No one paid any attention to them, even though there was a half-conscious girl in Seth’s arms. They were too consumed by Q’s music. Everyone’s head was high in the clouds with their bottles and cups swinging in the air, unaware of anything around them. The mere thought of losing that much control over her own body sent shivers down Natti’s spine.
When they finally cleared the house, Seth rushed toward his black Jaguar. Natti carefully sat on the car frame and slipped into the back seat. She took hold of Wanda’s shoulders and helped lower her onto the soft, black leather, resting Wanda’s head in her lap. Seth tucked Wanda’s feet on the seat, bending her knees slightly. He then leapt into the driver’s seat. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his keys and shoved them into the ignition. The engine roared to life, the car taking off like a shot down the street, throwing Natti’s back into the leather seat.
“I thought you didn’t want to involve the police!” she shouted over the wind. “With how you drive, they’ll be on us in no time!”
Natti watched in the rearview mirror while Seth smirked and shook his head. He kept his gaze on the road ahead, speeding through red lights and stop signs. Natti wasn’t sure, but she could swear he was driving well over seventy-five miles per hour. When they reached the outskirts of town, a two level building rose among the empty lots of sand and brush. ‘Setemple General Hospital’ glowed in fiery red against the night sky.
Seth spun the Jaguar past the upper level parking lot, down a ramp, and around the back to the emergency vehicle entrance. He pulled along the curve, throwing the car into park.
“Stay here!” he told Natti.
“You can’t park here! It’s a—”
Seth was already out of the car and running into the building before she could finish her sentence. She huffed, her breath scattering a few moths fluttering in the glistening light. Wanda groaned in her lap, and Natti began to stroke her hair.
“It’ll be fine, Wanda,” she whispered. “You’re going to be all right.”
Natti knew she was trying to convince herself more than try to convince the half-conscious girl in her lap. But her words did not soothe the growing terror in her heart, which made every agonizing second that ticked by that much longer.
Seth finally returned with several paramedics behind him. A woman, the lead doctor perhaps, was shouting instructions to the group. Natti assisted the paramedics as they reached over the convertible frame to raise Wanda from the seat and place her on a gurney. They charged inside with her, the lead doctor barking orders to several orderlies to run ahead and prepare a room, tests, and intravenous fluids. The exterior fell quiet when the sliding doors closed behind them, leaving Seth and Natti in the cool night breeze.
Seth looked over at Natti while she stood in the back seat. She was trying to climb over the frame when he picked her up by the waist and raised her off her feet. Little sparks traveled across her skin making the muscles of her abdomen knot up. Seth placed her down on the pavement, her legs unsteady as gelatin. She held on to Seth’s arms for support while they stared into each other’s eyes. His turquoise irises enveloped her very core in a gentle, warm heat of a blazing fire.
Seth swallowed hard; his Adam’s apple bobbing. His expression was full of pain and uncertainty. He forced his gaze to the pavement and withdrew from her, crushing the flame that was kindling in her heart. Without a word, he waved for her to go inside first. Natti hesitated, not wanting to leave her spot, but her concern for Wanda and her guilt pulled her toward the building.
The automatic doors opened, and Natti rushed inside. She watched Wanda being rolled into a room framed in glass windows. The technicians scrambled around her, attaching tubes and wires to her chest and arms. Natti began to cross the emergency room when a male, Asian-American doctor stepped in front of her.
“I’m sorry, but you can’t go in there.” The doctor informed her.
“But she’s my friend.”
“I’m sorry, hospital rules.”
Seth came to a stop at Natti’s side. “Doctor Chang.”
Natti did a double take, gazing at the doctor and realizing the resemblance to Q.
“Seth? Are you with this young lady?”
Seth wrapped his arm around Natti’s shoulder, making her squirm a little. “Ah, yes. Doctor Chang, Natti. Natti, Doctor Jacob Chang, Q’s father. We just brought her best friend in. Wanda Winfall.”
Doctor Chang eyed Natti closely, and then returned his attention to Seth. “Can you tell me what happened?”
A heavy weight on Natti’s chest finally registered through her amped up emotions. She tried to hide the water bottle behind her back, suddenly scared to reveal the truth to the doctor. She didn’t trust him, especially if his son was involved—a real possibility since Q did offer her and Wanda drugs and that both he and Ky were with Wanda when Natti left for the loo. Unfortunately, Seth looped his hand around her back, took the bottle from her grasp, and raised it for the doctor to see.
“She got sick after drinking this. We think it might be a drug of some sort.”