Thankfully, Colby seems to be sobering up a bit. The severity of the situation must have killed his buzz. Tessa groans in the backseat, and I know I need to get her out of here before she vomits in my car.
“How’d you two get here?” I ask Lennon.
She glances back at the house. “Charleigh drove.”
“All right, well, you’re definitely not going back in there, and I doubt Charleigh wants to leave yet. I’ll give you a ride home if you want.”
Seeming unsure, she looks upset as she watches her best friend. “Where are you bringing her?”
“Back to my place,” I tell her. “I want to keep an eye on her. Make sure she’s okay.”
“Would it be okay if I come with her? It’s not that I don’t trust you to take care of her. I just don’t want to leave her right now, and my dad already thinks I’m spending the night at Charleigh’s.”
It’s risky, but I can appreciate her worry. “You’re not going to tell anyone?”
“No. Of course not.”
“Okay,” I agree. “Text Charleigh and tell her you’re leaving, and that she needs to be careful about her drinks. Hop in the back with Tessa. I want to get the hell out of here.”
I PULL INTO THE parking space and get out of the car. Colby makes a move to grab Tessa, only for me to stop him. If anyone is holding this girl, it’s going to be me. The only reason I didn’t carry her out of that party is because I had two sad excuses for men that needed to be dealt with.
Opening the back door, I reach in and lift Tessa into my arms. Her head lolls against my chest. The only thing I find comfort in right now is the sound of her steady breathing.
Colby holds the elevator open for me and I step inside. Lennon watches me carefully, but I would too if this shit happened to my best friend. Tess may make some bad choices sometimes, but no one deserves this. I can only imagine what she’s going to do when she wakes up tomorrow and realizes what happened.
The second we reach the top and the doors open, I carry Tessa straight into my bedroom and place her on my bed.
“Asher?” she murmurs as I go to grab her some more comfortable clothes.
“Shh. It’s okay,” I tell her softly, brushing her hair out of her face. “You’re going to be okay.”
She falls back asleep, and Lennon sits on the edge of the bed. “Will she really? Like, we shouldn’t be bringing her to the hospital?”
“It’s not the drug that’s dangerous. It’s the people who slip you the drug that you need to be afraid of,” I explain. “We got her out of there in time, luckily. Now it’s just a matter of letting her sleep it off.”
Pulling clothes from my drawer, I hand them to Lennon with a quiet chuckle of her knowing what to do. This seems to be a repetitive thing. She gets drunk, or in this case drugged, then Lennon changes her clothes, and I make her breakfast in the morning.
I leave the room to give Tessa some privacy. Lord knows she needs it after practically being defiled without her consent.
As I head straight for my wet bar, I pull out a bottle of whiskey and pour myself a glass. The liquid goes down like molten lava, and I relish in the pain of it.
“Stop doing that.” Colby appears out of nowhere.
“Doing what?”
He grabs the bottle and pours some for himself. “Punishing yourself. This wasn’t your fault.”
My gaze locks onto the counter. “I shouldn’t have taken my eyes off her.”
“You didn’t know this shit was going to happen!”
“Didn’t I though?” I roar. “Isn’t that the reason I didn’t want her going in the first place? I went there to protect her from shit like this!”
“And you did!” he counters. “You found her, and you got her the fuck out of there. Don’t beat yourself up over it. Whatever those assholes had planned for her didn’t happen because you saved her from it.”
His words make sense, but they’re just not registering. I honestly don’t think there is a thing he can say that will calm me down right now. I will spend all night worrying about her and hoping she’s still the same Tessa when she wakes.
I’M SITTING ON THE edge of my bed, just watching Tessa sleep. Lennon is beside her, with her hand clutching Tess’s. It’s heartwarming to see someone care so much about her wellbeing. Whatever has been going on with her, I’m glad she has Lennon to lean on.