Oh.
You’re like, 100% sure you’re not bi?
That startled a laugh out of Lucy. Though she wasn’t feeling like very much was funny right about now.
I seemed into him?
There was definitely a vibe.
But maybe I misread what it was.
Lucy had just enough time to start overthinking that before Natalie’s next message.
If it helps, though, he seemed chill enough? And I kept an eye on him to make sure he didn’t follow you or anything. He was there til the party ended. And he must have been alone with you for like, less than 2-3 minutes total.
And then, after one more pause,
Did you drink anything?
Lucy took another breath. She could tell that Natalie was trying to dance around saying the words.
Two to three minutes. Two to three minutes wasn’t a lot of time for someone to hurt her. And though the moments before she’d blacked out were still a bit muddy, she vaguely remembered the seltzer.
Just a sip of seltzer
She was about to add that it tasted fine, but—she was suddenly unsure whether she could trust that or not.
I opened it myself
…
There were a few more deliberative seconds of nothing before Natalie started typing again.
Okay, I’m sure nothing happened. But the guy said he came with my friend David. I can call Dave, ask what his deal is.
Lucy was already shaking her head down at her phone. She didn’t know Natalie well, but she didn’t seem like the type to pull her punches when sizing someone up. If the guy didn’t ring any alarm bells for her, he probablywasjust a normal person. And as for the rest of it…well, Lucy had never passed out before. Maybe it was normal to say strange things afterward.
No, that’s okay.
Thank you so much for checking on me.
Natalie replied.
That’s what I’m here for, baby!! Rest up today, and let me know if you need anything!
Eventually, Lucy made her cautious, squeaky way off the bed and onto the floor. Her headache was starting to recede, at least, but her legs felt wobbly under her. She needed to drink some water, probably. And maybe splash some on her face for good measure.
She felt a bit better by the time she reached the bathroom, but she still had to brace herself against the sink as she tied back her hair. She turned on the faucet and gingerly eased herself down to cup the water in her hands, exhaling through her open mouth as she brought it to her face.
She straightened. That was when she saw it.
There, just below her jaw on the right side of her neck, sat a deep, mottled bruise, a vibrant purple against the peach of her skin. Automatically, her hand rose to it. It wasn’t painful, exactly. It was more of a heat under her fingertips.
It wasn’t as if Lucy had never been afraid. But she spent much more time resenting fear than experiencing it herself. It was an all-encompassing, illogical force that had governed half her life. And almost none of that fear had been her own.
But in that moment, she wondered if it had been unfair of her to ever expect logic out of fear. There was nothing logical to be found in this feeling. The world shrank and sharpened to only the three most necessary points. The mirror. Her neck. And the bruise, glinting in the bathroom light.
Natalie.
