“I know, but I don’t need time for this decision.”
“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 afriend, 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 mybed 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’twant 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.”
