"Marcus?" Why on earth would Marcus—? I'm suddenly too hot. My stomach dips. This is all too much. I squeeze my eyes shut.
"You called Calla. She was with Audrey and couldn't answer," Rhys begins.
Lilly's hand strokes up and down my thigh. "I texted Marcus to have him check what was going on. You called several times, and I was worried."
I search for my last memory. "I had lunch with Charlie."
"Charlie?" Lilly and Rhys exclaim simultaneously.
"We went to the bakery around the corner. We were supposed to meet after work, but he asked if I could meet for lunch instead."
"Why are you hanging out with him again?" Rhys's harsh tone startles me, and my eyes pop open. His hard expression is not what I expected. He and Charlie used to be friends back in school.
I lift a shoulder. "I…I don't know." I can't tell them that getting back at Lilly'sShadowwas part of the reason. "I'm not mad at him anymore. I just felt like I owed it to him after Kelly…"
"That makes no fucking sense, D." Rhys's jaw works back and forth.
Everything halts. Even the little dust particles hovering in the air seem suspended, unmoving as it clicks. "Are you saying Charlie drugged me?"
"We just want to figure out what happened. We're still waiting on the lab results, but the doctors told Marcus that you show all signs of a sedative."
"A.k.a. roofied." Rhys throws his hands up.
This time, his words don't have the same impact. I'm hung up on why Marcus knows all of it.
Lilly must've seen the confusion on my face and turns toward her husband. "Babe, can you call Laurin and check on Aud? Then, make sure Ethan got someone to help with the cars."
Rhys slants his head at her, and silent communication passes between them. I'm not that far gone. She's trying to get rid of him.
"Fine. I'll go get a coffee while I'm at it." Rhys reaches out and pats my hand before leaving the room.
When we hear the door hit the frame, I blurt, "I slept with Marcus." I clamp my eyes shut.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
"That explains some…things." Lilly's calm, unsurprised tone is enough for me to look at her through slitted lids.
"What do you mean?" I mumble, scared of what her answer might be.
She purses her lips. "D, do you think I'm blind?"
"Um, maybe?" I pull one shoulder up.
"Ha!" She shakes her head. "Well, I'm not. Something changed between you guys. That much was obvious. I just couldn't put my finger on it. Marcus was the one who went to find you at The Club. Ethan told Rhys he discovered Marcus with you in his lap in your office. Marcus nearly lost it when he had to let go of you for the EMTs. He rode with you in the ambulance, and…" She pauses, a blush staining her cheeks. "When I arrived earlier, he was holding your hand and had his head resting on your bed."
A different kind of warmth spreads through me. Marcus held me. He stayed with me. The person who swore to hate me came to my rescue. The flutter in my belly expands to my chest. "Where is he?"
Lilly's face falls. "He went home."
Home? He left. Left me. The flutter stops. The butterflies disintegrate like someone aiming a flamethrower at them and are replaced by a hollow emptiness, the ashes of their burned bodies floating to the ground. "I see."
Her hand moves from my thigh to the one with the IV, and she interlaces our hands carefully. "Can you remember anything that happened during lunch?" She drops the topic, though I'm sure it's not the last conversation we'll have about it.
Rhys bursts into the room before I can respond. "The fucking lab results are still not in. What kind of shit show is this?"
He stalks with two to-go cups in hand toward the bed, and I study his scowl. He's worked hard to rein in his temper over the years, but I can see parts of the old Rhys breaking through. He hands the one with the tea bag tag hanging out to Lilly and takes a big gulp from the other. When our eyes meet, his brows dip. "You're not allowed to have any, D. Sorry."
"Just wonderful," I mutter.