Chapter 20
“Liz! Elizabeth!” I fumble and try to push past Ryder, but he shoves me back as a wave of nausea hits me hard. “Get out of my way!” I yell at him. Why am I slurring?
Ryder pushes me back. “You need to calm down before you make matters worse.”
Jacinda slinks by my side. “Let me know if you want to pick up where we left off.” What is she talking about? I feel awful, like I'm going to hurl.
Ryder steps out of Jacinda's way and motions for her to leave the room. “Jacinda, get out. I think you’ve caused enough trouble tonight.”
My bleary eyes turn to Ryder as I stumble back toward the bed. “I still can’t believe you kissed her at the bonfire party.”
His laugh isn’t nice. “Yeah, well, I was having a bad night. Not as bad as the one you’re having,” Ryder replies, his words full of criticism and disappointment.
“Liz. I need to find Liz.” I start to panic. I don’t know what she thought she saw, but I need to explain to her that nothing happened. I don’t even know what did happen. I drag my hands over my face into my hair and pull. “Ryder, what’s going on?”
Ryder closes the door to the bedroom to give us privacy and crosses his arms over his chest. “I think that’s the question you need to be answering.”
I collapse back down on the bed. “Other than my head feeling funny, and I’m nauseous and a bit dizzy, I have no freaking clue.”
“What do you remember?”
I shake my head, trying to clear some of the cobwebs and rub my temples to stave away the headache I feel coming.
“We all got here. Maria and I went to get beer. I remember looking for Liz, but you all weren’t in the front of the house anymore.
Maria grabbed a couple of bottles of water for you guys.
Jacinda and Samantha were at the keg and handed me two drinks.
I remember Maria and I searched the house looking for where you all went.
Fallon told us to check outside. I started feeling bad, like woozy and light-headed.
I heard Marshall say something about Liz.
And then things get real fuzzy from there. ”
“Wait a minute. Back up. You said Samantha and Jacinda handed you drinks?”
“Yeah.”
“Bottles?”
I shake my head. “No. Red cups.”
“Did you drink any of it?”
“Well, yeah. I downed mine before we headed outside to find you.”
Ryder steps toward me. “Did Maria drink hers?”
“No. She was carrying the waters.” No, I tell myself. No way. “You think the stuff was drugged?”
“I don’t know. You tell me. You said you’re feeling funny and can’t remember much of what happened after the fight. That was about an hour ago. Do you remember beating Marshall until he almost passed out, or Fallon bringing you in after?”
“No.”
“Know how you got up here? How Jacinda got here?”
I stand up ready to punch him for even insinuating I would cheat on Liz. Never in a million years would that ever be a possibility. As soon as I stand up, dizziness pushes me to sit back down. “Oh God, my head is killing me.” I push off the bed and grab the waste basket and vomit into it.
Ryder pulls his phone from his back pocket and texts someone. I lean back and wipe my mouth off, deciding to keep the trash bin next to me just in case I need it again.
“I think we need to get you to the hospital and get your stomach pumped.”
I shake my head vigorously. “No. I need to talk to Liz. I need to explain.” God, what have I done? What must Liz be thinking? I just want to find her right now and wrap around her and never let go. Tell her I’m sorry. Tell her I love her.
Elijah walks into the room. “What did you do?” he's quick to accuse me
I look at Elijah with bleak, red eyes. “Is Liz okay? Where is she?”
“She’s with Maria and Julien in the car.” He looks at Ryder. “They’re waiting on you.”
Ryder hands him his car keys. “Give these to Jules and tell him to take them home. I’ll handle Jay.”
“Whatever you say. Jay?”
When I see Elijah’s expression, my stomach churns again. “She’s torn up. She just zoned out and won’t talk, but we’re taking care of her. She’s in good hands. You take care of you now.”
Elijah bumps fists with Ryder and leaves.
“Come on. I’m taking you to the hospital just to make sure.” Ryder lifts me off the bed and helps carry me downstairs and out to my car. Everyone is looking at us and whispering.
I hand Ryder my keys and he opens the back door to my truck. “I think it may be better if you lie down back here.”
“My parents are going to kill me when they find out.”
“This may not be the worst of it. I’ll explain it all to you later, after we get you checked out by a doctor.
Ryder slips into the driver’s seat and turns the engine. I take out my phone.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea right now,” Ryder says, his eyes looking back at me from the rearview mirror.
