“OK, but what’s going on?” I asked. And then I found out. Something was wrong with Sunny. Her hair was a mess, and she was mumbling to herself, walking in a circle. I rushed over to her to keep her from bumping into the wall. “What’s wrong with her?”
“Um,” Roxy said and shrugged.
“Sunny? What’s going on?” I asked but her eyes were glassy; she didn’t seem to see me or hear me.
“Ryan?” Sunny says in a whisper.
“We need to get her to bed,” Roxy said. “Can you help me?”
“Sure, but tell me what happened?” I said again.
“I’ll tell you later. For now, let’s get her settled,” Roxy said.
“Sunny, let’s get you to bed. Sound good?” I asked her, still holding her arm to keep her from walking into the wall.
“Find Beth,” Sunny mumbled.
“You need to go to sleep, Sunny,” Roxy said, grabbing her other arm. Together we positioned her next to the bed and gently pushed her down. “That’s it, sleep. Everything will be OK in the morning. Promise.”
“Ah, sa, boke,” Sunny mumbled incoherently.
“Sunny, we can’t understand you. Was it too many margaritas? What happened?” I asked but she couldn’t speak any longer. Sunny’s typically sparkling green eyes were dull, lifeless. Her shiny blond hair, usually falling in waves down her back, was pulled up in a messy bun. She was barely recognizable, poor thing.
“You need to take a nap, girlfriend,” Roxy said.
“It’s the only thing that will help,” I said, although a thought did cross my mind about finding a doctor.
With both of us urging her, Sunny finally agreed to close her eyes and, hopefully, clear her head. I felt sorry for her; she was so disoriented, so out of her mind. Roxy and I sat on the bed together and watched as Sunny finally fell asleep.
“How did she get like this?” I whispered. “Should we call a doctor?”
“No, she needs to sleep it off. I’m sure it was the double margarita. Those Desert Sunrise specials are strong,” Roxy said before walking across the hotel room to the dresser. I watched as she rummaged through Sunny’s purse and found her phone, sending off a quick text to someone. Then she dropped the phone back in Sunny’s purse, grabbed my hand, and dragged me out of the room.
“Come on, she really needs to rest,” she said once we were outside the hotel room with Sunny safely tucked inside in bed.
“OK, now that she’s sleeping, do you mind telling me what the hell happened to her?” I asked.
Roxy looked at me with a small smile. “I might have brought a couple of those signature margaritas to Sunny’s room. I thought we’d pregame before dinner. Sunny thought it was a great idea.”
“Those margaritas don’t cause that kind of reaction,” I said.
“No, they don’t, you’re right,” Roxy said, tossing her head. She looked at me with a devilish grin. She was quite pleased with herself for some reason.
“OK, why are you grinning? What have you done?” I said.
“You’re right. Margaritas don’t do that to people, but roofies do. Did I not mention that I slipped some into her drinks? My bad. I probably forgot to tell Sunny that too. I mean, it’s our last night and you know I’ve had a crush on Ryan since freshman year. This was the only way to get him alone, away from her. She’ll be fine in the morning, and meanwhile, I have my chance at true love. I’ll make him fall for me tonight.”
27
Amelia
I should have been horrified. I should have told her she’d violated every rule in the sorority’s code of conduct, every rule of any society, but I wasn’t, I’ll admit it. I was impressed. I admired Roxy’s ruthlessness. She was going after what she wanted, however low she had to stoop. And it was low, that’s for sure.
“Wow,” I said. “You’re really vicious.” I wondered if I should sneak back into Sunny’s room and borrow that dress I was coveting. But, no, that would have been a littletoomuch sisterly love for poor Sunny.
Roxy threaded her arm through mine. “I prefer to think of it as knowing what I want in life, and not stopping until I get it. And what I want most in life is Ryan.”
That’s when I finally noticed her outfit. It was a slinky, almost see-through white dress that left little to the imagination.She was going all out for Ryan. Impressive and gutsy. If she was successful, she’d blow up everything, not just Ryan and Sunny, but this whole friend group too. Sunny was the glue who held us all together. She was the common bond. She treated everybody with kindness and gave us all second and third chances when we messed up. And, boy, did we mess up during college.
