Adam sat down on his couch, not even bothering to take off his shoes or suit jacket, or to loosen his tie. It had only taken a moment for him to realize that Elizabeth had been there while he was out - things were out of place and there was an overall feeling of untidiness. While they had dated he had always been the neater of them, and his apartment still reflected his need for order. Her presence there sent him back a few months in feelings, and he needed a moment to suppress it. There was no reason for her to have stopped by - he had returned all of her things months ago - and he felt very… invaded.
He looked around carefully and nothing seemed to be missing, but he definitely needed to talk to maintenance about having his lock changed. She had made a copy of his key before returning it. He has discovered this about two weeks after he broke up with her when he came home from work to find her and her lover doing it on his sofa. They had talked since then and she hadn’t come back in months. Now he was certain that it wouldn’t stop.
Once he knew that all was well and he had regained his bearings he moved from the couch and to his bedroom to change. He didn’t have anything planned for the evening, except drinking a beer and watching TV or maybe popping in a movie.
He turned the corner in to his bedroom and stopped short in the doorway, staring aghast at Elizabeth’s slim figure thrown across his bed, an empty pill bottle in a still-quivering hand. In quick reaction sharpened by his years as a firefighter, he was checking her pulse as he dialed 911 on his cell phone with his free hand. She was still alive and warm - she must have done it only minutes before he had returned from lunch. As he relayed information to the 911 dispatcher, he worked through her thoughts in the past two hours as best he could manage. Elizabeth hadn’t known that he had taken the afternoon off and that he would be home three hours early. It could only be her intention that he find her dead.
It didn’t take long for the ambulance to arrive and the EMTs to start issuing medical care immediately after arriving. The police showed up a few minutes after - two young officers he had never met - and asked him questions about what had happened. Adam didn’t have much to tell them - he hadn’t been there much longer than they had. He also hadn’t spoken to her in weeks, and had no idea what was happening in her life to lead her to this.
He was sitting quietly on his couch when they wheeled her out on a stretcher, oxygen mask covering her still face. They asked if he wanted to go to the hospital with them in the ambulance, but he declined. At their confused, yet hurried looks he explained that he needed to call someone first and would meet them there in a little while.
As quickly as they had all come, Adam was alone again, the past twenty minutes burned in to his memory. He could barely react to everything. The only thing that he could think to do was pick up his cell phone from the floor near his bed and call Alison.
