Even more confusion swirls inside me.
“Yes. They believed you were roofied. Sweetheart, what the hell happened? Who’s Pierre?”
I groan when I try to sit up in the bed. The room spins as unbearable pain pounds against my skull. “Ow!” I grasp my head.
Immediately, Dale jumps from the chair and adjusts the pillows behind my head to make me more comfortable and to help me sit up straighter.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t worry about it, but you need to slow down. Let me help you. They said you may experience some pain and severe headaches. It’s the effects of the drugs.”
“What kind of drugs?”
“I don’t know. I’m not family, so they wouldn’t give me any information other than you were stable.”
“I went on a date.” I rub my temples, trying to help relieve the excruciating pain pounding in my head. “We were at the bar not too far from the hotel. I can’t remember the name. But, after that, I don’t remember anything.”
“And this was with someone named Pierre?”
I nod. “Yes.”
“Do you remember his last name?”
“I don’t. Dale, I don’t even know if I asked for his last name. Is he the one who brought me to the hospital?”
He sighs. “They don’t know, but whoever it was knows who I am. They gave the hospital my contact information so they could get in touch with me. They also hid their face from the hospital’s security cameras.”
That causes even more confusion. There’s no way Pierre would know anything about Dale. So, if it wasn’t him, then who was it?
“Pierre works at the hotel I was staying at. So, there’s no way he would know who you are. I’ve only been there a week and never mentioned you. How would he know any of that?”
A look of bewilderment blankets his face, his brow furrowing in confusion.
“If Pierre wasn’t the one who brought me to the hospital, it must mean he’s the one who drugged me, right? I have no recollection of what happened, so I can’t say for sure it was him, but who else could it be? He’s the only person I’ve been anywhere with since I’ve been here.”
Before we can continue our conversation, there’s a knock on the door, and a doctor walks in.
“Ms. Williamson, I’m Dr. Morgan,” she says as soon as she enters the room. She walks toward the machines and jots down notes on a clipboard before turning her attention to me. “I’m the attending physician on call. How are you feeling?”
“Hello, Doctor. I’ve got a massive headache, but other than that, I guess I’m doing okay.”
“The headaches are to be expected. That’s the effects of the drugs in your body, but we are flushing your system. I’m going to ask you some questions about what happened.”
I release a heavy breath. “There isn’t much I can tell you, doctor. All I remember is having a couple glasses of wine with my date. Anything after that is blank.”
“Well, you had Rohypnol, what’s better known as the date rape drug, in your system. Also, with the defensive wounds on your hands and arms, I would like to perform a rape kit to rule out sexual assault. The police will also like whatever evidence we can collect for your case.”
I stare at the scratches and cuts on my hands and arms that I hadn’t even noticed, and my eyes fill with tears as reality hits me square in the stomach.
Someone tried to rape me.
Dale grabs my hand, giving it a gentle but firm squeeze. “It’s going to be all right, sweetheart.”
No matter the conviction in Dale’s voice, I don’t know where my life goes from here. How can I trust anyone after something like this? I can’t believe that I’m in this position. All I wanted to do was go out with a cute guy, have a little fun before my reality took back over. Now, I’m in the hospital and can’t remember what’s happened in the last twenty-four hours. All I want to do is wake up from this nightmare.
It took me a couple of hours to get Dale to leave once we got back to New York. Even though I understand why he wants to hang around to make sure I’m safe, I just want to be alone. I need time to process what’s happened to me.
The cops said they will be in touch with me once the results are back from the examination. However, the examiner confirmed that I wasn’t raped, so they are treating the case as anattempted sexual assault. I felt an overwhelming sense of relief that I struggled to put into words when I found out I hadn’t been violated. All I could do was let the tears freely fall.
