“Mr. Hoffman has requested that I have a car waiting for you.” He takes a few breaths, visibly frazzled. “And I will in just a minute, if you would kindly wait.”
“Okay, thank you.” I really could use a lift right now.
When the black Lincoln town car pulls up, I slip into the backseat and rub my neck with the back of my hand before strapping in. So much has happened in the past twenty-four hours that it feels like the burden of stress weighing me down is unmanageable.
The man I thought I was getting to know is hiding things, and his ex-girlfriend obviously wants him back. Have I been deluding myself all this time, clouding reality with my made-up fantasies?
“Where to, miss?” another kind gentleman asks from the front seat.
I provide my address and watch blankly out the window as all the buildings pass by. My phone vibrates with an incoming call. It is Claire. Shit. I completely forgot she called and texted numerous times.
“Hey you, sorry,” I answer. “Don’t be mad.”
“Angie, good, you are alive,” she mumbles in a frantic tone.
“Yeah. Barely. What’s up? Sorry I never called you back or even looked at the texts. Got distracted.”
“Three more girls got drugged on campus. It’s all over the news. Did you see?”
“What? No, I had no idea.”
“I kept calling you and texting you because you didn’t come home. I was worried.”
“I didn’t think you’d be back home yet from your trip.”
“Well, Ethan had to come back early. But where’ve you been?”
“I was at Graham’s.” Making more mistakes with my life. “I’m so sorry I didn’t let you know. Everything is one big cluster right now.” I feel sick to my stomach. “For sure drugged?” I ask.
“Yup. Just like you and almost Resa. This is insane.” Claire turns up the volume on the TV in the background. “Sorry, the president of River Valley is speaking now. I think he's just trying to make it seem that the university is not connected to these incidences.”
“Saving his own ass, I’m sure. This is not good publicity for any university.”
“Yeah. He definitely is trying to convey sincerity. Probably for the cameras.”
The night I got admitted to the hospital was also the night I took a pill at The Shack to calm my nerves. I just figured I had a bad reaction to all the alcohol I consumed. But this is now a thing. This is a big deal.
“Are the girls okay?” I feel stupid for asking it as soon as the words flutter out of my mouth. Of course they are not okay. Who would ever be okay from something like that?
“One girl is hospitalized at Portland General.”
“Wow. This is crazy. And scary!”
“Yeah, and I know the girl. Remember Monica?”
I think back to where I have heard that name before. “The girl from the mixer at the mansion?”
“Yeah, that’s her. She’s a rather new agency girl too. She apparently was found face down in the bathroom at a frat house, and an ambulance was called.”
“Which frat house?”
“Not sure. All of my information has been passed to me by Gossip Girl Tracy. If it was not all plastered over the news, I’d think she made it up.”
“Hold on, Claire,” I say and then put the phone on mute. “Hey,” I call into the front seat, “can you take me to Portland General instead?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I switch off mute and put my phone back up to my ear. “What else do you know?”