“He drugged you. Slipped something in your drink.” My heart thudded hard and fast at his revelation.
“Drugged me?”
“Yes. And tried to do things to you in the VIP lounge.” None of this sounded familiar to me.
“Did he…rape me?” I was afraid of the answer.
“No. I stopped him. You’re safe.”
“But.” I struggled to put the pieces together. “How am I here?”
“I brought you here. You can stay here as long as you need to recover. The doctor said it might be several days.”
“Doctor?” None of this sounded remotely familiar to me.
“Yes, but you’re fine. She said you would feel terrible when you woke but that each day will be better until you’re back to normal. You will be fine in a few days.”
“But I might not have been fine. I was…” I started crying at the prospect of what might have happened to me. Except Jay saved me.
“You rest now. I’ve instructed my house keeper Rosie to keep an eye on you. She will get you anything you need. Are you hungry?”
The prospect of food churned my stomach and my face grimaced. “No.”
“I didn’t think so. The doctor has left some medication to keep you hydrated.”
“Oh.”
“You rest now,” he said, and stood. I watched helplessly as he crossed the room.
“Jenny?” I managed to say as he reached the doorway.
“Don’t worry, your friends know you’re safe.” He left and closed the door behind him.
I fell in and out of sleep. Jay and Rosie always seemed to be at my side whenever I woke, day or night. Bringing me water and pills. Mopping my sweaty brow with a cool cloth. Sometimes I even ate a few crackers or a bite of banana.
Each time I woke, I felt a little better. My head hurt a little less. My joints and muscles ached a little less. But as my physical ailments subsided, my mind became more and more unsettled.
How did I get to Jay’s house? How long have I been here? I hadn’t really talked to either Jay or Rosie, only for utilitarian issues. I need water. I need more painkillers. I need to sleep. But now I felt a little better. I needed answers.
Jay came in. I was sitting on the bed, happy my head no longer hurt to be upright, at least not more than it hurt lying down.
“You’re sitting, you must be feeling a little better.” He opened the blind, and I squinted as bright sunlight flooded the room.
“So much better than I was.”
“Good.” He sat on the end of the bed and twisted his body to me.
“I don’t know how to thank you.”
“You don’t need to.” The corners of his lips moved, almost forming a smile.
“What happened?”
“The man drugged you. The doctor thinks with GHB because of how severe your symptoms have been. You’re lucky, it can be fatal.”
“But how did I get here.”
“I saw you at the club, and stopped the man.”
“Why were you at the club?” I asked, trying to fit the puzzle pieces together.
“I saw you there. Dancing with him. Rubbing up against him on the dance floor. The flash of red of your shoe soles as you moved.” I stared at him, disbelieving this was happening to me. “And then he took you upstairs. He was all over you, but I realized you’d been drugged. Your body was floppy and your eyes glazed.”
“And you stopped him.”
“Good thing I was there to protect you. God knows what he would have done to you.”
“Yes, thank you.” Though I still didn’t understand why Jay was at the club, I would be eternally grateful for his intervention.
“The necklace looks beautiful on you, I’m glad you decided to wear it.”
I turned red. My hand went to the necklace, and ran my fingers down the chain until I was holding the diamond between my fingers.
“Thank you for this too. How,” I hesitated, “How long have I been here?”
“Three days. Do you feel up to coming downstairs? You must be sick of this room.”
Three whole days? The news shocked me. Still, I liked the the idea of getting out of bed. The idea that I could get out of bed now that my body didn’t feel like I was on the verge of death. “I think so.”
“Good, there’s a robe for you in the top drawer. I’ll wait for you outside.” He patted my leg, and left the room.
I pulled myself from the bed and stretched. The muscle pain I’d felt had given over to tightness and cramps from being in bed so long.
A selection of robes were inside the top drawer. All pale white. One silk, one terry, one cotton, one satin. Those were on the top row. There were more underneath but I didn’t want to keep Jay waiting. I grabbed the cotton one and pulled it on.