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I can’t talk about this, I don’t believe Bryn’s words; but whatever happened, it sounds like I have Jax to thank for helping me. “Can you bring me some water, please?”
Bryn heads to the kitchen area and I pull the sheet tight around me. No. No way was I drugged. I can’t remember; but I must’ve got carried away and drank too much.
Bryn returns with the glass of water and I drink in large gulps. “A doctor checked you over. Do you remember?”
I shake my head.
“He said you were fine, but to keep an eye on you, so I stayed here. I presumed you were okay once you started snoring and stopped throwing up everywhere.”
“Sorry,” I mumble. “I’ll lay off the drink.”
“We should maybe have you checked out. Ruby says you can find traces of drugs up to a few hours later. If we know, we can contact the police and —”
“No! Leave it. I wasn’t drugged. And even if I was, what then? Who by? What proof?” Bryn purses his lips. “What’s the point in creating a story for the media to distort when nothing can come of it? We’re leaving this afternoon, let’s just forget about it.”
No way am I making problems for the tour. I’ll be out on my ass. They’re all over-reacting.
“Tegan.” Bryn’s pout switches to a hard look. “I’m not happy about this. Somebody should be held accountable.”
“Yes, me. I’m accountable. I’m not exactly overjoyed by the situation either, but I want to forget about it.” I drag the sheet over my face. “Most of all, I want to sleep. I feel like crap.”
Bryn starts a lecture about why I should do as he says; how he’s going to get hold of the person involved, and what he’s going to do to him. Ignoring Bryn, I drift off to sleep.
* * *
A sour-faced Bryn watches Tina walk away from our meeting in the hotel cafe. Luckily, for me, Tina agrees that we shouldn’t contact the police. I’m sticking to my story this was alcohol because I refuse to believe otherwise. Alcohol is as good a date rape drug as any; what’s to say it wasn’t booze that Tomas plied me with? And he didn’t assault me, so there’s nothing we can do. Scenarios of what could’ve happened keep intruding into my mind. I have a friend who was date raped and she was understandably a mess for a long time after. That’s why I’m so bloody careful. Along with the disturbing thoughts comes relief that Jax was interested enough to keep an eye on me at a party full of distractions.
I need to talk to him.
Mid-afternoon and I’m still shaky; my head feels stuffed with cotton wool. I’m unable to hold as lucid a conversation as I’d like. Bryn tried pointing out my symptoms are worse than a normal hangover, but I could see the PR machine whirring in Tina’s eyes. At that point, I embellished my story to say I’d drank a lot of vodka. Who’s going to know otherwise?
“I don’t fucking believe this,” Bryn mutters as Tina’s heels click across the tiled floor.
I place a hand on his leg aware that if he wanted to, Bryn could pull out the big guns and tell Tina to do exactly what he wants. This topic needs closing before he broods on it any further, and I’m coerced into doing something I don’t want.
“What time’s the flight to Madrid?” I ask.
He throws an empty sugar packet across the table. “Four. You have an hour and we’re leaving the hotel.”
“Right.” God, I hope there’s no turbulence on the way to Spain.
“But maybe you should go home to Wales.”
“No! Bryn, don’t start that!”
“Two days and you’re already in trouble!” He shifts his leg away from my hand.
“This situation isn’t likely to happen again, is it?”
“How do you know?”
I turn to face him, give him my best pleading look. “I’ll stay away from parties, do my own thing.”
He snorts. “Yeah, right.”
“Bryn, please. I know I screwed up but from now on, I’ll be extra careful.”
He stares ahead, and I play with my coffee cup as I wait for the silence between us to thicken into an argument.
