Cursed (7 page)

My dad was in the truck; he was wearing his not
happy face. We called it his stress face and it wasn’t a pretty
picture. He got out quickly when he saw us and opened the passenger
door so Shane could lay me inside.

“Aimee are you okay?” He looked so
terrified.

I nodded, “Yeah dad I just need a doctor. I feel
really sick.”

He frowned at Shane, “You, young man, are going
to stay away from both of my daughters for good.” He swung around
to look at Alise with a burning hate in his eyes, “You did this to
her, you conned her into coming to this when you know she isn’t a
partier like you. You get home now and don’t leave your bedroom for
a month, GO.” He screamed tearing my head apart.

Alise looked painfully at me, I saw an
apologetic look I had never seen before. My sister was ashamed of
herself.

I would have defended them both but I was too
feeble. Shane handed me the bowl that had been on the ground beside
the truck, “In case you get sick.”

I nodded, “Thanks for everything, I’m so
sorry.”

He shook his head, “Feel better Aimee.”

My dad got in the truck slamming the door again
ripping my head apart. I groaned in agony as Shane closed my door
softly. My dad drove very quickly to the emergency. He never spoke
the whole way. He was seething and it was better for my head if he
didn’t talk. I threw up twice on the way in the bowl, mostly it was
heaving and spitting. I had never felt this sick in my life, even
with food poisoning.

The hospital admitted me as my dad had explained
that the girl they had there that was still not awake had shared
her drink with me all night as far as he had heard.

The nurse scowled at me, like I was one of those
partying reckless teenagers who had burdened her dad with this.

Little did the nurse know I was the biggest nerd
she had ever met.

I was put on an IV and given some gravel to make
me sleep. I had weird dreams Wade was in them and my mom. My mom
kissed me on the forehead and put her hands over my eyes. I could
hear people talking, they were arguing. Wade was beside me
whispering to me that everything was going to be okay if I just
came back to myself. I finally got my mom’s hands off my eyes and I
could see people kissing. It hurt me to see it but I didn’t
understand why. Wade stood between the kissing people and me and
shook his head. He blew me a kiss and I woke up.

I was really groggy but at least this time I
knew where I was. I was so tired and cold. I felt sick still so I
let myself fall back into a dreamless sleep this time.

I thought I was still dreaming when I heard
talking in the empty black space that had become my brain, “Are
there any effects of this on her body that we should be prepared
for?” my dad’s voice sounded exhausted.

“Yes and no, she will need to be very careful
with herself for the next couple months this is a serious thing.
The level of the drugs we found in her system was very high.” A
lady told him. I opened one of my eyes to see the light of day
without the intense pain. I felt remarkably better and quite
hungry.

I looked around me to see my dad and a lady
doctor standing in the hallway discussing me.

Shane was on the chair beside my bed past out.
He looked so peaceful but something about him being in my room was
weirding me out, why would my sisters’ boyfriend be in my room and
where was my sister? I looked around for Alise but didn’t see her
anywhere. I knew she must be around somewhere if Shane was with
me.

I pushed the button to raise my bed to a sitting
position; the feeling of movement gave me a trace of a head rush.
It was nothing compared to the ones I had had the day before when
my dad had checked me in. I could recall only the truck ride with
him and very little else.

Shane started to stir from the noise of the bed,
he opened one of his eyes to see me bright eyed and bushy tailed
and smiled at me. His smile made me happy, I smiled back.

“You’re awake now. Thank god. I guess that means
you’re out of the danger zone.” He whispered stretching on the
recliner chair.

“What?”

“You and Giselle were given some crazy homemade
date rape drug, you actually saved Giselle’s life by drinking half
of the glass. She’s still out, no sign of her waking up anytime
soon either and with these things apparently the longer you sleep
the worse your chances become.” He looked at the doctor and pointed
in my direction through the doorway.

I shook my head, “Huh?”

