by H. B. Stumbo
I turned around determined to find the cute brunette and grind on him just to spite Vance. I scanned the room for him and felt my vision start to blur. I closed my eyes and opened them again which seemed to help. When the room stopped spinning I noticed Riley coming towards me.
“Char, hey how are you doing?” His grin was infectious and I smiled at him. Why couldn’t Vance be more like his friendly brother? Vance seemed to be bothered by the fact that Riley was talking to me, he shot him a look of disapproval. To my surprise Riley ignored him.
“You look great, having fun?”
I nodded. “A blast, I really needed this night out. Are you having fun?”
He nodded and started to talk but I could barely hear him over the beat of the music. When I didn’t answer he eyed me oddly.
“You okay?” His smile faded as he stared at me. I halfway nodded and felt myself stumble a little, Riley caught me and steadied me back to my feet, his face marred with concern.
Vance’s head spiked up and he looked at me. There was at least ten feet between us and he closed that space immediately. Riley’s hands were replaced with Vance’s but Riley remained at my side.
“Charlotte,” Vance’s tone was clipped with something I couldn’t figure out, worry maybe?
Suddenly the room was spinning faster and I tried to push myself away from Vance but he held me in place. I wanted to yell at him to let go of me, but the words would not come out.
“Is she going to pass out, did she drink too much?” Riley asked and I shook my head no in response but the movement of that caused me to stumble again and my head started to ache. The lights in the room blended together and the pounding of the music became muted.
I felt my head roll back and suddenly Riley was helping Vance support me.
“I’m fine,” I whispered and glanced down at Vance’s hands on my waist. He looked at me with terror in his eyes.
“You’re anything but that,” He mumbled under his breath. He looked at Riley as panic spread across his face. Riley mumbled something to him I couldn’t understand. The music sounded like I was underwater listening to it; it vibrated through my brain in waves.
Vance picked up my glass and examined the bottom of it. I couldn’t make sense of it and suddenly he slammed it back down. “FUCK,” he yelled and my head rolled again.
“Charlotte,” His words were stern and I glanced at him through hooded eyes. “Charlotte I need you to listen to me, hear my voice okay?” His words were softer and laced with concern and his grip around my waist tightened. I had a sudden burst of strength and raised my head and looked at his hands wrapped around my body, I squinted my eyes and exhaled, feeling nothing but a coldness wash over me.
My head rolled again and he supported my neck with his hand. “I can’t feel it.” I mumbled sleepily.
He leaned his head towards mine and looked at me surprisingly. “Can’t feel what?”
“That feeling I get when you touch me,” I was briefly aware that his expression took on the form of shock.
The last thing I remember before my knees gave out was Kim’s voice shouting my name as she neared me. Blackness took over next and I surrendered to it willingly.
Chapter 8
The funny thing about dreams is that when you’re in one and you’re going about your merry way, it all seems so real. In dreams you don’t question anything, not the people you are with or the fact that you can do inhuman things like walk on water or fly. It’s a shame life cannot be the same way, carefree and unquestionable. I can’t tell you what exactly I was dreaming about but it was a good dream, a peaceful dream and I recognized one emotion in myself that for so long seemed to be non-existent; happiness. I couldn’t pinpoint a reason for the happiness, but I think it had something to do with the color blue.
When I woke up my head was pounding and all the effects of my dream were replaced with reality. I opened my eyes and tried to adjust myself to the surroundings. Pale yellow lined the light blue walls and I was vaguely aware of the beeping noise from beside me. When my eyes finally adjusted I glanced down at the spotted robe around my body and the IV protruding from my arm. What in hell, why was I in the hospital?
Sitting up quickly I felt the room spin and a nurse scurried in.
“Relax, Charlotte you’re okay.”
Panic shot through me. The last time I was in this hospital, Jackson had something to do with it. I was instantly a nervous wreck and the beeping of the heart monitor went into overdrive as I scanned the room for a reason, or some type of divine intervention to calm me down.
The nurse was at my side and rested her hand on my shoulder. “Charlotte breathe, you’re safe.”
I took a few calming breaths as she rubbed my shoulder and shushed me, “Why am I here, what happened.”
Just then a tall grey haired man in a white coat walked in and sanitized his hands, “Ah Miss Lyons, welcome back to planet earth.”
I recognized Dr. Mott instantly; he was the same doctor that treated me the last time I was here. There was a glimmer of sadness in his eyes as he looked at me, no doubt he remembered me too.
“What…happened?”
He stood over me and checked my pulse as the beeping returned to a more normal rate. “What do you remember?”
I searched my memory before the odd dream I had been enjoying, I didn’t mention that to Dr. Mott. I remembered dancing, I remembered Kim, and I remembered Riley and Vance. I swallowed hard at the memory of Vance.
“Being at a bar, dancing.”
He nodded and removed the stethoscope. Pulling up a chair he sat down and shined a light into my eyes, I winced at first but eventually it dimmed. “Memory loss is a big side effect when it comes to Rohypnol.”
