Chapter Twenty-Eight
Kevin made it down to Lucky's room in record time, followed by the nurse who'd paged him. Kevin strode to Lucky's bedside and quickly noted his dissociated gaze and rigid movements. Lucky was tensely whispering something to himself. Kevin turned to Emily who was still crying and sitting down in a turquoise pleather chair along the wall.
"What happened here?" he asked her gently. "Were you with him when this started?"
Emily shook her head no. "He was fine when I left to go buy us some Cokes. He was maybe a little irritable earlier, but that's it. When I came back to the room a couple of minutes later, he was shouting and struggling in the bed." Emily paused. "Oh, and the television was on when I came back. It wasn't on when I left. Um, he was yelling no, get away from me Faison." Emily's right hand squeezed a lukewarm Coke can nervously.
Kevin looked up at the medical show playing on the television. Damn, he thought. Of all the shows he had to turn on. Kevin saw the remote on the floor by the bed, bent to pick it up and turned off the TV. "Emily," he said. "Why don't you wait in the hall for a moment while I check on Lucky?" Emily gratefully rose from her seat and walked out of the room. She was glad that someone in charge could handle this.
"Lucky," Kevin said calmly in a regular voice. There was no response as Lucky kept staring at the ceiling and struggling against some invisible force. Kevin noted that Lucky's arms kept trying to pull up and back, but that they never made it off of the bed, and his neck muscles clenched mercilessly. Lucky kept trying to move his head, but couldn't manage to lift or fully turn it.
"Lucky," Kevin repeated, this time a little louder and more firmly. He reached out and jostled Lucky's shoulder. Kevin Collins looked sadly at this young man with faded yellow bruises down the side of his face and a hollow look in his eyes. He took Lucky's hand and squeezed it tightly, hoping to make contact with him somewhere in his brain. "Lucky!" he shouted.
Lucky stopped moving on the bed, his muscles relaxing one by one as his legs spread out and his arms flopped down beside him. His head stopped trying to turn and rested still on his right side. He blinked several times, and awareness crept into his face, energizing his features and smoothing the crease in his brow. Lucky's eyes lost that strange, detached look that they'd had and rested on Kevin's face. He intently looked at Kevin like he was waiting for answers to a question.
"Kevin?" he asked. "Where am I? What are you doing here?"
Kevin sat down next to Lucky. "You're in General Hospital," he said plainly. "We lost you for a few minutes. Where did you go?"
Lucky turned his head away from Kevin, sighing and closing his eyes. "I'm so tired."
Kevin tried again. "Lucky, what's the last thing that you remember?"
Lucky replied, "Emily was going to go and get us some Cokes. I picked up the TV remote and started flipping channels. Then, I started to feel funny, kind of woozy, and things got all jumbled up in my head. I tried to relax, and I remembered that you gave me some techniques to use, but they didn't work, and I felt like I was…. Oh, god, Kevin. What's wrong with me?"
"I think you had another flashback to the time that you were with Faison," Kevin explained. "When I came into your room, you looked like you were tied down in some way and trying to escape. Do you remember that?"
Lucky brought his hands to his eyes and rubbed them ferociously. "Damn it!" he yelled. "I want him out of my head!" Lucky hit his forehead hard with the heel of his hand. "I want him dead!" He turned away from Kevin and curled up with his hands gripping his pillow tightly, desperately kneading it. "I want a drink, all I want is a drink," he mumbled softly.
Kevin looked concerned. "Is that what you did after your rescue?" he questioned. "Did you use alcohol to try to forget what happened to you?"
Lucky turned back to Kevin. "Yes," he said in a fearful voice. "And it helped me, a lot. I could get by without thinking all the time. But I don't understand why I feel so bad when I can't have it!" Lucky punched the bed several times in frustration. "It seems like it's all I think about, and I don't know why. It scares me," he said with his eyes wide and intense.
"How often and how much did you drink?" prodded Kevin.
"As much as I could get my hands on," Lucky admitted honestly. "Usually a bottle a day at least. I used to steal a lot from Jake," he said with shame and regret tingeing his voice. "I used to hide the bottles and secretly throw them out in the morning."
"What about the drugs you were taking? Did you use them together with the alcohol?"
"Not really," Lucky sighed. "I'd buy the drugs because they were a backup, they were easier to get hold of. And, I used to take drugs when I was at the compound. I got them from the guards sometimes. I never took them often enough to get hooked. I was careful about that."
"Some people have a hard time controlling their drinking," Kevin explained. "It has a genetic component and runs in families."
"Yeah, my dad used to drink a lot, especially when he was angry or upset about something. But, he never used to drink as much as me. I also overheard my dad talking about his father's drinking sometimes with my aunt Ruby."
"Do you want to take control of your drinking problem, Lucky?"
"Yes, I'm tired of worrying about it. But, how am I going to survive this Faison crap that keeps running through my head? It makes me nervous. I keep thinking that it will pop out at any time. I can't control it. I probably scared Emily away for good. She's never going to come back," he added softly.
"Actually, Emily is probably still out in the hall where I asked her to wait. I'll send her back in after we've finished." Lucky looked greatly relieved at that news. Kevin continued, "We can get you started on a substance abuse program right away. And, I have some more ideas about how we can help you get through the flashbacks. It's a normal reaction, Lucky, to a traumatic event in your life. But, we'll get you through this. I'll have the nurse give you a mild sedative so you can relax and get a good night's sleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow morning. Is that all right with you?"
Lucky nodded. "Thanks, Kevin. I want to get better."
~*~*~*~
Emily came in after a few minutes. She still had the warm Cokes in her hand. "Here, Lucky," she said tentatively. "A warm Coke, just for you."
Lucky took the can from her with a tiny smile. "Thanks, Em," he said with a bit of hesitance.
Emily popped the top of the can and took a long sip. She paused with her eyes raised to the ceiling and her foot tapping on the floor. "BRRRAAAAP!" she burped loudly. "Beat that one if you can, Lucky Spencer."
Lucky ripped the top of his can in mock rage and quickly swallowed half of the warm beverage with a defiant look in his eyes. "BUURRAAAAAPPPUUH!"
Emily bent over laughing. "Okay, King Kong, you win. Hands down."
Lucky started laughing and snorting and couldn't seem to stop.
Emily walked over to him and placed her hands on her hips. "You laugh too hard. You're going to pull out an IV or bust a gut, you ding-dong."
Lucky grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the bed. "Not if I can tickle you to death first," he threatened as his hands menaced her sides.