How long would they keep him this time? How many needles would they stick him with until they were satisfied?
At some point he lost himself, his mind folding under the weight. It was only when he felt himself being lowered onto a soft mattress that Luis’s eyes tried to open again. It was dark, so dark he couldn’t see anything but shapes.
A cup was put to his lips. “Drink,” someone said. Luis opened his mouth and water went down his sticky, aching throat, and down his chin, down his shirt. He drank and drank. Eventually the cup went away.
He recognized the person holding the cup was Karim. Beside him was another man. Someone Luis didn’t recognize.
“Luis, I’m Dr. Gallagher. I’m just going to check you over, make sure you’re okay. You might feel a little strange, like a static sort of energy in your body.”
Luis moaned, because it was all he was capable of. He jolted when a warm hand laid itself on his shoulder.
“It’s okay,” Dr. Gallagher said.
Luis expected something sharp. A needle, the cold head of a stethoscope, but none of that happened. There was a prickly feeling that started on his shoulder and moved down. Maybe it should’ve alarmed him, but he couldn’t find the energy for it.
There was talking, but he lost track of the words. Everything turned warm, almost soothing. He let it lull him down toward sleep. The sensation grew, filling him up and pushing his mind down as though encouraging him to be easy. Luis had no more fight in him, so he didn’t protest.
Sleep came not long after.
Chapter Four
Luis woke with his whole body aching. The muscles of his back were stiff from laying in the same position all night, and it was agonizing just to roll onto his side. He was hungry, his stomach a painful pit, and his throat was dry.
He tried to sit up, but his limbs were heavy, slow to respond. A headache rippled between his temples at the attempt. He kept his eyes closed.
What the fuck had happened?
Thoughts pushed through slowly. Last night he’d been… at the bar. Getting hit on by a stranger, fighting with Karim. He’d gotten up to use the restroom and started feeling sick. Everything had gone downhill after that. He’d been taken outside?
To someone’s car.Eric’s car.
Because Eric was going to–
His mind slammed the door on the thought.
It hadn’t happened though, right? That hadn’t happened. Eric hadn’t been able to do anything to him, because Karim and Julien had shown up. Rescued him.
He remembered vaguely being carried back to their car. The two had started arguing about taking him to the hospital. Because they were worried he was going to overdose.
His eyes flew open.
Instead of a sterile, white room though, he was in a bedroom in a large four-poster bed. The room was decorated with dark, antique furniture, and everything from the flooring to the drapes were intricate and expensive looking. There was even gold gilding on one of the hanging mirrors.
Not the hospital at all.
Luis had never been further than the front entryway of Julien and Karim’s house before, but he’d seen enough to match the style with this bedroom.
He was in their home.
He tried to sit up again, and a wave of dizziness crashed into him. How long had he been asleep? Luis reached gingerly for his phone in his pocket, but came across the thin fabric of his underwear instead. He wasn’t wearing jeans. He wasn’t wearing a shirt.
Panic spiked. Luis lifted the heavy blanket to look, and sure enough, he’d been undressed.
His head swiveled to find his phone, wallet, and keys on the bedside table. His shirt, pants, and shoes were missing.
Luis searched his memory, but had no recollection of anything after the car ride. He didn’t remember getting out of the car or coming inside. Had they undressed him? Put him to bed? He couldn’t imagine he’d done it himself.
Humiliating.
