Free Magic in Our Hearts by Jeanne Mccann Page B

there for hours, just watching Taylor talk. She was flooded with memories of the time they had been together. Every moment was etched vividly in Brett’s mind. Even though her body craved the alcohol that kept her sane, she still felt the pull of Taylor deep in her heart. Anyway, now that she was unworthy of anyone’s love, she could only dream.
    “Brett, Brett, are you listening to me?”
    “Yes, you want my permission to speak with my doctors,” Brett responded, turning away from Taylor so she wouldn’t see the tears in her eyes.
    Taylor looked at Brett carefully. “Brett, I need you to be an active participant in your therapy. It’s important that you believe in me and my abilities.”
    “I do believe in you.” And Brett did. She had always had complete faith in Taylor. She didn’t blame Taylor for refusing to believe she hadn’t slept with other women. Brett had created her own reputation with just that type of behavior, but she had prayed that Taylor could see through all of the superficial layers to the real Brett. It made Brett angry to realize that it was too late for anyone, especially Taylor, to help her.
    “Brett, I need to know what you’re taking for medication and how much alcohol you’ve been drinking.”
    “I take Percocet for pain when I need it and a muscle relaxer when I start getting muscle cramps, and I drink about a half a bottle of Scotch a day just for fun,” Brett responded, already thinking about the bottle she had stashed in her armoire. At first she had been careful to hide her alcohol from her mother. Now, she really didn’t hide it from anyone. What would it matter that she was drinking herself to death? What did she have to live for? Her mother was being consumed by cancer and she had destroyed her body. She really had nothing at all to make her want to go on.
    Taylor waited for Brett to continue. She was surprised that Brett was being so open. “I’ve been drinking every day for over two years. I’ve made it one of my many talents,” she replied with a small bow.
    Taylor winced at the self-deprecating humor. She reached out and placed her hand on Brett’s arm in a comforting gesture. “I’m going to call your doctor to get some help to deal with your drinking. You’re going to go through some serious withdrawal.”
    Brett was startled by Taylor’s touch. Her hand felt hot against her skin. “I know.”
    “I’ll be with you every step of the way.” Brett looked up into blue eyes that promised so much, and she lost her heart again to the woman who had haunted her for so many years. But she knew in her heart that she couldn’t stop drinking for anyone. It was far too late. “Thank you.”

 
    CHAPTER 9
    By the end of the day Brett had consumed almost half a bottle of Scotch before Taylor found her lying on the floor of her room in a complete stupor. Panicked, Taylor called Brett’s family doctor who arrived within an hour.
    “She has serious alcohol poisoning along with so many drugs in her system. If I didn’t know better, I might think Brett might have been trying to kill herself.” The older doctor spoke seriously to Taylor and Brett’s mother. Taylor had called Mrs. Camden immediately after calling the doctor, and she had arrived twenty minutes later.
    “Oh God! I was afraid of this,” Roselin cried as she heard the words that she had been dreading for almost a year. Roselin suspected her daughter was suicidal.
    “I pushed her too hard.” Taylor’s voice was full of shame. “She didn’t want me here and I pushed her.”
    “It’s not you, Taylor. Brett has been on this path for over a year.” Roselin reached out and clasped Taylor’s hand. “What can we do, doctor?”
    “I suggest we put her in a clinic where she can get help and get all the alcohol and drugs out of her system.”
    “Is she conscious?”
    “Barely.”
    “The two women followed the doctor into Brett’s room. Brett lay quietly in her bed, an IV taped to her arm. Her face was