Richer Ground by Jessie M

Debra's is the most pressing. She is obviously in mental agony.”
    “ There's a little more to it than the accident as well. She drank heavily and took a lot of drugs for a while. I had to lock her up to stop her from killing herself. I don't expect that helped.”
    “ Jesus. .. It sounds a complete nightmare... For everyone. So let's start our search for her, shall we? Leave no stone unturned.”
    “ I'll go downstairs, feel free to look wherever you like. Only my bedroom's in use upstairs... other than this.”  He walked to the landing and turned.
    “ Thanks so much for helping Alista, sometimes I'm overwhelmed by it all. Seeing your child deteriorate before your eyes, when you had such high hopes for them is too much to bear.”
    “ I'm happy to help, honestly... I like to be useful.” 
    He smiled at her and walked off down the stairs. She realised just how nice he was. Not at all stuck up really. Just a worried and concerned father.
    She opened Debra's wardrobe and looked inside... Not to be nosy... but just to get a feel for her. She looked at her photos, stuck on the dressing table mirror. One was Debra and the other Mercedes, she guessed. She picked up her teddies and her make up and looked in her dressing table drawers.
    She was about to leave the room when she heard a tiny sound... her ears strained and she heard it again. She dropped to her knees and looked under her bed. A pale arm lay in front of her.
    She stood up and ran to the landing... and shouted loudly.
    “ Jasper... Come quick...” He was flying across the hallway and up the stairs in seconds.
    “ She's under her bed... I don't think I can pull her out.”
    He lay down and grabbed her arm and started to drag her out.
    “Oh God... Debra... What have you done...?” he whispered in a shaky voice.
    She lay white faced and deathly still in his arms. He picked her up and they rushed downstairs to the car. He put her on Alista's lap and they sped off to the local hospital, which was a good ten miles away, jumping a set of lights on the way. Her eyelids fluttered several times, which Ali took to be a good sign. Movement of any sort meant life.
     
    An hour passed and the two of them sat waiting in A & E.
    Debra had had her stomach pumped.
    Finally a doctor arrived at their side. Apparently she'd taken an overdose of sleeping pills and painkillers. But the doctor assured them she'd be fine. They were keeping her in for a couple of days, to keep an eye on her. She was still asleep, as a result of the sleeping pills she'd already ingested.
    “I suppose I ought to cancel my evening out with your mother,” he said glumly and sighed, looking at his watch.
    Ali had been thinking about that. She knew her mum would cry off if she knew there was a family drama of this magnitude going on.
    “No, there's no reason to, there's nothing you can do here, is there? She's asleep and she's going to be fine. I'll stay here and let you know the second anything happens, which I don't expect it will. I don't have anything else to do anyway. And Jasper, my mum never goes out, I'm sure she's looking forward to it. Go and relax for a few hours together and unwind. You can do with the break I'm sure. You can pick me up after your party.”
    “ No, I can't expect this of you, sitting here for hours on your own with my daughter. You've been too kind already,” he objected.
    “ Jasper... I won't take no for an answer... My mum's involved here. You can look after Debra all day tomorrow and the next. Hopefully she'll be awake then as well. Go home whenever you like. But before you go I'd appreciate a loan for a few pounds so I can get some food from the cafe, as I came out with just my phone and house key. I'm starving already.”
    “ Of course... Here we are...” he opened his wallet and popped a ten pound note in her hand. “I'll let Richard know... it's panic over now... not that he knew there was a panic... but I suppose he should.”
    “ I'll do that for you. I was