She nods and looks at her mom. She’s standing by the curtains with her arms crossed, as if she’s trying to work me out. I hope to God she hasn’t figured out I’m her teacher.
“You can look after her,” she finally responds. “Only because we’re that short-staffed here that I can’t take her home myself. We will be discussing exactly who you are though, you know that?”
I nod.
“Oh, and one more thing: you’ll need to take both Sophia and Alice with you. Is that going to be a problem?”
I shake my head.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jill
The sun blinds me as I squint my eyes through my pounding head. My mouth is dryer than the Sahara Desert and my bladder is about to burst. How much did I have to drink? I sit up in bed and look around, tying to place where I am.
I’m in Eli’s room. My mind is hazy, and trying to think makes my head hurt more, but I recognize his timber-framed bed and the matching dressing table that sits near the door.
How the hell did I get to his house last night? I don’t remember anything of the party but I do recall being in the hospital and seeing Mom. What the hell happened? Oh God… Does Mom know about us?
I can hear Eli shuffling around outside the room. Getting up to use the bathroom, I hurt so much that it feels like I ran a marathon last night. I’m aching everywhere and so fucking tired. I stumble over to the bathroom, taking what feels like hours to pee, and then I stumble back to the bed. Fuck, I’m freezing. My whole body shakes uncontrollably. As I’m getting back under the covers, Eli walks in, talking on the phone. He stops by the door.
“Dad, I’ve got to go. I’ll come over this afternoon.” He hangs up and walks over, helping me with the covers. Once I’m tucked in, he crouches down beside me. There’s no emotion on his face and I’m not sure what he’s feeling right now.
“How are you feeling?” he asks. His voice cracks, and I see the concern in his eyes.
“Sore,” I mutter. My mouth feels as though it’s full of cotton. “What the hell happened last night?”
“Rohypnol, Jill. You were fucking drugged,” he growls, running his hand through his hair. “Jesus fucking Christ, you could have been raped last night.” He turns and punches the wall on his way out of the room.
Who would want to drug me? I can’t remember last night at all and I’m scared. Eli comes back in with some aspirin, water, and buttered toast. Even though I know his anger isn’t directed at me, I feel upset that I’m the cause of it.
“Here, drink this.”
He sighs and sits beside me on the bed as I struggle to sit up. His eyes are red, and I can tell he hasn’t slept.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go lose it. I’m not angry with you. I’m angry at the fucking dickhead who did this to you. I’m angry that I wasn’t there for you.”
“So nothing happened to me last night?” My voice is laced with worry.
He shakes his head no.
“How did you know to come and get me?” I ask, puzzled. Did I call him?
“Alice and Sophia called me.” His jaw twitches. “I take it they know about us?”
I nod, not meeting his gaze. He sighs, then closes his eyes.
Where does this leave us?
I have a bit more of my toast, take the aspirin, and then roll over and close my eyes. I rouse from sleep a few times. I can hear Eli on the phone again, but I can’t make out what he’s saying before I fall back under again.
Eli drops me at home in the early evening. He doesn’t come inside, for the fear my mom will be home. As I reach my front door, I can sense someone watching me. Looking around, I make the mistake of looking toward Jamie’s house. And there he is: sitting on a chair on his porch, looking directly at me with a smirk.
God, I hope he didn’t see Eli.
I shiver, remembering him pressing himself against me last night. Did he have something to do with my drink getting spiked? I tighten my jacket around me and walk inside. Fucking creep.
Mom is in the living room w