“You’ve slept for five days Aims, five days in
and out of sleep. Giselle isn’t even stirring, the doctor said she
has brain activity but she isn’t waking. This drug was poorly made
and would have killed her if she had the glass to herself. We found
you guys upstairs in a pile of puke each. I’m guessing Giselle
never ate dinner and you did so your body coped with the drug
better than hers. Something about absorption.” I had stopped
listening when he had said my nickname Aims. He was using my
nickname. I tried to be cool and stay engaged. I processed what he
had said for a moment feeling the appropriate response filling
me.

I was aghast as small memories flooded me, “How
did I get to bed at your house? I remember that I woke up
naked.”

He shrugged, “We don’t know. You were at the top
of the stairs and while we were getting Giselle in the ambulance
and everything we left you upstairs. We came back and you were in
bed and there was a giant pile of vomit at the top of the
stairs.”

“Wade helped me, what if he’s the bad guy? What
if I was date raped and I didn’t know?” suddenly I was feeling sick
again but this time it was much more disgust based as flashes of
memories filled my confused mind.

He shook his head, “No that Wade guy was gone,
long before this happened. His girlfriend freaked on him for
talking to your sister and she made him leave. I was right there.
You got yourself cleaned up before the drug hit too hard.”

I remembered Wade, I remembered him carrying me.
I wasn’t wrong. “My ring is gone, how do you explain that?” I held
my hand out.

He reached into his pocket, “I found it in the
pile of vomit, well on top. It was shiny and clean but sitting at
the top of the pile. I grabbed it and cleaned it for you. I know
how important it is to you, it was your moms right?” He passed it
to me. I put it on, it slid on too easily. I had clearly lost more
weight.

I blushed, “How do you know it’s important to
me?”

He blushed back and shrugged, “I pay more
attention than you’d imagine Aimee.”

I felt the heat in my face getting stronger.

He smiled at me, “It’s really nice to see you
have color again.”

Unsure where the conversation was going I looked
around, “Where’s Alise?”

He blushed slightly, “Not sure. With Blake
maybe. What do you remember?”

“It’s a haze right now. Mostly I remember Wade.
Not sure why, it’s weird cause I swear I know him from somewhere.”
I lay back down on the bed feeling ready for some more sleep. His
words came crashing back at me and I shot up thinking out loud,
“Why is she with Blake?”

He looked preoccupied and lost in my
question.

He shrugged, “Well one day it will come back but
for now you need to rest. I think its Blake and Alise’s job to tell
you about what happened with them.”

I frowned wondering why he hadn’t answered me
but then the doctor and my dad came into the room as I started to
feel my mind shutting down for my sleep. I wanted the answer to my
question but my eyes got so heavy suddenly. Shane was gone
unexpectedly from the room no doubt giving the doctor some space to
check my vitals.

“So you’re awake?” The doctor put her cold hands
on my pulse on my wrist.

I nodded, “Barely. I think I need some more
sleep.”

“Oh I agree, a few days and you can go home but
we need to keep you for observation. You’re a very lucky girl.” Her
tone was annoying.

“I don’t feel lucky. I went to my first party
ever and was drugged. Not so lucky I think.” I kept my eyes closed
as she checked my vitals.

My dad grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly,
“Well the important thing is that you’re going to be okay
Aimee.”

My opened her eyes and looked at him, “Dad you
can’t blame Alise for this. It wasn’t her fault at all. I wanted to
go to the party. Or Shane, he’s a very nice guy.”

He nodded, “I apologized to her don’t worry. I
was just so mad. I know Shane very well; he and I are okay again.
I’ve asked your sister and Shane and Blake to try to help out and
find out who did this to you.”

There it was again, Alise and Blake in the same
sentence. I knew that I wouldn’t get any answers from my dad so I
closed my eyes and thought about who would want to drug Giselle,
the list was endless. She was beautiful and fairly dumb which made
the combination hard to resist. I had never been friends with her,
undoubtedly something had to have happened to make me even consider
drinking not only with her but in general.

The list would have to consist of who would
actually date rape someone, in my sisters group of friends again I
felt the list was endless. She had friends who had been creepy when
we had been kindergarten. Now they were serial killers waiting to
strike. Then again I was biased. No one from my nerd table came to
mind. All of them would have the capability and intelligence needed
to make a homemade date rape drug but none of them would have done
it.

