma’am, I’m coming in with your son.” He swiped a keycard in the door and pushed it open. His guard was on high, as he looked around for any threats or emergencies. The room was clear, but I didn’t waste time standing around either. I pushed forward into the bedroom portion of the suite where I saw a pill bottle. An empty pill bottle and lid told me everything I didn't want to know.

“MOM!” I yelled as I backed out, heading for the bathroom. The security man, Smith, was already there and talking into whatever connected him to the earpiece.

“We need medics in room 1510. Unconscious middle-aged female. Son says she wasn’t well earlier.” He looked at me.

“I think she took pills. There’s an empty bottle on the bed.” I motioned behind me then while staring at my mom’s unmoving form.

“Still breathing, but respirations are shallow,” the man mentioned to whomever he was talking to. It obviously wasn’t me. Then he looked back up at me. “Go, get the bottle, so I can tell them what she took.”

I ran from the room, grabbed the bottle, and let go a string of cuss words as I realized what she’d taken. Xanax.

“Do you know how many were in here?” I shook my head. “Empty pill bottle with Xanax prescription on it. Filled 10 days ago, prescription was for 15 pills. It’s possible there were only five, if she took them as ordered. The son doesn’t know how many were there.” He was quiet a moment, and then took in the rest of the bathroom. “No,” he paused and lifted a mini bottle out of the trash. “Possible alcohol chaser.” Another pause. “Vodka.”

A loud knock sounded on the door then, and I went to open it. The paramedics blew in past me as I pointed to the bathroom. Smith moved out of the way as the emergency responders took over and started doing what they needed to. They bagged up the prescription bottle and placed it on her chest along with the mini bottle of vodka that Smith had fished out of the wastebasket in the bathroom. She was on the stretcher, with the evidence of her attempted demise placed on her chest, as they started rolling her out.

“Wait, you can’t take her out with that sitting in plain view like that,” I yelled at them. One of the men blushed and covered it with the blanket they had pulled up around my mom’s waist. She was wearing a skirt, and they were trying to conserve her modesty, but not afraid to let everyone know she’d attempted to harm herself. Great.

“Sir,” Smith called out. “Is there anything we can do to assist you at this time?”

“Just lock up her room for now. I’ll be back later. I don’t think she was scheduled to check out just yet anyway.” Then I was gone, chasing after the emergency techs that were rolling my mom into the elevator. They were jabbering about her condition, but I had tuned everything out. Once again, I found myself without a phone to call anyone. Then it hit me. There was really no one to call about my mom. It was just the two of us since my dad wouldn’t care. Hell, he’d contributed to this. If there were a way to have him thrown in jail for it, I would be all over that. I wasn’t dumb enough to recognize that my mom had to take responsibility for allowing my dad to affect her this way though. Especially after all the history they shared, most of it not good.

It didn’t take too terribly long after she was admitted for a doctor to come speak to me. “We’re terribly sorry for all you’ve been through today. Your mom is going to be fine. We were able to get her stomach pumped and have her set up on an IV drip. I don’t want you to worry too much, but when you go in to see her, you should know she’s been strapped to the gurney for her own safety. It’s policy, considering how she came in.” I nodded my head and followed behind him as he started walking. “She’s going to be admitted automatically for a 72-hour hold. This is non-negotiable and does not require her consent as she tried to harm herself.” Again, I nodded. Somewhere in the back of my head I knew this was a given.

“A social worker is being brought down to talk to you about what will happen next, and what your responsibilities will be for your mom. You are her next of kin?” The last was a question.

“I’m her only living family now,” I informed him.

“Are you over the age of 18?” He was eyeing me more acutely now as I nodded.

“I’m 19, will be 20 in December.”

“Good enough. You will work out the details with the social worker. As far as her health, she’s doing fine now. Her respirations are back to normal, heart rate is a little high, but I think that’s due to anxiety from waking up in restraints.” He stopped outside a closed door and turned to me. “I know this is a difficult thing to experience, but I need to remind you that your mom is not okay right now, and we ask that you remain respectful, and try to keep everything calm and soothing. If you can’t do that, you will be removed, and you won’t be allowed access again until social services has agreed to the visits.” Again, I simply nodded and then followed the silver-haired doctor into the room.

May 2

---