Page 41 of Save Me

Chapter 20

Andie groaned and shuddered.

“Ow,” she muttered, opening her eyes to bright sunlight.

“Andie?” Eric came into view. He looked terrible. His eyes were red and puffy and his clothes were rumpled.

“What happened to you?” she asked.

He gave her a sad smile. “I’m okay. It’s what happened to you that I’m worried about.”

What had happened to her? Frowning she struggled to remember, noticing for the first time she was in a hospital room.

“How did I get here?”

“Mike saw Juliet and Todd on the security footage. It implicated her in the drug ring. Do you remember what happened after you went to Juliet’s apartment?”

“I was going to clean it…”

She gasped suddenly. The images of a gun and those two frightening men with Juliet came to mind. “It was her,” she said, numbness spreading through her chest and hands. “She told them to get rid of me.”

“We know. They arrested the man who assaulted you. Mike took him down before the cops came. Your ex-boyfriend turned himself in to police and told them everything. The second man, the one who left him, is at large. So is Juliet.”

“Oh…Oh my God. She had me fooled the whole time. I thought she was just a struggling waitress like me. I can’t believe she was a dealer. Her place was super simple, and she didn’t drive a nice car or have expensive clothes.”

“Yes, the police can’t find any evidence of added income. She hid her operation well.”

Andie collapsed back onto her pillows. The room was spinning. Oh, God. She didn’t remember what had happened to her after Juliet had left. It was all a blur, and she hurt everywhere.

“You said I was assaulted,” she whispered near tears.

Eric took her hand. “Your rape kit was negative. But the man we found with you forced your mouth open to take the drugs. There’s some bruising around your lips and there was residue from the spiked drink all over your shirt.”

He leaned closer, pressing against her side as he squeezed her hand tighter. “I thought I lost you.”

The tears she’d been holding back started falling. “I thought I lost me too. I was so scared.”

“You don’t have to be ever again. I’m never letting you out of my sight. I’m not even going to let you go to the bathroom alone.”

Andie hiccuped and snorted a little, aggressively wiping her tears away. “You know, right now, I’m okay with that.”

---