Slowly but surely the doctor left and then my
dad and I was alone to drift off to sleep again.

Chapter two - Friends and
Foes

“Aimee.” I opened my eyes to no one there, a
woman had called my name I was certain of it.

I sat up looking around, my stomach hurt to sit
up but my pounding heart seemed to be supplying me with the
ability.

“Aimee.” She called me again; I would swear it
was Giselle’s voice.

I lowered my bed and stepped off gingerly hoping
to not fall and reveal the opening of the back of my hospital gown
to everyone. Hospitals really were cruel with their open back
gowns.

I started to walk from the room not noticing the
IV tubes until I felt the stab of pain trying to leave without the
ghastly squeaky machine. My hand instantly burned where the needles
went in. I backed up quickly and grabbed the machine. It and I made
the slow progression down the hall to Giselle’s room, I didn’t know
which room she was in but I knew the direction I had heard her
voice. My body ached and the IV machine didn’t seem happy about the
trek either.

I saw her through the door as I walked past the
rooms peeking in. Giselle was lying there blinking I grimaced
remembering that feeling. No one was in her room but it looked like
the gardener had been by, every shelf and even the windowsills were
full of flowers.

I smiled at her weakly as I crept along like the
creeper in Scooby doo, “Hey Giselle.” I whispered even though if
anyone had been near us they would have heard the unbearably loud
squeak from my IV cart.

She turned her head slowly looking bewildered,
her eyes looked frightened, “Aimee, you’re here. I knew you were
here. What happened?”

“Someone got us good. We will both be here for
bit longer. This is my first time walking in a week I think.”

She frowned, “No you were here. I saw you. You
held my hand and you smiled.”

I frowned, “No maybe Alise came by to see
you.”

Giselle nodded, “Maybe but I swear it was you.
What happened exactly?” She spoke as if her mouth were dry. I
pushed the button to bring her to a slight incline and sat on the
end of her bed.

“I don’t know. Everyone says we were drinking
together and then we were throwing up. They brought you here right
away I think and me in the early hours of the morning. They tested
us and we have some crazy date rape drug in our systems. Someone
did this to us on purpose.”

Her frightened look grew in intensity as she
pondered that thought.

She shook her head, “Who would do that?”

I pressed my lips together and furrowed my brow,
“That’s just it, no one knows. The party had to have over a hundred
people at it.”

“How long have we been here?” She looked as if
the hamster in her head was actually making an effort at turning, I
scolded myself, Giselle was sick and that was in bad form.

“You six days me five. I spent the first night
at Shane’s house. They thought I was okay because I got showered
and cleaned up but I swear it wasn’t me doing it. I remember
someone else being there. I remember something but I can’t say what
it is, like my mind won’t put it all together.” I blushed as I
thought about it, “Giselle don’t tell anyone but I know I didn’t
put myself to bed. I was naked when I woke and clean. I’m scared
someone did something and then cleaned me up. But I can’t
remember.”

Giselle looked disgustedly at me as she shook
her head. “What is wrong with people? You need to get the nurse to
do an internal and make sure you’re still a virgin. Though I will
say Aimee if you weren’t a virgin anymore you would be sore down
there. I was when I lost mine.” She looked up at the ceiling and
sighed.

I shivered at the thought of what potentially
could have happened but also the fact I was having this
conversation at all.

I sighed looking down at her arm where the IV
was poking in, “I wish my mom was here.” I hadn’t really said those
words in a long time but today when things felt so hopeless and out
of control I felt as if I was at the end of my rope and ready to
just let go and fall.

“Me too.” Giselle whispered.

I looked at her confused, “Where is your
mom?”

She trembled a tiny bit as her lower lip
quivered and a small tear left her right eye, “She left. A month
ago she just packed everything and left. My dad doesn’t know what
to do with himself so he works, non-stop. He doesn’t come home some
times, just sleeps at the office.”