Chapter Twenty-Seven #2
“Okay. Then you should know we need to get your blood tested before the drug is out of your system. We should take you to an urgent care clinic today. They can also do an exam to be certain you weren’t assaulted if you’d be more comfortable with that.”
“We?” I asked, tears spilling over again.
Leo shook his head, his eyes looking glassy. “If you think I’m letting you out of my sight today, Hawaii, then you haven’t been paying enough attention,” he said more earnestly than anything I’d ever heard him say before.
I took a deep breath wondering if that was his way of telling me this arrangement was evolving again. It sure seemed to do that a lot. “Don’t you have practice?”
“Already missed it,” he said with a shrug.
“What? You missed practice? Is that even allowed?”
“Well, I did. And I’d miss a dozen more if it meant knowing you were safe after what happened. It’s done. I’ve never missed one before, so Coach had no reason to suspect me of lying when I said I was sick with a stomach bug.”
“You lied for me too?” I asked.
“I’d do a lot of things for you, Hawaii.
This doesn’t even scratch the surface.” He pulled me to his chest again and I allowed myself to rest there for a while in the safety of his arms. With him pressed against me, I truly believed I could get through this.
Maybe that was a lot to put on a friend, but he never needed to know that he was the only thing keeping me from completely falling apart.
And if he did know, I considered for the first time that he might actually be okay with that.
I sat on my bed and stared at my phone. This was not going to be a fun conversation, but I’d insisted on doing it alone.
This afternoon, Leo had gone to the clinic with me and then to the police station to file a report.
We’d stopped for an early dinner at Harrison’s Bar and Pub and then I’d insisted that he leave me alone so I could call my mom.
The dark circles under his eyes had only deepened all day and he needed sleep.
He had a game tomorrow and he’d be exhausted if he stayed with me again.
I knew he wouldn’t allow himself the sleep he needed without my insistence, so I asked him to walk me home and leave me in the very capable hands of my two roommates.
Jia had been upset that she hadn’t seen Alyssa’s message requesting information about my whereabouts at the party until early this morning.
She’d missed the scene in the living room last night, having taken off with Rickles and his friend just after Leo had asked her about me.
Her guilt over not having been with me had resulted in her insisting that she and Alyssa would clean the bathroom and my room while Leo and I were out.
Alyssa had been happy for a cleaning project to distract her from her worry about me, and I was confident I’d have more than enough support if I needed it while Leo slept in his own bed for the night.
They were currently fighting over which romcom to watch in the living room while I worked up the nerve to tell my mother what happened.
She wouldn’t be upset but she would try to therapize me, and I was not ready for that yet.
I’d considered calling Kennedy first since she’d been sexually assaulted when she was in her early twenties, but I didn’t want to force her to relive that trauma with me in an ambush.
Better if her and my dad found out through my mom.
They would both be way too triggered, given her history.
I finally dialed my mom’s number and took a deep breath, steeling myself to spit it out.
“Sophia!” she said. “What a nice surprise, you caught me between patients.”
“Are you alone in your office?” I asked, trying to gauge if this was a good time to spring this on her.
“Yep, I only have one more session today, and it’s virtual.” She’d had her own private therapy practice for the last decade and in recent years had started seeing some of her clients virtually at their request.
“Okay, well, here’s an impromptu extra session for you,” I said.
“Are you okay, Soph?” she asked, instantly sounding alarmed.
“Yes, I am safe and okay.” I took a deep breath. “I got roofied at a party last night.”
Mom gasped. “Soph!” Her voice cracked and I was sure she was as close to crying as I was. “Are you sure you’re physically okay?”
“Yes. I wasn’t assaulted. I went to a clinic to be sure, but Leo found me shortly after I was drugged and brought me home.
” I’d only mentioned him to her a few times, but she knew he was the captain of the hockey team and that I’d met him through my assignment for the paper.
She didn’t know I was screwing him on the regular but so far that wasn’t relevant information in our conversations.
“Oh, thank God.” She released a long breath. “And your friend, Leo, you trust him?”
“Wholeheartedly. He and Alyssa stayed with me all night. From the sounds of it, it wasn’t pleasant for anyone.”
“I’m so sorry, Soph,” she said, sniffling quietly as if she wanted to hide her tears. “I really wish I could hug you right now.”
