“Sir, you need to calm down.”

“Don’t call me sir,” I say, pushing him away again. I hate being called sir. I think. I don’t know, and I don’t care. All I know is he’s pissing me the fuck off just by being here next to me.

“Aiden,” Claire calls. “Calm down.”

“Blood pressure is still low,” another EMT says. “Let’s take him in.”

“No!” I yell, and I start pulling at the IV in my arm. All three EMTs swarm me, holding me down. “Get the fuck off me!” Why are they here? I’m fine. I need to go…somewhere. I can’t recall where, but I know I have shit to do. “Get off me!” I struggle against their arms.

“It’s okay,” I hear Claire say over my struggle. “Aiden, calm down. We just want to take care of you!”

“I’m fucking fine!” Don’t they see that? What the fuck? Everything is annoying me, getting under my skin. My stomach twists, and I stop fighting, only to turn my head and throw up. Hardly anything comes up, but my body retches two more times. And now I’m shaking, gasping for air.

“Did you check his sugar?” one EMT says. I’m too busy dry-heaving to hear the response, but I feel a sharp prick in my finger.

“Sixty-one.”

“Aiden,” another EMT says slowly. “When was the last time you ate?”

What the fuck does that matter? And I have no clue. I still don’t know what they are doing here, why I’m being harassed for no reason. I’m fine. They need to get the fuck out of here.

“I’ll call it in,” a female EMT says. “We need to get him out of here.”

“No,” I protest when I see them bring the gurney over. “I’m not going to the fucking hospital.”

“I really think you should go,” an EMT says, and his persisting patience annoys me even more. “Just to get checked out. It’ll be a quick trip.”

I’m not a fucking child. I’m not falling for that shit. “No, I’m not going,” I say between retching. I’m shaking and cold, and my mouth is so dry and my throat is burning. Claire pushes through the EMTs and bends over. Tears fall from her eyes. I’ve never seen her look at me with that much fear before.

“Please, Aiden. Let them take you. You’re not well.”

“I’m fine,” I grumble, leaning back and reaching for the line in my arm. I want to tear it out.

“Aiden,” she says again as she pushes my hair back. It’s stuck in my mouth and covered with frothy vomit. I jerk away.

“Give him a minute,” one of the EMTs says. “It’s normal for patients to be angry and agitated.”

“He’s not okay.” She shakes her head and wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. “I’ve seen him bad before, but never like this. What did you take, Aiden?”

I let my head fall back and take a deep breath. I feel like shit. Complete and total shit. Everything aches, my head pounds, and I can’t stop shaking. I want another pain pill to make me pass out and not wake until my fucking body feels better.

My phone rings, and despite the hazy shitstorm going on in my mind, I know only one person is calling me this early.

Haley.

I reach out for the phone. I have no idea where it is. I keep my phone in my pocket, and I’m not wearing the jeans I had on last night. When did I take them off?

“Get that,” I say to Claire.

She takes a few steps and picks up my clothes off the floor. “I’ll take a message,” she says.

“No, give it to me!”

“You really want Haley to talk to you when you’re like this?”

I don’t care how I am. I need to hear her voice. I need to know she’s okay, that those horrible things I thought of really didn’t happen. I need to know she still loves me, even though my life is a fucking mess and I’m lying in my bed, covered in my own vomit.

I need her.

Claire just shakes her head and silences the call. “You don’t want her to witness this, not even over the phone. You’re not well, Aiden. You have a problem.”

“I’m fine,” I say for the millionth time. When will she get it? What the hell kind of problem did I have? I. Am. Fine. “I’m not going to the hospital. I refuse to let you take me.”

The EMTs look at each other, and I know they can’t force me to do anything against my will. I need a shower, water, and a protein bar and I’ll be fine. My normal hangover cure. It’s worked before; it’ll work now. And I need it fast. There is a reason I’m here in L.A. and not with Haley. Ah, fuck. I’ll remember it later.

“Aiden,” the female EMT says, kneeling down. “You overdosed on something. We gave you medication to counteract the overdose, but until we know what and how much is in your system, you’re still in danger. Your blood pressure and sugar levels are low. It would really be in your best interest to go to the hospital and get checked out, okay?”

“No,” I say shortly. “I’m bloody fine, dammit.”

“Can’t you just take him?” Claire asks, and they say something I can’t hear. Claire relaxes and looks down at me. “Aiden, you’re going to the hospital. I know you don’t want to, but please, cooperate. Do it for Haley.”

Haley.

My eyes flutter closed and I see her face before me. We’re on the horses again, running through the woods. Wind blows her hair, and she turns around, her eyes locking with mine for a second before turning back.

Haley.

I left her because I have to work. The sooner I work, the sooner I can get back to her. “No,” I say.

The EMTs meet eyes again, nonverbally deciding what to do. They’re going to leave, that’s what, because I’m fucking fine. Then I hear one of them say something about restraints.

Another chill rolls through me and exhaustion hits. Suddenly I’m scared. What the hell did I take last night? I don’t want to be sick. I nod my head just as an EMT lowers the gurney. They’re taking me after all and had always planned to. The hesitation wasn’t because I was refusing. It was in hopes I’d come to my senses and not be a pain in the arse.

“I can walk,” I say, knowing the spectacle it will be if I’m taken away on a bed, loaded into the back of the ambulance. I’m sure a small crowd has already gathered.

“That’s not a good idea,” Claire says, like she’s afraid they might let me. Of course they don’t, and soon I’m strapped in and being wheeled outside the house. I don’t look to see who’s watching.

I go in and out of consciousness on the way to the hospital. Claire is in the back of the ambulance with me, feverishly texting on her phone, sending messages and canceling events. I don’t see her once I’m in the ER. I can hardly stay awake as I go through a battery of tests. Things start to get hazy again, and I pass out or fall asleep, not waking until I’m in a room.

Claire and my agent are there. Ah, fuck. I realized I’m screwed the same time I realize I’m lonely, so fucking lonely. I’m Aiden Shepherd. Popular, loved by millions, with loyal, devoted fans. I hang out with other rich and famous actors, date super models…yet no one knows me. No one cares.

“Aiden?” Claire asks softly. “Can you hear me?”

“Yeah,” I croak. I’m hooked up to machines and have wires attached to all parts. “What happened?”

“You overdosed,” Thomas says point blank. He looks pissed. Claire’s still scared and worried. “You’re goddamn lucky your assistant found you when she did. She saved your life.”

“I would have been fine,” I say, and I try to smile. I’m so weak, it’s hard to even keep my eyes open.

“No, you wouldn’t have.” Thomas pushes off the register he was leaning against. “I saw the tox report. You had three different narcotics, sleeping pills, and a high blood alcohol content. What the hell were you thinking?”

I was thinking about the horrible things that could happen to Haley. I don’t know why those thoughts went through my head. I don’t want them to. But I can’t stop them. Once those thoughts settle in and take over, the pain starts. I had to stop it before it hurt me.

“I couldn’t sleep,” I mumble. “I didn’t mean to—”

“I don’t care what you did or didn’t mean to do,” Thomas says. “People don’t mean to overdose most of the time. They just do, and let me repeat how lucky you are someone found you.”