An Exchange

Chapter Sixty - The Morning

Penny

My head throbbed. My bed felt weird, rigid, with pillows that were too fluffy. Opening my eyes, I stared at the foreign ceiling, disorientated. Then I saw the IV, the room.... I sat up startled, wondering what happened to me. Why was I in hospital?

Giles sat at my side, his hand loosely wrapped around mine as he slept, and Ryan lay asleep on the couch. Alarmed, I glanced between the sleeping pair. Was I sick? They'd never willingly be together in a room, pretty much alone, ad Giles, he wasn't talking to me, but yet...

My heart hurt and I wanted to cry I was so afraid. I squeezed Giles' hand, hoping to wake him and get some answers. He started, his head snapping up. His crazy hair poked out as he blinked at me. Then, a faint smile appeared as he whispered, "Penny. How are you feeling?"

"What happened to me?" I whispered back.

"Don't you remember anything?"

"No."

"What's the last thing you remember?"

I thought for a moment. Prom, the party, Maria, Ryan... "I remember some of the guys on the football team talking to me, then I remember Ryan handed me a drink, but it starts going hazy after that."

"You were drugged."

I drew a sharp breath, my heart racing. Tears burned in my eyes. "What? Who...?"

Giles shuffled closer, clasping my hand. "I don't know, but you were lucky. Ryan got you out as soon as he noticed something was wrong. Two other girls weren't so lucky."

"Penny!" Ryan leaped to my side. "You're awake! How are you feeling?"

"I guess I'm-"

He smacked his lips against mine.

"I'll give you a moment," Giles muttered as his hand pulled away.

I grasped for his hand but missed, so I pulled away from Ryan. "Giles, wait!"

He stopped and turned to me.

He stopped. Giles came for me. I wanted him to come back, to hold my hand again and tell me I'd be okay. But I was so afraid of hurting him.

"What about the Taylor's?"

He ran his hand through his hair in an attempt to flatten it. "They know. I'll call them now and let them know you're awake. Jonas will be losing his mind-"

"And what about you?" I asked hopefully. "Why are you here?"

Giles glanced at Ryan. "You should talk with him. He can fill you in on the details." He left the room.

Ryan brushed my hair back from my face. "I was so worried, I can't believe it happened."

"Tell me what happened," I asked, calming down now. Now I was confused. I couldn't think of when I could have possibly been drugged. I had drunk from soda cans all night and always kept them with me. I thought I'd been careful.

"Do you remember those three guys from the team talking to you while I was getting us drinks?"

"Yeah."

"It was them." He stroked my forehead, his eyebrows twisting. I'd never seen him so worried. "They thought that in some twisted way they were doing me a favour. Don't worry about them though, the cops are on it-"

"A favour? What do you mean by that?"

His eyes dropped as he hesitated. "To loosen you up, so that you would, you know, put out."