Sam considers this a moment, and then nods.
I am literally shaking with anxiety. But not for myself - for Sam. I don't have to have seen what happened at that point in the alley to know that Sam and Tuck didn't simply wait for the police to arrive, I'd have known that even if he hadn't ensured they'd be warned as soon as anyone heard sirens. I saw the look on his face, and just like Cam, I know he couldn't just let the police handle Robin without at least getting in a few more good hits.
I'm just glad Sam didn't kill him. That he's not in jail right now. The last thing I'd ever want is for Sam to get in trouble because of me and my past. Sam looks over at me again, as if now that he's realized I'm here, he can't keep his eyes off of me for long. Part of him is probably irrationally worried that Robin will come out from nowhere again and attack me. Part of me certainly is.
Detective Mora, obviously annoyed at Sam's distraction, follows his gaze. "Miss Pine, I have a few more questions for Mr. Caplan, and you've had a long night. You can go back to your hotel now; get some rest."
Carl must overhear this because she's at my side almost immediately. She puts her arm around me and suggests I come back to the hotel with her, offering that Tuck stay with Sam. I'm too overwhelmed to think anymore, and even though every cell in my body wants to stay with Sam myself, I let her lead me back to the hotel. Sam doesn't say a word to me as I leave. In fact, I realize, he hasn't said a word to me since he begged me to stay with Carl outside the alley.
****
Carl walks me to my room without a word. She follows me inside and sits on the sofa while I change. I head into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth, trying desperately to rid my mouth of Robin's rancid taste. It won't do; I'll need a shower. I'll need to rigorously scrub every part of my body Robin touched, but it will have to wait for now.
Finally, I join Carl on the sofa.
"Are you okay?" she asks softly.
I shrug. "Yes, no... I will be. I've been through worse." I explain to her a little about Robin, though I don't offer many details. I just say that he's my ex and that he used to hurt me, including forcing me into sex. Her eyes fall to my hip, and I know she's making the connection to my scar, but she doesn't press me to elaborate and I'm grateful. I give Carl the okay to tell Tuck the truth since he's probably figured some of it out already and, frankly, he deserves it after helping me. Carl swears that she and Tuck won't tell a soul, that they'll tell the rest of the group that some stranger attacked me, and that Robin and our sordid past doesn't have to follow me back to Port Woodmere. I want so desperately to believe her.
"Where did you go? I mean, you came into the bar with us. I saw you. But when I got back from the bathroom you weren't there. Cap asked where you were and no one had seen you since you walked in, and he kinda freaked. He yelled at me for leaving you alone and ran out the door. But then he came back in a couple minutes later and he seemed even more pissed off and before I know it, Tuck is following him back outside and we all kinda followed Tuck."
"I- well, I left." I take a deep, calming breath. "Sam and I had a fight earlier, right before we left for dinner. It was why I was late comin' down," I explain. "The whole thing was my fault. I was just bein' stupid. So when we got to the bar, I was lookin' for him to apologize. But then when I saw him he had his arm around some girl, and he was laughin' with her and smilin', and... I don't know, I just couldn't handle it. I know we're not, like, together and he doesn't owe me anything... But we'd just hooked up a few hours ago, you know?"
Carl furrows her brow. "He had his arm around a girl?" She's in disbelief.Yeah, so was I.
"Yep," I confirm. "And she was pretty, too. A redhead."
Carl's eyebrows shoot up and her jaw drops, and I just stare at her blankly. "Shit, Rory! That was Thea, Cap'scousin."
Now I'm sure my stunned expression mirrors hers.I am so freaking stupid.I drop my face into my hands in embarrassment, and Carl's hand soothes up and down my arm in consolation.
"Well, obviously I didn't know it was Thea, and bein' the psycho jealous bitch that I apparently am, I left. I was gonna text you when I got to the hotel. I mean, it wasright there.But Robin came out of nowhere and I just... froze." I don't give the details I had to give the detective. I just tell her how Robin pulled me into the alley and was all over me. That I tried to fight him off, but he was rough and pushed me around, and then Sam came and pulled him off of me.
When I finish speaking, Carl hugs me again for a long time. When she pulls away, honestly, I do feel a little better.
"Do you want a distraction?" she asks.
"Depends," I say warily.
"You'll like it," she assures me with a smirk, so I agree. "Tuck and I are officially together," she says, and I actually squeal with happiness for her.
"Really? That's amazing! You have no idea how happy I am for you, Carl! How did that happen?" I ramble, thrilled that after the awful night I've endured, at least one good thing has come of it.
"Well, you know, when Tuck and Cap were in that alley and I was with you, I was crazy worried about him. I thought I was going to lose my mind - I didn't know if he was hurt, or what. After the cops got there and he came out, I literally jumped on him and started crying. I have no idea what got into me, but I just hugged him so hard and it just came out. I told him how worried I'd been and that I love him and he said he loves me too! Can you believe it?"
"Uh, yeah," I say sarcastically. Of course I can believe it, I've been telling her this for months.
Carl rolls her eyes at me. "Well anyway, he kissed me and we talked, you know, while you guys were giving your statements and everything, and... you were right, he was just worried I'd freak out if I knew how he felt, and I admitted the same, and, well... we're together!" she says excitedly, and I grin widely. I'm truly ecstatic for her and I tell her so.
Carl offers to stay with me tonight, but I'd just keep her awake with my nightmares if I ever did manage to fall asleep, and anyway, I still want to apologize to Sam. And to thank him. And I know I'll feel unsettled and restless until I do. Carl is reluctant to leave me alone, but when she gets Tuck's text informing her that Sam is done with his statement and they're both heading back to the hotel, I insist that I'll be fine and that I still want to talk to Sam tonight anyway. Carl texts Tuck to meet her at my room and she stays with me and we talk until he knocks on my door.
I walk Carl to my door and hug her fiercely. She'll never know how much I appreciate her, how much I value the sincerity of our friendship.
When she steps outside, Tuck grabs her and kisses her hard on the mouth and I blush. Their PDA is usually more lustful than affectionate.
"I missed you," Carl whispers timidly, completely out of character, especially for how she usually interacts with Tuck.
Tuck smiles. "Me too, princess," he admits, and I can't help but smile at what a difference a day makes. Tuck turns to me. "You okay, Rory?" he asks.
