"Hey,"
he said soothingly, "there's no doubt in my mind that you did everything
you could. No harm, no foul."
"No
harm no foul?" She queried.
"One
of Ethan's archaic expressions. He loves them. Basically it means 'don't worry
about it'. So I'm guessing at this point we don't have any other options than
the hospital. I forgot to mention it earlier but it looks like he's lost a lot
of weight.
"I
think so as well. I'll call for an ambulance and while we're waiting for it,
I'll call the hospital and make arrangements for a private room."
"You
don't need to call an ambulance. I'll drive him."
Dorothy
shook her head. "No. As unlikely as it seems, he could suddenly become
violent. The paramedics can sedate him if necessary."
Chris
looked crestfallen. "Can I at least ride in the ambulance with my
brother?"
"Again,
no. Same reason. You can ride behind the ambulance, and once he's settled in a
room, I'm sure they'll let you see him," Dorothy assured him.
"Do
you think Ethan will be put on some kind of suicide watch?"
"Well,
I need your honest opinion. Do you think he needs to be?"
Chris'
answer was slow in coming. Shaking his head slowly, he sadly responded, "I
honestly don't know. Do you think he does?"
Dorothy
paused, trying to think of a way to give him the answer she knew he didn't want
to hear. "It's a possibility." Chris decided to examine the floor.
"Since he's completely withdrawn and there's no evidence of self-inflicted
injuries, I don't think they would. At this point he's not a threat to himself,
but given everything he's been through, that could change."
Chris
let out a deep sigh. "God I hope you're right." Please, God, let Ethan be okay. I love my baby brother. Chris prayed
as he heard a knock on the door, guessing correctly that it was the paramedics.
He opened the door and quietly waved them inside, pointing to the room
currently occupied by Ethan.
"What
have we got here?" Juan, the paramedic wanted to know.
Dorothy
introduced herself and Chris then explained what was going on with Ethan."
"He
seems pretty out of it," Juan said, waving a hand in front of his face.
Old-fashioned but still effective painful stimulation when tried elicited no
response. "Well, I don't see the need for sedation or restraints other
than the standard safety straps. Once we get him settled in the ambulance, we’ll
hook him up to an IV and start giving him fluids. He severely dehydrated.” He
turned to his partner, “okay, let’s load him up. I think we can walk him out.”
The
paramedics got on each side of Ethan, got him on his feet and slowly walked him
out the door and into the ambulance. They whisked him off to the hospital,
Chris close behind. By the time they got to the hospital, Alicia, Troy and
Jordan were waiting to meet Chris.
“God,
I wish we didn’t have to do this, but I didn’t know what else I could do to help
him.” Alicia and Troy both hugged him. Jordan just sat there, tears flowing
down his face over his best friend.
“What
happened to him? Are they going to put him in a mental ward?” Jordan asked.
Chris
explained how they found out the gang-rape video was put up on the
telecommunicator network. “We got it taken down, but God knows how many people
have seen it. Ethan was totally shocked as we all were. He shook so hard
his entire body vibrated with fear. Ever since then all he did was sit in a
chair and stare out the window, only getting up to go to the bathroom. He
completely stopped taking care of himself.
“He wouldn’t eat, take a shower, shave,
change his clothes, nothing. I doubt he’s even sleeping, or if he is, he’s not
getting much sleep.”
“Omigod.”
Jordan paused before continuing. “Is-is-is he suicidal?”
“His
therapist doesn’t think so. She’s the one who called the ambulance. He’s
completely withdrawn.”
Jordan
sunk down into a nearby chair, his mind filled with images of the
happy-go-lucky Ethan. He sat there with his head in his hands. As hard as it
was for him, he couldn’t even imagine what his brothers and sister were going
through.
Alison
sat on one side of him, Chris on the other. Troy sat next to Alison. She put
her arm around Jordan and whispered comforting words to him. I wish he was gay. He and Ethan would have made
an awesome couple. After what happened with that slime ball Patrick, he needs
someone in his life like Jordan. She told herself, wishing for something
that was never going to happen.
They
all sat around in silence, each lost in their own thoughts when a doctor came
into the waiting room. “Is there a family member for Ethan Evans here?” They
all stood. “He’s severely malnourished and dehydrated. We’re giving him
intravenous fluids and nutrients. Routine blood tests are all normal, as is his
brain scan. His therapist gave me as many details about what happened as she
felt was needed.
“We’re
going to get him cleaned up and into hospital pajamas. Shortly we’ll be taking him
up to the mental ward for observation over the next 48 hours.”
“Is
he going to be put on suicide watch?” Troy asked the question everyone wanted
to, but were afraid to ask.
“His
therapist doesn’t think it’s necessary. We’ve examined him very closely and
there’s no evidence of self-harm. We’re going to put him into one of the
suicide watch rooms so we can keep an eye on him, but we’re not going to
restrain him. If he’s not suicidal, and wakes up alone in a room restrained, it
could cause psychological damage. The hospital psychiatrist is going to see him
later today.”
“How
long will he be in the psyche ward?” Dorothy asked, coming into the waiting
room.
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