I fumbled with my phone as she called me. "Hello?" I asked.
"E-E...I'm not sure how much longer I can hold out..."
My heart dropped into my stomach. "What did you do?"
"I-I took my sleeping pills. It's not that big of a deal, E."
"How many did you take?" I whispered, heart moving from my stomach up to my throat.
"A-About half the bottle. Everything's getting dark, I just wanted to know that this isn't your fault, in fact you were the brightest part of my day, all right?"
By now I was scrambling for the house phone and dialing 911. "Luce, you know I can't let you die on me. Never, but especially not tonight."
She cried on the other end of the phone. "It's too late. Just...tell me we'll be best friends forever, and that you'll talk to me in the morning. That's always been our goodbye."
I shook. "You know we'll be friends forever. T..."
"E?"
"T...Talk to you in the morning," I murmur, and she hangs up just as the 911 operator comes on the phone.
"911, what's your emergency?"
"M-My friend just took a lot of sleeping pills, like, half the bottle. A-And she says that everything's going dark and she made me say goodbye to her over the phone and..."
"It's okay sweetheart. We'll get to her. What's your friend's address?"
I tell her the number and she sends an ambulance over. After I hang up, I wake up my mom and have her drive me to the hospital where they're going to take Luce. I stay there the whole night and into the morning while Luce gets her stomach pumped, and until she wakes up. When she sees me I can tell she's angry, but I didn't expect anything else. "You'll be staying here at least 3 days, Luce. Listen to what the doctors say. I don't want you attempting to do that ever again."
She says nothing, just glares at me. I get up and leave, exhausted and ready to finally get some sleep. As long as Luce is okay, I know I can sleep easy.
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