Yeah, someone fucking drugged me.
“Hey, you’re Jason’s girlfriend, right?” A male voice whispers through the blurriness of my consciousness as fingers wrap around my arms.
I try to jerk away, but stumble. I land on the floor, my short dress riding up. I roll over, trying to tug it down, but numbness is seeping through my veins like venom. I peer up at the man looming over me. He’s older with dark hair and a smile that makes my stomach churn.
He crouches down in front of me. “Don’t worry, you won’t remember a thing.” He strokes my cheek as my vision spots and my head swims.
It hits me like a wave crashing over my body and ripping me away from the shore.
I’m about to pass out.
This is so fucking bad.
I want to go back in time and never do this, never meet Jason, never come into this world. I want to let go of Zoey. I want to forget.
I want her here with me.
I desperately claw onto consciousness, to not give in to the whispering exhaustion begging me to greet it. But in the end, I tumble into the abyss of darkness.
It’s the most helpless I’ve felt.
And the worst part is there’s nothing I can do about it.
23
AVA
Ellis responds to my text within a couple of minutes. I tell him what’s happening, and within a minute he’s arrived at the top of the stairway. He’s out of breath, an indicator that he ran here. As he reaches the top of the stairway, his gaze descends to the girl on the floor and me kneeling beside her.
He rushes over with his phone in his hand. Then he kneels beside her, his gaze roving over her, and then he presses his finger to her wrist, checking for a pulse.
“The guy that did this took off?” he asks, glancing at me.
I nod but hitch my finger over my shoulder. “He stumbled out from that place.” I look back at the girl. “I’m worried she might not be the only girl that’s been drugged.” Saying the words aloud has me rising to my feet.
“Don’t go in there. I’m calling for an ambulance, and then I’ll go check it out.” He dials a number on the phone.
I peer over my shoulder as Ellis talks to the emergency responder. I need to tell him that I thought I saw Clover come up here—it’s why I did. But what if he thinks I’m insane?
“Okay, they’re on their way.” He pushes to his feet while shoving his phone into his back pocket. “Stay with her while I investigate what’s going on.”
He starts to step past me, but I capture him by the arm. He blinks at me in puzzlement.
“I need to tell you something.” I shove down the impulse to lie. ‘I know this is going to sound crazy, but I thought I saw Clover go into the party. That's why I came up here. I thought I saw her in the bar, so I followed her outside, and she came here.”
A crease forms between his brows. “Ava.” His tone carries pity.
“I know it wasn’t actually her.” Don’t I? “But it felt like the person—whoever they are—wanted me to believe they were Clover. And they were trying to lead me there.” I point at the doorway the girl and guy stumbled out of.
Ellis considers what I said, confusion consuming his features. “Stay here.” He turns and carefully walks down the narrow hallway toward the doorway with his hand hovering over where his gun holster is.
I return my attention to the girl as she lets out a quiet moan.
“It’s going to be okay,” I tell her, hoping I’m right.
But in the back of my mind, Clover’s face haunts me. Pale skin, hollow eyes, shallow breathing, white hair spilled across the concrete floor…
“Clover,” I whisper as I lean over her body. “Don’t leave me, please.”
