99 Steps

Step 31: Banish War

Mark opened his eyes, rolling to shut off his beeping alarm. Mentally, he went over the list of everything he needed to do before he could leave to get Jack: shower, get dressed, pack up his extra clothes, brush his teeth. He thought for a few more minutes, feeling like he was forgetting something. The red head pushed the blankets back, walking to the bathroom, starting to get ready for the day.

Meanwhile, Jack was blinking open his eyes, instantly feeling a headache come on. Kloee had his hand in hers, a worrisome look on her face.

"Oh my god, Jack. You're okay." She smiled weakly, wrapping him in a half hug. "Mark is going to fucking kill me, oh my god."

Jack closed his eyes, placing a hand on his forehead, "Why, what happened last night?"

Kloee stayed silent, looking down at her hand, which was still holding Jack's. "What all do you remember?"

Jack tried to remember as much as he could, but it wasn't very much. "I remember talking to Frank after he gave me a ride here, then getting a drink, then... Then," He shut his eyes in concentration, "Then I went to the bathroom when Frank was making me another drink." Jack looked at Kloee, hoping she could fill him in on everything else that happened.

"I'm," She took a shaky breath before going on. "I'm not really sure what happened but Frank ran when someone thought the cops showed up and he left his hoodie and, uh. Frank has Lunch Money left in the pockets."

Jack closed his eyes again, rubbing his head. "And why is that a bad thing? He can't buy food now or?"

"No, Jack, Lunch Money. Rohypnol."

"And that is?" Jack looked at Kloee, sitting up in the bed, wincing slightly.

"Rohypnol is a date-rape drug. And again I'm not positive, but I think he might have slipped you some in your drink. Especially if you left the room for a few minutes."

"Yeah, nice try but I think I would remember if I had sex with someone. I probably just drank too much."

"Jack, it's a basically a knockout drop, you loose all memory of what happened and you black out, you loose control of your body and all feeling. I think he might have..." Kloee went quiet, covering her mouth with both hands blinked back tears of sympathy.

"Wait, you're serious? You think Frank drugged and raped me?" Jack slowly felt the severity of the situation sink in, panicking and thinking of what he could do. "I... Mark, I'm supposed to be at our place and ready. We were going to get breakfast and I probably overslept. How the fuck am I supposed to tell him that I went to a party and got raped when I was supposed to stay home? Kloee what the fuck am I going to do?" A few tears streamed down his face, but he wasn't in a hurry to wipe them away.

"Maybe you should go back, and shower and ask him to stay home with you and talk about it. Maybe don't go out. I don't -" She was cut off by Jack's phone ringing in the pocket of his jeans. Kloee walked to them on the floor and grabbed his phone for him.

"Speak of the devil." Jack took his phone and answered the call.

"Hey, Mark. No, not really. No, I'd rather talk about it in person. You know me so well, why would I have some fucking common sense and stay home?"

Kloee sat back on the bed, watching Jack nervously. "I can give you a ride in a few minutes," She offered quietly, to which he nodded.

"I'm just at Kloee's but she said she would give me a ride. No I'm not ready, but I'll let you know when you can leave. Alright, love you too."

"Well?" Kloee still looked concerned, but then again, the heavy topic still hung thickly in the air.

"He sounded like he was getting mad, but he instantly calmed down. He's good like that, sometimes it makes me jealous." Jack shifted, noticing how his thighs and lower back hurt. "I have no idea how he's going to take this though."