Page 25 of Away Game

Having Fin so close and not being hostile toward me was doing strange things to me. It must have been bad if he was here and being nice.

Oz leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees, and clasped his hands together. “What do you remember from last night?”

“I…” I coughed and cringed at the pain. Looking down, I saw bruising up one side of my body.

“Here,” Fin shoved a water bottle in my face.

I took it and swallowed the water down greedily. The cool water felt heavenly going down my parched throat.

“I remember going to the party, but after that, it’s all a blank.” I hung the water bottle between my legs by my fingertips as I stared back at them. “This isn’t typical behavior for me. I didn’t plan on drinking except for a couple of beers.”

Not that I remembered drinking anything last night, but I must have, and it was a wild night going by my lack of memory and the bruises that adorned my body.

Meeting first my eyes and then Fin’s, Oz’s face dropped. “We know. Look West,” he shook his head as he wrung his hands together, “I don’t know how to tell you this, but…” He swallowed roughly and turned to Fin.

Now I was really getting nervous.

“We’re pretty sure some of the guys at Alpha Mu drugged you last night.”

“No,” I denied, my stomach turned sour at the thought. “Why would anyone drug me?” My brow furrowed, and pain shot across my forehead and through my eye. “Motherfucker, did I fight the whole frat?” It certainly felt like I took everyone on with the way my body felt.

“Because you’re a fag.” Fin’s jaw ticked as he said the last word.

This was a hate crime?

“We think you should go to the clinic and get checked out, and then… report it,” Oz said without looking at me.

“I… I don’t thi… think I can do that,” I stammered out.

Fin leaned forward, and I could feel the rage pouring off him. “Do you want this to happen to someone else? Do you wish it was some poor unsuspecting girl who got raped?”

“Raped?” I croaked out. I tried to scramble back on the couch to put some distance between us, but the pain was too much.

Scooting closer until our knees almost touched, Oz cleared his throat. He was clearly uncomfortable, making me think maybe he was telling the truth. “Unless you get checked out, it’s only suspicion. I know this is a lot to take in, but we’re ninety-nine percent sure you were drugged, and if it wasn’t you that they drugged last night, there’s a good chance they would have used it on someone else.”

Pulling the blanket tighter around me, I prepared for the worst. “Tell me everything that happened.”

The moment Fin finished telling me everything he saw last night, I stood and stumbled down to the hall bathroom to throw up everything in me. Once I finally expelled the contents of my stomach, I leaned my head on the rim of the toilet seat.

The smell of piss and vomit was nothing in comparison to what happened to me last night. I was almost glad I couldn’t remember. The only reminder was my battered body, and it would heal.

Strong arms pulled me back against the wall. “That’s disgusting. Who knows the last time someone cleaned that thing,” Fin’s gritty voice said from beside me. I turned my head to see him sitting next to me. His knees were up with his arms wrapped around them.

If I wasn’t feeling like absolute shit, I would have said something to convey my shock. Instead, I sat staring at him, wondering why Fin was being nice to me. This wasn’t his MO. Not even remotely.

“What?” he snapped, but instantly his tone softened with worry. “Are you feeling sick again?”

“I’m not going to throw up again, or at least I don’t think so. I was just wondering why you’re being nice to me.”

“Don’t get used to it. Think of this as my charitable act of the year.” He rolled his eyes as if it was an unbearable act.

I knew it was too good to be true.

Leaning my head back against the wall, I closed my eyes and tried to process what I’d been told. Even though I couldn’t remember anything of what Fin and Oz told me, I believed them. Believing them was one thing, but I wasn’t sure if I’d ever understand why I’d been targeted.

“While I’ve been discriminated against because of the color of my skin and for being gay, I’ve never been a victim of a hate crime. I thought Willow Bay would be safe, but now I’m not sure if I’ll feel safe anywhere.”

“That’s why you can’t let them get away with it. If I knew who it was, I’d break in, find their shit, and then beat the hell out of them, but it could have been any one of them.” Fin slammed his hands down on his knees and growled. “They won’t get away with fucking with one of ours. I can promise you that. Why don’t you get dressed, and we’ll escort you down to the clinic?”

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