Page 72 of In For a Penny
My head spins, and I grip the bar.
“Whoa, hey, are you all right?” Tom asks.
I shake my head slowly, trying not to make it worse. “I need to go home. Do you know where Oliver is? I need him to take me home.”
“He’s gone, love,” Tom says softly, rubbing my back in gentle motions. He smells like hops and oranges. “Let me take you home,” he says. “It’s not safe out there.”
I close my eyes, nod, and lean against the bar as Tom settles the tab. “Is she alright?” I hear the barman ask him.
“Yeah, mate. She’s fine. Gonna take her home.”
Tom walks me outside, and we wait in the cold. Where’s my coat? He wraps an arm around me. “Uber will be here in a sec,” he says serenely. His calmness right now is soothing. He’s not panicking, so I shouldn’t either. “It’s here. Let’s get in.”
“Wait,” I say, my eyes flying open. I never gave him my address. Where is he taking me? But I feel myself being taken under somewhere. I don’t know where. “Wait, stop…” I try to say, but I can’t manage to finish a sentence.
“Shhh, sweetheart. It’s alright,” he says. “No, she’s fine.” I think he’s talking to the cabby. “Just need to put her in bed.” I hear the cabby mutter something in reply but can’t understand it. Why is he calling me sweetheart?
But…what does he mean by ‘put me in bed’? I never gave him my address. How does he know where to take me? I don’t want to go with him. Stop. I need to call Oliver. Something isn’t right.
“Where’s Oliver?” I manage to ask, feeling myself shake. I’m cold and frightened. My arms and legs feel like Jell-O.
No, no, no.
“He went home, sweetheart. I told you. He left.” He rubs my back in gentle motions, but it causes goosebumps to break out all over my skin. “I’m taking you home now.”
No, he wouldn’t leave me with a sexual predator. Oliver wouldn’t leave me if he thought I wasn’t safe. Maybe Tom just wants to make sure I don’t end up in a ditch somewhere. Maybe I really will be okay.
But then, why is it so hard to speak? And move?
“We’re almost home,” he says, sitting up. A hand slips over and inside my thighs, gripping me tightly.
The beer.
I went to the bathroom and had him guard my beer.
He put something in it.
