Take Me Home {Completed}

Chapter Fifty-Nine

UNEDITED

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"Make up your mind that no matter what comes your way, no matter how difficult, no matter how unfair, you will do more than simply survive. You will thrive in spite of it." —Joel Osteen

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Chapter Fifty-Nine

Thirty Minutes Later

Parker sat in his chair, elbows planted on his upper thighs as his hands held his head up. He was deep in thought, considering the possibility that Camille and Dr. Weston where what caused Nola to go into a coma with the pills they both seems to have. If that was true, Parker wondered how they did it. How exactly they managed to put Nola in the state she was in. If the theory was correct, Camille being up at the school the day Nola went into a coma — as told by Hannah — made complete sense.

Placing his hands over his face, Parker combed through his memory to see if he could have figured it all out before Douglas. Cursing under his breath, Parker realized he should have seen the signs earlier that day after his talk with Camille and Hannah. The facts and indications that Camille had caused Nola's coma went straight over Parker's head, as his mind had been preoccupied with other concerns.

"I'm sorry," Parker murmured as his hands moved away from his face. Once his hands were no longer covering his eyes, Parker had a clear view of Nola, who laid in front of him. His eyes raked over her face, trying to search for forgiveness among her comatose features. Coming up empty, Parker knew that both conscious and unconscious Nola deserved not to forgive him. He had not been focused on what really mattered — finding out what was wrong with her. Instead, Parker felt as if he had been more focused on his worry and anxiety that she will never get better, spending minimal time actually trying to solve the problem.

Anger at himself boiled up inside, causing him to want to punch a wall. He had failed Nola.

"Parker! Did Dr. Pusher make it in here yet?!" Nurse Heather said, racing into the room with a smile on her face.

Parker shook head, placing his hands in his lap. "No, she didn't."

Nurse Heather clapped in happiness. "Oh! Good news! Dr. Pushner got a call from the lab about a possible cause of Nola's coma. She is ordering the antidote to what she thinks is causing it."

With wide eyes, Parker felt taken back at the news. "Repeat that, please."

Rolling her eyes, Nurse Heather knew that Parker had heard her. "If Dr. Pushner has it right, Nola will be waking up within the next couple of hours."

Parker's heart pounded in his chest and he felt like he was on top of the world. With a beaming smile, he stood up, "Don't play with me, Mrs. Heather."

Nurse Heather grinned, "I wouldn't dream of it, Boy. But, try not to get your hopes up too much. It might not work. It's all a theory."

Parker nodded and sat back down in his chair, "I'm running on theories today."

Not knowing what Parker meant, Nurse Heather went to open her mouth and say something else but the sound of the door opening caught both Parker and Nurse Heather's attention.

Douglas stood at the door with a gloomy expression on his face.

"Nurse Heather, you mind giving us a minute?" Parker inquired with an arched eyebrow.

Giving a short nod, Nurse Heather excused herself out of the room. Once she was gone, Douglas walked into the room some more, until he was standing in front of Nola's bed. He released a sigh, "I got the results back from the pills and Camille's drug test."

"What were the results?"

Douglas glanced over at Parker, "Nola's going to be given the antidote . . . They have been giving her a toxin that I can't pronounce but apparently it causes this," Mr. Harper waved in Nola's direction, hinting at her state.

"What happens now, with Camille and Dr. Weston?"

"I've called some co-workers to find Dr. Weston and arrest her."

"And Camille?"

Douglas gripped the frame of Nola's bed, finding himself a tad weak in the knees. "I will take care of her."

"What do you mean you will take care of her? She deserves to be arrested, just like Dr. Weston," Parker explained as he all but leaped out of his chair. "I don't care that she is your daughter, she has to pay for what she did to Nola."

Mr. Harper knew that Parker was right, "and she will, I'm going to make sure that by the end of the weeks she turns herself in."

"By the end of the week? She should be arrested today!"

"She's my daughter," Douglas said lowly.

"I don't give a rat's ass if she is the Queen of England. She did something unforgivable and punishable."

Douglas narrowed his eyes, boring holes in Parker, "I just got her back! Can you not give me a fucking week with her?! I will make sure she turns herself in but, for fuck sakes, get off my back."

"You have had Camille back for about four weeks, right? Do you know how many weeks I have gone without Nola? Three fucking weeks and it's because of your daughter. You have had time with her, it's time for her to pay for her crimes." Parker pointed at Nola, "She caused this and she is not getting away with it."

Douglas took a slow inhale. "I know that, Parker. I just think if I could act like I know nothing that I can get her to admit things over the week because I don't believe this is all her fault - there is clearly more behind it. If I take her to the police station, she will not talk to anyone. What kind of answers could we get then?"

Parker shook his head disapprovingly, "You have Dr. Weston for answers to your questions. Plus, don't you think Camille will catch wind of Nola coming out of a coma and, her buddy, Dr. Weston being arrested. As soon as she knows, she will be a ghost in the wind."

"I won't let that happen."

"There are somethings that you can't help or avoid. Camille and her crimes are one of them."

"Can you trust me, please?" Douglas asked, in his final attempt to get Parker off his back and give him a week. "I just need one week with her and I promise she will turn herself in or I will drag her in myself."

Rubbing the back of his neck with his right hand, Parker did not like the idea Douglas was throwing out. "You're gonna do whatever you want," Parker spoke in a defeated tone of voice, "but if she escapes — so help me . . . I will hunt her down."

Douglas gave a small, thankful, smile that Parker was finally agreeing. "You won't have to because if she escapes, I will be the one to hunt her down, to the ends of the earth, I swear to you."