Facade (Romola 1)

26: It's Cocaine

"Hey Man. What's up?" Olumide looked up to see Dami saunter over the clean white tiles of Peterson hospital. He hung his head between his legs exhausted from everything that had happened.

Dami sat on the large metal chair beside him, facing the large marble table that separated the reception lounge from  the waiting area. A flat screen television at one end of the waiting area broadcasted international news from CNN. The air conditioned room felt fresh and cool but Olumide was far too deep in the misery of his thoughts to appreciate the peaceful ambience.

What had he been thinking when he had taken Romola,a to a public hospital?What would they have done? Even if the doctors were not on strike, would she have been attended to in spite of all the other emergency cases there? His skin crawled at the thought of all the unsightly things he'd seen at the public hospital.

"How is she doing?" Dami asked.

"I don't know. Vicky said the doctors are trying their best. Whatever that means." His voice cracked as he sat up, taking a deep breath. "How is Yetunde?"

"She's my mother's problem now. You should have been there to see how my mother yelled at her. It was epic. She had this coming," Dami said. Silence passed between both boys while Olumide stared at the ground. "It's not your fault you know."

"No. I should have called an ambulance or i should have called Vicky. I should have brought her here but i was just running up and down. What if she had died?" Olumide struggled to keep his emotion hidden but they breached through his bland tone to sting his eyes with unshed tears.

"You panicked as that is fine. There is no way you could have prepared for this. It's my fault. I shouldn't have insisted that she helped us."

"It doesn't matter now. She's in it and suffering. What if they can't help her and she... She..."

"Dies? Like Muyiwa did?" Dami asked. Olumide refused to meet his friends searching eyes. "See, Mide, that was a mistake."

"You weren't there. I-" Olumide stopped speaking when he noticed Vicky walking to them with hurried steps and a worried face.

She was of average height with large breasts sheathed by blue hospital scrubs. Her full natural hair was packed up in a neat bun and her small eyes focused on Olumide. Both guys stood to their feet, towering over her but locking their gaze on to her face.

"Well, what's the news?" Dami was the first person to speak.

Olumide didn't trust himself to speak. He thought he was over the death of Muyiwa but he wasn't. This incident with Romola brought back feelings he had long buried.

"It doesn't look good." Vicky replied, stretching the letter headed paper in her hand to Olumide. Dami reached for it, snatching it out of her hand and staring at the content. "We had a blood toxicology carried out. Well... What's in her blood isn't ecstasy."

"Well, what is it?" Dami demanded.

"I'm not saying there is no ecstasy in her system. Whatever she took was mixed with cocaine. She's suffering from a cocaine and ecstasy overdose."

"What?" Dami's eyes widened. "Will she be fine?"

Vicky sighed, looking from Olumide to Dami and then Olumide again. 'The doctors are doing their best."

"That's not the answer I'm looking for."

"The doctors are doing their best." Vicky repeated. "Right now, she's in a coma. I don't know where or if she will ever wake up?"

"What are you saying?" Olumide asked.

The fact that Romola was suffering from a cocaine overdose was unexpected. How far gone was Yetunde? And as for Romola, what had actually happened? He suspected they Yetunde drugged her but it was just a guess.

"Vicky, she has to survive this," Olumide said. He stared past her shoulders to the room where Romola had been taken. "Can I see her now?"

"I wouldn't advice that. She needs to rest and I'd suggest that you do the same too."

"I'll take him home." Dami tried to put his hand around Olumide but Olumide broke free from his hold and sat in the chair.

"I'm not leaving. Not until I know she'll be okay," Olumide said.

"Then I guess, I'm staying too." Dami sat on the chair beside Olumide. Vicky sighed, sitting beside Dami.

"I'm guessing it would be pointless to try and convince either of you to leave." Vicky said to Dami.

"Where he goes, I go. And if Olumide waits, I wait. Someone has to look after him." Dami replied.

Olumide placed his chin in Hus cupped hands. There was nothing he could do to help Romola. She was out of his hands noe and he felt hopeless. Just the way he felt when he found Muyiwa's body on the bed.