I let his words sink in and although I wasn’t a medicine major I knew what he was talking about. “What?”
He smiled a kind smile and leaned forward. “It seems as though someone slipped you a fairly large dose of the date rape drug last night. We found significant traces of it in your blood. We have reason to believe it was in your drink.”
My mind flickered to the good looking brunette and the drink he gave me. I had a memory of Vance lifting my glass and examining it. I raised my hand to my mouth and suppressed a sob.
“You’re going to feel crummy for a few days. I’d advise you to rest through Tuesday.” He placed his hand on my shoulder and sighed. “I’m glad that this is all I have to tell you. I’ve had this conversation with too many other women and I’ve had to confirm their worst nightmares.”
I could hear the doctor but I wasn’t listening. Bits and pieces of the night before plagued my mind. My attention was pulled away when Kim burst through the door. I felt my stomach churn as she looked at me sadly.
She made her way to me and threw her arms around me. “I was so worried, thank God you’re okay.”
Dr. Mott stood up and smiled at us. “You were lucky your friends were right there. If they hadn’t brought you in when they did, I most likely would be telling you more bad news. You have to thank them.”
I nodded and smiled at Kim, she looked oddly at me. “It wasn’t me who saved you, you know. It was those brothers you were talking to.”
The doctor cleared his throat and made his way to the door. “Once we get some food in you I’m confident enough we can let you go home and rest there. Take Advil for the headache and be aware you may experience some anxiety as your memory pieces itself together.” He smiled and looked like he was relieved. This had to be easier on him than the last time he saw me. I could tell that he felt much more at ease with me this time around, I wondered if he assumed the worst when he heard my name when they brought me in.
When he left Kim plopped herself down on my bed and hugged me again freeing my memory of its toxic past.
“How do you feel?”
I rubbed my temples. “Shitty.”
Kim nodded and relaxed, “I was only gone about fifteen minutes last night. Thank God you were with people you knew. If you had
been on your own…” Her voice trailed off.
“Fill in the blanks for me, Kim.” I didn’t want to even think about what could have happened.
She exhaled and began. “When I saw you, I knew something was wrong, and then you instantly went down. The two guys, Riley and Vance they said they knew you. Riley held your head and filled me in on what they thought happened. The other guy, Vance, he didn’t say much just looked panicked and angry. He crouched down next to Riley and told him to call an ambulance, said you were most likely drugged and he could tell by the residue at the bottom of your glass. He whispered something to Riley and disappeared. When the ambulance came the police showed up too and began questioning several people including the bartender. The bartender knew nothing about it and the police seemed uninterested at that point. I hate to say they deal with shit like this all the time, but if they couldn’t pin point a person to blame they were going to give up.”
“They loaded you in the ambulance, I rode with you and Riley followed us, but Vance wasn’t with him. I didn’t see him again until he showed up at the hospital after they admitted you. Riley waited with me until Vance got there; he’s really nice, Riley I mean. I didn’t really get the chance to talk much to Vance. He went right to the nurse’s desk and asked about you when he got there. He talked to Riley for a while outside, it looked heated and then Vance came back inside and asked me if he could see you. I had no idea you had made new friends, they were both seriously hot and I wasn’t going to deny the guy who saved you anything at that point. He stayed with you for a few hours while I went home and cleaned up, and called Rich and Lara and filled them in on everything.”
She eyed me curiously, measuring my reaction to everything.
I processed her words and suddenly felt odd hearing that Vance sat with me for a while. I searched my mind but I had no memory of it. The thought of him sitting with me for a lengthy amount of time while I was unconscious made my throat feel dry.
“Rich and Lara, how upset were they?”
She shrugged, “They were pretty worked up, Lara more than Rich. They wondered who did this to you. I told them there was no way of knowing who it was and the cops couldn’t really pursue anything. They stayed here for a while, but I sent them home and told them I’d call them when I had news. Lara still gets torn up being here; she instantly thinks about you and…well you know.”
I nodded and rubbed my head again. “Riley and Vance, where are they now?”
Kim shrugged. “I imagine home. When the doctors said you’d be fine and I came back to the hospital, Vance left. Riley didn’t stay here with him the whole time; he came back and got him though.”
My head was spinning.
“Why didn’t you tell me about them?”
I closed my eyes and shook my head, “I sort of did.”
Kim was staring at me, not following along. “I told you about Vance. He’s the one…the guy who I’ve been dealing with.”
Kim’s eyes widened, “Wait…he’s the arrogant, gorgeous, asshole?”
I nodded.
“Holy shit Char…he is fucking fine. You need to let him be an asshole. And besides he can’t be that bad if he sat with you here in the hospital for a few hours.”
I shrugged my shoulders and leaned back against my pillow.
Kim fanned herself with her hand. “Whew…what a hunk. Wait…so did he just happen to be at the same bar we were?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know…I remember asking him if he had been watching me, I don’t know if he followed us there or if it was just coincidence.”
