night. Blair Wainrightâs dark eyes suddenly materialized in her mind and she forced the image away. Had he drugged them? Maybe heâd given them roofies, or what was that other one? Special K? Where were Gabriela and Claire? Were they okay?
âCan you hear me?â The voice seemed closer now and was more persistent, firmer.
Jessie nodded, or at least she thought she was moving her head up and down. Then there was the weight of a hand on her wrist and something cold against her chest. And her eyelids were being pried open, a searing yellow light blinding her. âWhat are you doing?â Jessieâs voice was hoarse and her mouth incredibly dry.
âIâm checking your vitals,â a blurry figure responded.
âGabriela? Claire?â Jessie asked the out-of-focus shape.
âNo, my name is Cindy. Iâm on the third rotationâmorning shift. We met yesterday, but I donât expect you to remember. You were pretty out of it.â
Jessie thought hard. Yesterday? Yesterday sheâd been flying to Vegas to meet her friends. Theyâd had champagne, a lot of it. Then theyâd been at the Blair Wainright show. And then after, they were . . . âWas I drugged?â
âWell, yes, thatâs what you said you wanted?â The voice responded as if it was the most normal thing in the world to request.
I asked Blair Wainright to drug me? Jessie tried to remember what happened after theyâd all squeezed hands, but she couldnât.
âWhere are Gabriela and Claire?â
âOh, your friends? They were here last night, but they left,â Cindy said, and as Jessie squinted at her, the lines of her face becoming more clearâit was heartshaped and her cheeks were covered with freckles. Who was this woman?
âCan you sit up?â
âLeft? Where did they go?â Jessie tried to force her body into an upright position, but her muscles felt atrophied. How long had she been out? She closed her eyes then opened them again.
âI have no idea. Home maybe?â
Why would Gabriela and Claire leave her in Vegas? Jessie heard the sound of a motor and her bed began to move as items in the room started to take shape. She saw a poster with the numbers one to ten and a pain scale, then a dry erase board with several names listedâthen balloons, and flowers, lots of flowers. She felt a pinch as she moved and saw a bag with fluidand followed it to an IV taped to the back of her hand. âIâm in the hospital?â Jessieâs voice was shaking.
âIâm going to call the doctor,â Cindy, presumably a nurse, said as she pressed a button. Her hair was pulled back with a clip and part of her bleached blond hair was sprouting out of the top of it. She was wearing light blue scrubs with tiny pink and yellow flowers on them that made Jessie feel dizzy if she stared at them too closely.
âIâm sorry, I donât understand why Iâm here.â Jessie felt her adrenaline start pumping. Blair Wainright had drugged them and then, had he . . . âDid something bad happen to me?â Jessie stammered.
Cindy poured water into a small plastic cup and held it out to Jessie, eyeing her skeptically. âYou really donât know why youâre here?â she asked as she pressed two pills into Jessieâs palm. âTake these.â
âWhat are they?â
âJust some Tylenol. We donât want your fever to return,â Cindy said, frowning at her. âJenny, the nurse who was with you on the night shift, said it spiked at one hundred and three, butââCindy flipped through some papers on a clipboardââaccording to your chart, it seemed to break a few hours ago, thank goodness!â She laughed nervously.
âI donât remember that,â Jessie said softly as a tear began to fall out of the corner of her eye, unable to mask the panicked feeling that was quickly consuming
âCan you hear me?â The voice seemed closer now and was more persistent, firmer.
Jessie nodded, or at least she thought she was moving her head up and down. Then there was the weight of a hand on her wrist and something cold against her chest. And her eyelids were being pried open, a searing yellow light blinding her. âWhat are you doing?â Jessieâs voice was hoarse and her mouth incredibly dry.
âIâm checking your vitals,â a blurry figure responded.
âGabriela? Claire?â Jessie asked the out-of-focus shape.
âNo, my name is Cindy. Iâm on the third rotationâmorning shift. We met yesterday, but I donât expect you to remember. You were pretty out of it.â
Jessie thought hard. Yesterday? Yesterday sheâd been flying to Vegas to meet her friends. Theyâd had champagne, a lot of it. Then theyâd been at the Blair Wainright show. And then after, they were . . . âWas I drugged?â
âWell, yes, thatâs what you said you wanted?â The voice responded as if it was the most normal thing in the world to request.
I asked Blair Wainright to drug me? Jessie tried to remember what happened after theyâd all squeezed hands, but she couldnât.
âWhere are Gabriela and Claire?â
âOh, your friends? They were here last night, but they left,â Cindy said, and as Jessie squinted at her, the lines of her face becoming more clearâit was heartshaped and her cheeks were covered with freckles. Who was this woman?
âCan you sit up?â
âLeft? Where did they go?â Jessie tried to force her body into an upright position, but her muscles felt atrophied. How long had she been out? She closed her eyes then opened them again.
âI have no idea. Home maybe?â
Why would Gabriela and Claire leave her in Vegas? Jessie heard the sound of a motor and her bed began to move as items in the room started to take shape. She saw a poster with the numbers one to ten and a pain scale, then a dry erase board with several names listedâthen balloons, and flowers, lots of flowers. She felt a pinch as she moved and saw a bag with fluidand followed it to an IV taped to the back of her hand. âIâm in the hospital?â Jessieâs voice was shaking.
âIâm going to call the doctor,â Cindy, presumably a nurse, said as she pressed a button. Her hair was pulled back with a clip and part of her bleached blond hair was sprouting out of the top of it. She was wearing light blue scrubs with tiny pink and yellow flowers on them that made Jessie feel dizzy if she stared at them too closely.
âIâm sorry, I donât understand why Iâm here.â Jessie felt her adrenaline start pumping. Blair Wainright had drugged them and then, had he . . . âDid something bad happen to me?â Jessie stammered.
Cindy poured water into a small plastic cup and held it out to Jessie, eyeing her skeptically. âYou really donât know why youâre here?â she asked as she pressed two pills into Jessieâs palm. âTake these.â
âWhat are they?â
âJust some Tylenol. We donât want your fever to return,â Cindy said, frowning at her. âJenny, the nurse who was with you on the night shift, said it spiked at one hundred and three, butââCindy flipped through some papers on a clipboardââaccording to your chart, it seemed to break a few hours ago, thank goodness!â She laughed nervously.
âI donât remember that,â Jessie said softly as a tear began to fall out of the corner of her eye, unable to mask the panicked feeling that was quickly consuming
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