“She needs to know I love her and that I didn’t cheat on her. She needs to know. I can’t lose her, Ryder.” Great, I chastise myself as tears gather behind my eyes.
“We’ll figure out what happened. You won’t lose her. I’ll make sure of it.”
“Why would you do that for me? After what I did to you?”
Ryder slows down to stop at a light and twists around to look down at me in the back seat. “Because I love her, and she chose you.”
The light turns green, and we drive in silence until we get to the ER. I try to type out a quick text to Liz, but my fingers keep smearing across the screen and it's hard to make out the small letters on my phone.
Me: luv u princes mch. i lv you. pls 4 give me.
Ryder walks me into the ER and after he tells the check-in nurse that I may have unknowingly ingested a date rape drug, they get a doctor immediately and rush me back to a room.
After the nurses take several vials of blood and a urine sample, I am hooked up to an IV.
We’re now waiting for the doctor to come back with the lab results.
Ryder hasn’t left my side. His loyalty to me compounds my horrible mood because his support and friendship are just two more things I don’t deserve.
He called my parents, a conversation I’m glad not to have overheard.
I keep checking my phone every five seconds, hoping to see a text from Liz.
Nothing. I blow out a disgusted huff and toss my phone on the hospital bed.
“Julien said he’s on his way with your parents.”
I adjust my position on the bed, and the IV-line tugs.
I hiss at the sting it creates and stop moving.
I hate these uncomfortable hospital beds.
If I never see the inside of a hospital again, it will be too soon.
Of course, the automatic blood pressure cuff attached to my arm decides to turn on.
The nurse set it to take my blood pressure every fifteen minutes, and it’s driving me insane.
“Why is it taking so long?” I complain. “Did Jules say anything about Liz? How’s she doing? Has she asked about me? Does she know I’m here?” I’d give anything to see her beautiful face walk through my hospital room door.
“He said she fell asleep in the car and he didn't want to wake her. He carried her upstairs to her room. Her parents are out, but Hailey was home and will keep an eye on her.” My hope deflates like a popped balloon. She doesn’t know. She’s not coming.
“Are you going to finally fill me in on what happened at the party?”
“Are you sure you’re ready to hear it?”
I nod yes, even though my mind screams no.
Ryder tells me what transpired out on the back patio with Marshall and his friends.
When he describes how that sleazy prick kept taunting Liz to get a reaction from Julien, my blood boils, which causes the heart rate monitor to beep rapidly.
A nurse is in my room a minute later to check on me.
I want Ryder to get everything out before my parents arrive, so I focus on calming down.
I don’t want any more interruptions from the hospital staff thinking I’m going into cardiac arrest.
As soon as the nurse leaves, I turn my head back to Ryder. “What happened next?”
“Next, you come charging out and knock Marshall to the ground. We didn’t know what was going on at first because it all happened so fast. As soon as we realized it was you, we jumped in.
But, man, you wouldn’t stop. I have never seen anything like that—never seen you like that before.
You beat on Marshall until he was no longer moving, and you still didn’t stop. ”
I cringe. “I don’t remember. Why can’t I remember?” I look down at my hands. The nurses cleaned up and bandaged after I was placed in the room.
“That may not be the worst of it.” He hands me his phone.
A video is pulled up. “Hit play,” he says.
I watch the video and even though it’s dark and you can’t make out who is who, I know what I’m viewing.
I watch as my dark form sits on top of a body on the ground, assailing it with punch after punch.
Once the video ends, I hand Ry back his phone.
“They could press charges. Marshall’s family could sue you. We all could get suspended from school. This may get worse before it gets better.”
I release a disgusted laugh. That’s not the half of it. If colleges and athletic scouts see me on the video, my chances of getting a swim scholarship could be blown. I could face jail time and have a permanent record if they charge me as an adult.
“I know what you’re thinking. Don't jump to any conclusions. I’ve already spoken to Fallon, and he assures me he’ll take care of it.
He’s more concerned about the fallout to him if your lab work comes back positive for something.
You were at his house at a party he threw.
He has as much stake in making sure things are kept quiet as we do.
I highly doubt Marshall, or the other guys, will go against Fallon, since he rules their school and will make life miserable for them if they say anything. ”
I’m sure Ryder’s right. If there’s one thing about Marshall, it’s he’s a coward. No one in their right mind wants to be on Fallon’s bad side.