Kim scrunched her eyes and shook her head. “They can follow us any day.”
I snorted and pushed her backwards.
“Come on, let’s get you some food and get you home. I don’t like being here anymore than you do.”
Chapter 9
By Monday afternoon my headache had dulled in comparison to the full blown migraine it was when I first got home. Lara had been waiting for Kim and I at the house and had made me soup and stocked up on Gatorade. She cried when she saw me which didn’t help how shitty I already felt. I had put Lara and Rich through so much over the years, even if it wasn’t my fault I still felt guilty. She hugged me and stayed with me until I fell asleep that night.
I had spent most of the morning on the couch trying to regain my balance and my mind. Unfortunately for me, other than the few memories I had already clung onto from Saturday; nothing else worked its way to the surface. Rick had called me and told me to not come back until I was feeling one hundred percent, the worry in his voice was prominent and he had sent flowers that afternoon. I knew there was an ulterior motive to his worry. He was panicked that I would miss as much work as I did last year when I was in the hospital. He was panicked because that would mean more work for him.
I thought about texting Vance; it was the least I could do, but every time I picked up my phone and tried to, something stopped me. I don’t know if it was embarrassment for how I had behaved at the club or if it was because I didn’t really know what to say.
Deep down I knew I would have to deal with him this week anyway; I was due to check out how the project was going on his yard. I would thank him then, in person; that would be the proper thing to do. The more I thought about it and focused on the idea of him sitting in a hospital room with me for hours though, the guiltier I felt about not contacting him.
Although he had been being a jerk, his chivalry warranted some type of notoriety.
I picked up my phone but was instantly hit with a message from Micah; my heart constricted.
Char, I just heard from Rich about what happened over the weekend. I want you to know I was planning on heading to Canada in a few weeks, but instead I’m going to come home before going there. It seems like every time I leave you for a while bad things happen. I’m just glad you’re okay, and I miss you. Please be careful and watch yourself until I get home.
I hugged the phone to my chest as tears spilled down my face. Micah had so much guilt that he developed at such a young age, most likely because he was the oldest and felt like he had to take care of me. I replied, explaining that I was fine and assuring him I would be safe. I preached to him like I usually had to do about not blaming himself for things that are out of his control.
We spent the next hour texting back and forth about things and his current whereabouts. He was in some small school in Brazil helping to repair the roof and it sounded like he was ready to come back to America for a little while at least. He wanted to know everything that had been going on, and everything I could remember about the dance club. I told him everything I could, except the parts involving Vance. I wasn’t ready to tell him about Vance; I really wasn’t even sure that Vance and I were friends.
The fact that he crept back into my mind reminded me I still hadn’t sent him a message to thank him. Deciding it was best to just do it person, I planned on thanking him Thursday when I would be at his house.
I went back to work Wednesday afternoon and was greeted by a huge hug from a relieved Rick and a few comforting smiles from the summer interns who really could care less. I was grateful for all of their concern, even if it was feigned but I was also happy to go home that night. Not working for a few days resulted in a dozen voicemails on my machine and a few new clients who wanted to set some things up. I groaned at the work I was behind on but muddled through it as best as I could. By the time I left the office it was nearing eight and I needed to eat and sleep.
It rained again that night and I found myself wide awake in bed around two in the morning. The rain pounded against my metal roof and what was normally soothing kept me wide awake, I think the threat of thunder had something to do with that.
I pulled my tablet out and decided to surf through the web and check into some possible design ideas I had been asked about.
When I opened my tablet I noticed I had a few new emails since I had left the office. I opened them up and yawned largely as I waited for my email to load. After
I scanned the first two my eyes nearly popped out of my head at the third. Vance’s name lit up my inbox and I swallowed hard. I opened it and hoped he wasn’t going to tell me to forget about the project and he’d have someone else from the company head it up since I had been M.I.A.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: You
Charlotte,
Things are going fine with the landscaping crew; they seem to be very knowledgeable. I assume you’ll be stopping by at some point to check on things; just let me know before you come. I hope you are feeling better – I understand you missed work for a few days after what happened this weekend. If it were up to me you should have missed the whole week.
Vance
If it were up to him? What in the hell did that even mean? The man was more confusing as time went on and now he was sounding short and clipped, at least that is the way his email read. I didn’t even know if it was worth replying to him at this point; and why did he want me to let him know before I showed up? Maybe he was seeing someone now and afraid she’d be there? I shook my head and tried to tell myself I really jumped to conclusions far too quickly.
I had known this man for two weeks and he had already embarrassed me, scared me, attracted me to him, made me madder than hell, and it was safe to say he probably saved my life. That thought resonated deep with me, it wasn’t the first time I had been saved and at least this time I had someone I could actually thank for it.
I shook my head unable to absorb everything at this hour. I closed my eyes and tried to fall back asleep.
Chapter 10
