“You said he moved on to someone else. Was it Raven?”
“No, it was Ariel.”
“Who?”
“Ariel,” Ink said and pointed to my daughter’s bed.
Blaze turned her head toward Ariel, but I don’t believe she got a good look at her. “I don’t think I know her. Is she okay?”
“We think so,” Ink said. “She hasn’t woken up yet, and neither has Raven. Do you have any idea what they gave you?”
“No, but I can’t really remember anything. I don’t even remember going to a party,” she said. She was quiet for a moment before her eyes widened as if something suddenly occurred to her. “What happened to the guy?”
“He and his friends are aware of their mistake,” Phoenix said simply.
“So, you know who did it?”
He nodded. “We do, but we can talk about that later.”
“Can I have something to drink?” she asked, and all eyes turned to me.
“Probably, but let me check with her nurse first.”
I stepped out to get Claudia, who followed me back to the room to check on Blaze. While she was in there, Raven began to stir. A few minutes later, Dr. Vaughn joined us.
“As soon as the girls are awake and alert, they can have something to drink,” he said. “How are you feeling, Blaze?”
“Like hell,” she said.
“Yeah, that’s to be expected.”
“Mom,” Raven moaned.
“I’m right here, baby,” Ember said.
“Sick,” Raven said and emptied the contents of her stomach into the basin Ember held in front of her.
They went through the same series of questions with Raven and received the same answers. She couldn’t remember anything, didn’t know what happened or who was responsible, and had no idea who my daughter was.
I had to admit, I found it endearing that both girls were concerned about what happened to Ariel, even though they didn’t know her.
It was almost an hour later when Ariel finally started waking up. The nurse in me knew everyone metabolized things differently, but the mother in me was on the verge of freaking out because the other girls were up and talking, and mine wasn’t. And since I’d kept my emotions suppressed the entire night, I burst into tears the moment she uttered, “Mom.”
“Oh, thank God,” I breathed and cupped her cheeks in my hands. “I’ve been so worried about you.”
“Mom?” she groaned. “What’s—Oh! I’m going to be sick,” she said right before she threw up all over me.
Without batting an eye, I slipped my soiled jacket off and dropped it on my chair. Then I reached for a paper towel and gently wiped my daughter’s mouth. “It’s okay, baby. You’re okay.”
“What happened?”
“You were at a party, and someone drugged you,” I said.
“What?” Ariel groaned. “I don’t remember anything.” She scrunched her eyes closed. “My head hurts.”
“Yeah,” I said. “All of that is normal.”
“Then why am I in the hospital?” she asked.
