I charged out into the hallway, racing down the fire escape without waiting for the lift, Sam close behind. We spilled out the revolving doors into the still, claustrophobic darkness to meet the taxi.
Amir pushed Carter out first, holding his T-shirt by the scruff. Carter stumbled towards us, groaning, one arm against his stomach, his head lolling onto his shoulder. Richie toppled out afterwards, pressing random notes onto the driver. I froze at the kerb while Sam pushed past me, hooking his arm around Carter and helping him forwards.
‘Come on, Carter,’ said Amir, scanning the upstairs windows for light. ‘Let’s go in.’
Carter slouched like a zombie against Sam, lit up by the lobby, and didn’t budge. His skin was grey. Richie let out a high giggle.
My whole body was tense with panic. ‘What the hell is going on?’ I gulped.
‘He’s just had a bit too much to drink,’ said Richie.
A gin palace in Camden. Amazing cocktail list. You can make out with me on the dance floor if you’d like.
There was nothing reassuring about Amir’s arm around my shoulders. ‘I know this is confronting, Lily, but he’ll be fine. He just needs to vomit and sleep it off.’ His certainty flipped me over the edge.
‘I’ve seen him drunk loads of times,’ I said. ‘He’s never like this!’ I ducked out from under his arm. ‘Why were you out with them anyway?’
‘I wasn’t. I was actually on my way to Addie’s launch when Richie called me,’ Amir said, looking pointedly at me. ‘But I’ve seen this before, and trust me, it looks a lot worse than it is.’
Sam pressed the button for our floor several times before any of us remembered you needed a key card to operate the lift. In our living room, Richie swayed uselessly in the doorway while Sam set Carter down on the couch.
‘Listen to me, mate.’ Sam’s eyes flicked to me. A self-destructive streak. No one here gets out alive. ‘Where are you?’ he said. ‘Do you know where you are right now?’
‘Sammy, you’ve got to help me …’
Sam exhaled. ‘Oh, Jesus. You’re OK, mate, you’re home now.’
Carter just whimpered.
‘Carter?’ I croaked.
Sam drew me over to him with one hand. ‘Stand here.’ I clung to Sam’s arm, my body fraying, afraid to touch Carter. ‘It’s all right,’ Sam said, but I couldn’t tell which of us he was talking to. ‘It’s going to be all right.’
Carter reached out a trembling hand and touched the waistband of my jeans. His hand on me broke the spell: he was still Carter, no matter what state he was in. I leaned into Sam, absorbing his strength while the rest of the world was losing its mind. Think, think.
‘We have to take him to hospital,’ I said to Amir, my voice rising. ‘You shouldn’t have brought him here – you should have called an ambulance!’
‘And you shouldn’t even be here,’ Amir said, glaring at me. ‘You’re supposed to be at Addie’s launch. Look, Lily, he can’t go to hospital – it’ll be all over the papers tomorrow. We might lose the New Year’s Eve gig.’
I was starting to shake. ‘Who cares about a stupid gig?’ I turned to Richie. ‘How much has he had?’
He shrugged. ‘I wasn’t with him the whole night.’
‘If you’re not going to help –’
He held up his hands. ‘All right, all right. We had gin at that place in Camden. He had more than me. Then we kicked on to MudDragon. Vodka and Red Bull. Then some tequila shots and …’
‘No hospitals,’ Amir repeated, trying to snatch my phone from me.
I looked at Carter groaning on the couch, the concoction battling away inside him. ‘Sam ...?’ I pleaded.
‘OK,’ said Sam. ‘We call an ambulance.’ His arm tightened around my waist. ‘It’s going to be OK. You hear me? It’s OK.’ And this time I was sure he was talking to me.