The bed shifted as he stood up and picked up a washcloth from the nightstand. He handed it to me and tried to take the trash can from me.
The washcloth was cold and damp as I pressed it to my mouth. I shook my head and gripped the trash harder. “No way, you can’t take my puke, Leo. That’s beyond the commitment of even an exclusive friend with benefits.”
He tightened his grip on the can and met my eyes. “This is not the first time we’ve done the trash can swap, Soph. Let go,” he said firmly.
I relaxed my grip and he pulled it away. I wiped my face and pressed the cool cloth to the back of my neck.
Alyssa appeared in the doorway. “Hey, girly,” she said with a frown as she took the trash from Leo. “You look awake this time.”
I looked between them as she tied off the trash bag, swapping it with a fresh liner that she secured in the can before handing it back to Leo. They had a rhythm. “How many times has this happened?” I asked.
Alyssa looked at Leo and pursed her lips. “Four? Five?”
“Five,” he said, rubbing his jaw. “But this is the first time you’ve spoken.”
“Plus, there was the bathroom puking,” Alyssa said, “So yeah, babe, you’ve puked a lot.”
“What happened to me?” I asked, my eyes filling with tears. I’d never felt so completely violated in my life.
I lived a whole evening and night with zero awareness or memory of what happened?
Alyssa dropped the bag of vomit outside the door and ran in and gave me a hug, holding me tight as I started to cry. “You’re going to be okay, Sophia. I’m going to take this outside and go buy some ginger ale and crackers now that you’re awake. I need to pick up Jia too, she’s anxious to see you. Leo will explain everything.” She lowered her voice. “He’s been with you every single second, Soph, and he’s kept you safe.”
I nodded against her and let her go, looking up to see Leo standing next to the bed and staring at the floor. “Thanks, Lys,” he said. “Can I get another coffee, please?”
She patted him on the shoulder as she walked toward the door. “Already on my mental list, buddy. Keep taking care of my girl, yeah?”
He nodded and Alyssa said goodbye. Leo eyed me carefully before sitting on the bed next to me slowly. I wiped at the tears on my cheeks. “You want me tell you what I know?”
“Yes,” I said, sniffling.
He reached for my hand slowly, as if he wasn’t sure I’d want it. I wrapped my fingers around his palm and pulled him toward me. He leaned back against the headboard and lifted his arm for me to crawl underneath. “Tell me if you need me to stop, okay?”
“Okay,” I said, feeling increasingly unnerved by the way he and Alyssa were treating me with kid gloves.
Leo talked slowly and deliberately as he described every second of the night from the time he’d gotten to Devon’s party until he’d found me on the couch with Devon and Harley. Alyssa had called Jia to confirm how long I was alone, so there was only about twenty minutes of time when neither she nor Leo knew what happened to me. Leo insisted that all my clothes were in place and I’d looked untouched. Still, he’d texted his father in the middle of night to find out more about how the drug worked and found out it takes fifteen to twenty minutes for the effects to start, making it unlikely that anyone would commit assault in that window.
Leo was adamant that if he’d had any concern that something more had happened to me, he would have brought me to the emergency room right away. I trusted his assessment, and based on his description of Harley’s attitude, I didn’t believe I’d been assaulted. I certainly mighthave been without Leo arriving when he did, but that wasn’t a line of thinking that did anything other than make me incredibly nauseous again.
I rested my head against Leo’s chest, periodically sobbing as he walked me through how he and Alyssa had watched over me all night. After listening to him explain everything, there was no doubt in my mind that Leo Harrison was one of the best friends I possibly could have made—sex or no sex. He was loyal in a way that most people only experienced with a handful of people in a lifetime.
“I remember Devon hitting on me,” I said. “I think I even remember sitting on the couch with them, though I can’t remember why.”
Leo’s chest rose with another deep inhale. “I suspect you were already quite out of it and the idea of sitting sounded good.”
I choked on another sob. “I said no to a guy and his brother drugged me? To what? Hand me to him on a silver platter? How fucked up is that?”
Leo’s arms tightened around me as he rested his chin on my head and held me against him. “I know, Hawaii. It’s the most fucked up thing I’ve ever seen. I called the cops last night. I know they picked Harley up and took him in because Devon texted me asking if I was the one who’d sent them there. For what it’s worth, I don’t think Devon was going to do anything, but he has no backbone to stand up to his brother, making him pathetic in a different way.”
I lifted my head to look at Leo. “What’ll happen to him? Will I have to give a statement?” My stomach dropped again.
Do I want to tell my version of events over and over again?
Leo shook his head. “No, I didn’t say anything about what happened to you, Soph. That’s not my call to make. I reported him forpossession. If you want to press charges, that’s your choice. I’m here for you no matter what you choose.”
“I want to,” I said, steeling myself for the fight.
“You don’t have to decide right this minute, baby,” Leo said, brushing hair out of my face.
