"So where are we going?" I asked, hoping she would say to the ranch.
"Home," she said, thank goodness. "I'll figure her car out tomorrow."
I started typing the address to the ranch into my phone, and then I took a second to glance in the mirror and look at my eye, which did have some bruising. I was still in pain, and I thought of the series and how my scenes would be affected. It was hard to stop the wave of anger that went with the throbbing. The ranch was fifty-two minutes from here, and I got back on the road right away, glancing into the backseat at the passed-out girl as I checked the road behind me.
I wished Henry were there. I wished he were the one driving right now. We rode for a few seconds in silence, and then she started crying. I put my hand on her arm.
"Are you okay, Bailey? Are you hurt?"
"No. I'm not hurt," she said, staring out of the front windshield.
I gave it a few more seconds before I spoke again. "What happened?" I asked.
"Rose was… she knew some people in a band that was playing in Missoula, so we went over there to watch them play at this club, and anyway, we met these other guys, and… " she trailed off, but I was quiet until she continued. "We left with them. I was kissing that one guy in the back seat. We were just supposed to be stopping by his house for something, but he kept driving to where we were, way out in the middle of nowhere. I had been with the guy in the backseat the whole time, so I didn't see where we were. Rose was passed out, but I didn't notice because I was busy. And we got to their house, and she was just so out of it. The guy said she fell asleep, but I just did not feel right about it. I didn't have any of the drink they bought us, and Rose did. I was in the living room of this house, and it was nasty in there. I was grossed out, and Rose was just dead to the world. The guys went into the next room, and I took off. I leftwithout her purse. I put her on my back with her arms around my shoulder like she had jumped there herself. I snuck out of the front door and ran with her on my back."
"And they just let you go? They didn't chase you?"
"No, I mean, we were there willingly. They thought I was having fun. I could hear them cracking up in the kitchen before I walked out. I know they did something to her. I would have been next. Thank God I didn't have that drink."
"And you just left?"
"Yeah, we didn’t drive there. We were in the middle of nowhere, and she was out cold, so I'm sure they never dreamed I would leave. But they didn't leave looking for me. I could see their house from where I was when I called you, and nobody ever left."
"And you were sitting there watching the house for an hour?"
"Yes," she said in a hopeless tone. "Rose said she recognized them before they came over to us tonight. But I don’t think she knew them. They were older."
"How old?" I said. I glanced at her from over the console.
"They said they were in college when we were talking to them, but I don't know what to believe. I heard him say something about work. I don’t know why I was willing to…" She breathed a sigh, and her shoulders slumped. "Thank you for coming to get me, Amelia. Please. I beg of you. Please do not tell my family about this. I've got to figure out what to do with Rose. I guess I'll just drag her to my bedroom. I'm going to have to take her to Missoula to get her car tomorrow. What an ordeal." She breathed a long sigh. "They were super hot," she added, sounding confused.
"What?"
"The guys. They were really good-looking. Since when are hot guys creeps?"
I didn't answer her because I didn't know the answer. She glanced at me, and I gave her a shrug and a friendly shake of my head. "I'm sorry," I said. "I think you did the right thing by getting out of there."
"I know I did. They were making light of her being passed out and I'm sure they were planning on doing something to me."
"Thank the Lord you put all that together in time and got out of there," I said.
Bailey asked me several times not to tell her family about the situation. She was humbled and distraught, and I truly didn't want to add to everything she was going through, but I didn't see myself keeping this from Henry—especially with the way it affected my face. I would have bruising, and it might matter to Alex if it appeared on camera. I thought of all this as we drove, and by the time we got close to the ranch, I felt like I should warn her.
"Henry's going to see my face, and I'm… I wouldn't tell him everything, but… "
"Oh, no, you can't tell my brother anything," she said, staring at me with a frightened expression.
"I might have a black eye from this," I said.
"So, tell him you ran into a door."
I let out a humorless laugh. "That seriously happened to me once. I'm not going to make up a story that already happened right in front of him," I said.
"So, avoid him," she said. "Can't you just turn and walk the other way if you see anyone in my family?"
I hesitated, letting a strained sound come from the back of my throat. "Uh, no," I said. "I can't just turn and walk away. That's not like me. We talk all the time. Henry and me."
"You can just avoid him," she said, not seeing my point.
