Beyond Denver

Chapter 26

Jeff opens the bathroom door with an extra key. The man, lying unconscious on the floor, had removed his light jacket that covered his entire arms. Tiny blood spots underneath his white shirt appear in his back and arms. As Jeff moves inside the bathroom, a small spoon falls from the sink, hitting the tile floor just in front of my feet. A used syringe lays by his bare feet whose tiny little red marks are exposed.

Denver runs to the bathroom after hearing the commotion. Bending down to his knees, he tries to find his pulse.

"His breathing is slow," he tells Jeff and me. I can barely move my limbs, and my head can't clearly think. It is too foggy for me to take action.

"Don't touch anything," Denver warns, showing me the traces of brown powder spread around the stool and sink.

"That's fucked up," says Jeff.

"I'm calling 911," I manage to say as Jeff gets ready to lock the store, flipping the closed sign on the glass wall.

"I'll call Sylvia," Jeff adds.

"911, what's your emergency?" The attendant answers in the first ring. I'm trying so hard to keep my hands and arms firmly in place as I talk to her.

"There is an unconscious man at Sophie's bathroom," I tell her through the speakerphone.

"Where is the address, ma'am?" I can't remember the address. How come? Everything is blank. Seeing a man passed out brings the worst in me. My heart beats fast as his has stopped in place.

Jeff says out loud to the attendant, "East Johnson Avenue. Number 1002. Sophie's. Please send us an ambulance."

"Help is on the way. Stay on the phone, okay, ma'am? What's your name and the relationship with the person?

"Cassidy... Cassidy Bardot. I don't know him. I only work here. He came to get some coffee and..." I mumble the words on the phone.

"Can you perform CPR in the meantime?"

"What?"

"He needs Narcan," Denver adds to the conversation. He is sitting next to the unconscious man, still making sure that he doesn't stop breathing. I place the phone in the speaker as she requests me to perform CPR for a second time.

"I can do the CPR," Denver tells the attendant. "It appears to be an OD."

"A what?" My head is spinning as I try to find the balance between my legs and knees.

"Overdose," Jeff interprets.

"What are the symptoms?" asks the attendant.

"He is not responding to my voice, and his breathing is feeble," Denver says as he checks his pulse one more time to ensure his heart hasn't stopped. "His lips and fingernails are also purple," He ensures to the phone attendant.

Jeff approaches as Denver proceeds with chest compressions, delivering oxygen to the man's lungs for the next four minutes, but I am the one who is unable to process the actions and words. I should have been the old Cassidy. It is all I can think of. But I'm not the old Cassidy.

Instead, I'm the fucked-up Cassidy.

"Sylvia is on the way," says Jeff, "I tried calling Scarlet, but she didn't pick up the phone."

Too bad Sylvia had to leave her date to come here. I also don't think Scarlet can do any good. How worse could that be with Scarlet here?

By the time the ambulance is on the way, the man slowly opens his eyes.

"Can you move your head?" Can you talk?" asks Denver, but he doesn't move. I hear the sirens of an ambulance in the distance getting louder and louder as the vehicle approaches. In seconds, the vehicle pulls over at the door, and three paramedics wearing vests coming inside Sophie's. Two police cars pull over by the ambulance, with two police officers entering the store. Two other customers attempt to enter the store simultaneously, but Jeff blocks them, showing the closed sign.