Take My Hand (Interracial Erotic Romance) by Sophia Banks Read Free Book Online Page A

them aside and informed them Tamika suffered a drug overdose due to intravenous cocaine use. When Gracie had asked to see her, the doctor told her she was sleeping and it was best to let her rest. So Lamar and Gracie merely peeked their heads in her room to catch a glimpse of Tamika and then satisfied she was alive, headed to the cafe for coffee and some food.
    “How are we supposed to get her off the streets?” Gracie asked. “She doesn’t have insurance and you know we can’t afford private care.”
    Lamar shook his head. “The city has to have publically funded drug rehab programs, no?”
    Gracie shook her head. “They do, but the wait list is usually very long. Plus, from what I’ve read anyway, most addicts to go into county care programs don’t make it out sober. Those places are crawling with ex-convicts and supposedly it’s easier to get drugs in there than out on the street.”
    Gracie had spent more time than she cared to remember scouring the Internet for information on treating drug addiction. Most of what she had learned had terrified her. It seemed being an addict in the United States, well a poor one anyway, was one of the worse afflictions you could have. Private care cost too much to be of use to the average addict and public care was usually nothing more than pit-stop for the hardest of users and a place for the younger addicts to learn the tools of their trade. She knew the situation Tamika was indeed a dire one, but wanted to do her best to remain in good sprits for Lamar’s sake. And Tamika’s. Soon she would wake and the last thing Gracie wanted to do was make her feel even worse.
    Lamar stood and drained his coffee. He looked down at Gracie and shrugged. “I’m out of answers, Cuz. C’mon let’s get back to the emergency room and see if Tamika has woken up yet.”
    “Good idea.”
    Gracie picked up the empty sandwich wrapper and coffee cup and handed it to Lamar. Together they walked towards the exit. Lamar placed the trash in the wastebasket and wrapped his arm around Gracie’s back.
    “Don’t worry, Gracie. We will find a way to work through this. I promise you.”
    Gracie wrapped her arm under Lamar’s and hugged him. “I hope so, Lamar. I really do.”
    When they returned to the emergency room there was a nurse waiting for them outside Tamika’s door.
    “Are you two family member of Tamika Johnson’s?”
    Gracie nodded. “Yes, I am her sister and this is her cousin, Lamar. Is she okay?”
    The nurse smiled and clutched a clipboard against her chest. “Yes, she’s fine. As a matter of fact, she was just waking up when I was in there.”
    Gracie looked over the nurse’s shoulder and saw Tamika’s feet moving around at the end of the bed. It appeared she was still in the process of waking up.
    “I need to go see my sister, please excuse me.” Gracie attempted to move past the nurse but the woman cut off her path.
    “Can I have one second of your time before you do? We need to talk about what she’s going to do once she’s discharged.”
    “And when will that be?” Lamar asked.
    The nurse frowned. “Well, since Ms. Johnson doesn’t have insurance and her life is no longer in danger, we will have to discharge her within the next six hours or so. I’m sorry, but we need the bed.”
    “And what exactly are we supposed to do with Tamika?” Gracie snapped. “Doesn’t the county have any detox beds?”
    The nurse shook her head. “I’m sorry ma’am but the waiting list for a detox bed is by priority only and like I said, Ms. Johnson’s life is no longer in danger.”
    “Oh, it isn’t? " Gracie snarled. "What, you think she’s just going to stop using, all by herself? What’s wrong with this place? Don’t you people have any compassion?”
    The staff behind the ER desk looked up and Lamar placed a hand on Gracie’s shoulder.
    “Relax, Gracie. It’s not the nurse’s fault. Please, calm down before we go into the room.”
    “I’m sorry for you folks and I