The girl plummets down several stories and then lands in the water, and it’s a long moment before Dana and I realize that she’s not coming back up to the surface of the water.
“Oh god. Something happened to her!” Dana cries out. She turns and runs for the door, and I’m right on her heels. Wills yells at Blair, and both of them run out after us with Laura on their heels.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
All of a sudden, I’m sober, if only for a moment.
We all get down to the pool in record time. The girl’s come to the surface of the water, but she is screaming loudly and flailing her arms. Wills dives straight in and brings her to the edge, pulling her out. Both the girl’s ankles are twisted at unnatural angles, and Dana is already telling the hotel staff to get an ambulance here immediately.
The girl is in so much pain that she passes out in Wills’ arms. It’s one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. It’s all made so much worse by the fact that I have enough alcohol in my system to put down a small tiger.
I should know better.
I shouldn’t drink. Every bad thing that’s happened to me has happened because of my inability to stop once I’ve started.
Just like my mother.
The thought is there for just a moment, and then just as quickly, it’s gone in the rush all around us.
The ambulance comes and I insist on going with her. Blair, Wills, Laura, and Dana follow in a hired car, and a short while later we’re all in the waiting room at the hospital. The girl has been taken in for emergency surgery.
After several long hours of sobering up, we get the news. She broke several bones in her feet and damaged her tailbone. The doctor isn’t sure if she’ll walk again.
All because of a stupid dare.
The nurse tells us they’ll know more after the surgery, but she looks gravely worried as she turns and leaves us. I just drop my head into my hands as guilt and shame punch a hole through my soul.
The hangover already has a grip on my stomach and head.
None of us talks. None of us knows what to say. The booze we’ve all had to drink begins to fade from our systems, leaving the full weight of what just happened sitting on my shoulders like a ton of bricks.
Wills brings me a cup of coffee, and Blair rubs my shoulders as the clock on the wall ticks by slower than any clock in the history of, well, history.
It seems like an eternity has passed when the doctor finally comes out to talk with us. We all stand up and stare at him as he speaks.
“Your friend has made it through the surgery well. We didn’t know how it would go, but it was a success.” He looks tired and relieved.
“Will she walk again?” I ask, knowing that I can’t live with myself if the girl ends up crippled.
The doctor nods. “Yes, she will. Her family’s been notified and they are on their way. Thank you for staying here with her. I’m sure she’ll appreciate good friends like you when she wakes up.”
I glance at the boys. No one knows it was my fault yet. All of this is my fault.
I bury my face in my hands again. If things had gone any other way, my life would be ruined.
On my way out, I leave my name and contact info with the clerk at the front desk. I’ll handle everything—her medical bills, her rehab, all of it—even if it takes every penny from my trust to do it.
We don’t stay to meet her family. I couldn’t stand that.
That night, I go to bed alone. Though it’s one of the most comfortable beds I’ve ever been in, I can’t sleep. Around dawn, I go out to the balcony with a cup of coffee and watch the ocean. I hoped it would help clear my mind, but the sight of the waves just keeps bringing the girl and the pool back to mind.
I really almost threw it all away.
I’m basically the poster child for rich kids gone wrong.
Dana comes out and sits beside me with a cup of coffee in her hands. “How are you doing?” she asks me with a quiet voice.
I shake my head and tears fall hard and fast down my cheeks. “I’m horrible.”