“I know, but Jia and Alyssa have done more than enough of that, trust me. I’m really doing okay, all things considered.”
“I know you may not want to talk about it now, but at some point, it will be better if you do.”
“I know,” I said. “And I will, I promise. I gave a statement to the police too. I won’t let it eat me up or change my life, Mom. I will do the work to get through it.”
“Okay, are you still coming home for Thanksgiving?”
“Yes, and if Kennedy’s willing to talk about it, I’ll lean on her too. Between the two of you and the girls here, I have a really good support system.”
“Okay, what do you need from me right now?”
“I need you to tell all of them. Especially Dad. I’ll talk to Elena myself when I get home. But Dave, Kennedy, Aunt Kat, and Uncle Eric? I want them to know but I don’t want to tell them.”
Mom groaned. “I understand but I wish you’d asked me to do almost anything else. I’m not even sure which of those men will be the worst but I suspect telling Eric when he has access to his guns will be a grave mistake.”
I chuckled softly. “Yeah, I mean you can probably convince Kennedy and Kat to tell the three of them together with you so you have some backup.”
“You really are the smart one. I have to get ready for my client, but I’m done here in an hour. Do you want me to call you back after?”
“No,” I said. “I’m going to watch movies with the girls for the night.”
“Okay. Call me if you need anything at all, sweetie. Anytime. I mean it.”
“I know you do, Mom. I’ll see you in a few days.”
I went back into the living room and collapsed onto the couch between the girls. After the movie was over, I glanced at my phone and found a few missed messages.
Leo: You’re all I can think about, Hawaii. I know you’re in good hands but call me if you need anything. It’s killing me to go to the game without you tomorrow.
I’d already told Coach and Jana that I wouldn’t be able to travel with the team for their overnight trip tomorrow. It was too soon, and they’d all accepted that I’d caught Leo’s stomach bug.
Me: I’m okay. I promise. We’ll talk after your game tomorrow.
I swiped over to the individual messages from my family.
Kennedy: When you’re ready to talk, call me. I can handle it, so don’t worry about me, Soph. I love you.
Aunt Kat: I’m here if you need me, kiddo. Sending hugs.
I swiped them away to respond later while Jia made us hot cocoa for the next movie. By the time the credits started rolling on another Anne Hathaway movie I had even more missed texts.
Uncle Eric: I know they’ll all say something better than me, but I love you and you did nothing to deserve what happened. Call anytime. You know I can handle middle of the night phone calls.
Dave: I know where Eric keeps his guns, Soph, and I’ll learn how to use them for you.
Dad: Your mom made me promise not to call you and I’m handing Kennedy my phone after I send this to hold me accountable. Call her if you want to talk to either of us. I love you so much, Soph. I’m glad you have people there to help you through this.
As if their messages weren’t enough to remind me how loved I was, I was surrounded by my two best friends who were both passed out on the couch next to me. Still, there was one more message.
Leo: I just want to make sure you know that one of the benefits of this friendship is that I’ll answer the phone when you call. Always. No matter the time or place.
I smiled to myself as I sat on the couch with tears in my eyes.
I had some pretty amazing people in my life, and tomorrow I’d start leaning on all of them the way I knew they wanted me to.
I slid off the couch and went back to my room, which was perfectly clean thanks to Alyssa’s obsessive cleaning skills and Jia’s rampant need to be helpful.
I crawled into bed and fell fast asleep knowing I was safe and cared for in a way that a lot of people would never be able to after an experience like this.
I was pretty sure Alyssa and Jia were convinced that the best way to support me was to smother me, but I couldn’t complain too much.
We hadn’t had a lot of girl time recently given how busy we all were, and we were each flying home for Thanksgiving break tomorrow.
Alyssa was headed back to her family in Palm Beach and Jia to hers in Chicago.
A full day of shopping, coffee, and ice cream meant I was so busy, I’d barely had time to stop and stress about what had happened.
I’d taken a few moments here and there to respond to my family one at a time and had called and talked to Kennedy for a bit when Alyssa and Jia stumbled across a batting cage that they just had to try.
I assured Dave that no guns would be necessary, thanked Aunt Kat for reaching out and told her I’d see her soon, told Uncle Eric he was better with words than he gave himself credit for, talked to my mom again, and finally called my dad when I got home and just let him listen to me cry.