Page 51 of Wickedly Betrayed

“No, they can stay,” I tell the doctor. Jaxon is my brother and I need him here with me. Mac is, well, I’m not sure what Mac is, but he deserves to be here to.

“Okay, if you’re sure?” At my nod, he continues. “Do you remember what happened?”

“Only bits and pieces.”

“I figured as much. After running some tests to confirm our suspicions, they came up as having Rohypnol, better known as the date rape drug, in your system.”

The doctor stops to let me process this. Mac picks up my hand and sits on the side of the bed. The doctor sees the movement and stays quiet for a minute before continuing.

“We did a rape screen and, although we did find some bruising, there was no semen or spermicide found. Even though this situation is a terrible one, the good news is, the guy didn’t penetrate you with his penis.”

I squeeze Mac’s hand and close my eyes, letting out a sigh of relief. My body starts to tremble and tears prick the back of my eyes. That is good news.

When I open my eyes, again I see the doctor looking at me with sympathy.

“I know it may not sound like it in light of what happened, but you were very lucky your friends found you in time. It’s bad enough what happened, but it could have been worse.” The doctor reaches over and squeezes my hand.

“I know. I am grateful.”

“We’re going to keep you for a few more hours to make sure you don’t have any lasting reactions to the Rohypnol. I don’t foresee any problems, but we’d like to make sure. If all goes well, then you’ll be released. Do you have any questions?”

I shake my head. “No, thank you, Dr. Hughes.”

“Good. Try to get some rest. I’ll come and check on you in a few hours.” He leaves with a nod to both Mac and Jaxon.

Jaxon comes to me and bends to place a kiss on my forehead. He pulls back and asks, “Are you okay?” At my nod, he searches my eyes before continuing, “I’ll give y’all a few minutes before I let the horde of people in here. The girls and Andrew are worried about you.”

“You didn’t call Mom, did you?”

“No, I wanted to wait to see how bad it was first. I’ll let you talk to her.”

I release the breath I was holding at my question. I don’t plan on hiding it from her, but I’d like to tell her myself. I know she’s going to be upset that she wasn’t called right away, but eventually she’ll understand.

I give him a watery smile. “Thank you.”

He kisses my cheek again before nodding to Mac, turning, and walking out the door.

It’s still hard to look at Mac, but I force myself to. There’s pain still in the depths of his eyes, but it’s not as pronounced. Relief from hearing I wasn’t raped lifted a tiny bit of the weight.

“Scoot over,” Mac says, and sits on the side of the bed.

I slide over a bit. The bed is small and cramped, but he manages to lie on his side facing me. I’m on my back, but when he pulls me flush against him, I end up on my side with my back against his front. His arms are tight around me, and he buries his face in my hair. He shudders.

“I was so scared when I walked in that room and you were just lying there.” His voice is hoarse when he speaks in my ear. “At first I didn’t know what was wrong.”

“Mac, I’m okay.” I try to soothe him. I pull his arms tighter around me. I know that it should be the opposite, him consoling me, but it seems like Mac needs it more right now. Besides, him lying with his arms wrapped around me is all the comfort I need. I know I shouldn’t let him so close, but right now I don’t want to think about that. I need him just as much as he seems to need me.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there in time. I’m sorry I didn’t stop that bastard from touching you.”

I release his arms so I can turn over and face him. I place my hand on his cheek. “No, Mac, don’t you dare blame yourself,” I tell him firmly before softening my voice and continuing, “There is no way you, or anyone else, could know what was going to happen. Don’t let this eat at you. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

He grabs my hand from his cheek and raises my wrist to his lips, where he kisses it. His eyes close, and he murmurs against my skin, “I should have been there.” He opens his eyes, and I still see anguish there. “I hear what you’re saying, Pix, but I still should have been there. I should have protected you somehow.”

I understand his pain, because I feel the same for not being there for him when he needed me when we were teenagers, but it’s different for me. I chose not to be there for him. I let my pain get in the way, whereas with him, he’s here, with me. I know he would do just about anything to take the pain away. I didn’t do that. I was selfish and thought of my feelings first and foremost, not caring how he was affected. Even though I didn’t know he was violated, itdoesn’t change the fact that he was, and I never gave him the chance to tell me.

“Mac, I don’t blame you for this. No one does. Please don’t blame yourself. I know that if you could have prevented it, you would have in a heartbeat. The one to blame is the guy who did it.”

He puts his hand behind my neck and pulls my head toward him putting his lips to my forehead. He doesn’t kiss it, just lets his lips rest there.

---