The next morning was a disaster. Alicia had been throwing up for hours, too weak to stand from the bathroom floor. She had no recollection of the night before. All she could remember was walking into the bar. She felt extremely sluggish, and her legs were wobbly if she tried to stand.
Her head felt cloudy and she didn't want to speak because her throat burned from throwing up so much. She was a total mess, and it took her a few hours to feel better. Andrea stayed by her side, bringing her water and gatorade to keep her electrolytes up. It really hurt Andrea to see her best friend go through something this awful.
Matt and Joba also hadn't left the apartment, extremely worried for Alicia's sake. Matt sat at the edge of her bed, holding her hand supportively as she groaned. She felt like shit, her head was pounding and she couldn't hold any food down.
The day progressed slowly for all of them. Once she finally started feeling better, she had a small sandwich and drank some water. Her head wasn't as heavy and she was a lot less weak. There was a loud knock on the door, and Andrea opened it to reveal two officers.
"Can we come in?" Asked the female cop.
"Y-yeah." Andrea said, visibly surprised. She opened to the door wider and allowed them to come in.
"Which of you is Alicia Hernandez?"
"Me." She said, raising her arm tiredly.
"Would you like to have this conversation in private?" Asked the male cop.
"It's fine. What's going on?"
"We got a call from a bar last night that you were roofied. We picked up the suspect in question and found date rape drugs in his possession. He's gonna be prosecuted to the fullest extent. I know it's not enough to make up for what he did, but we just wanted to let you know." Said the female officer.
Alicia nodded, looking down at her lap.
"Thank you, officer."
Andrea led the two cops out before closing the door behind them.
"I'm still in shock, I don't know how to feel." Alicia mumbled, playing with a loose thread of her shorts.
"Of course you are. This isn't something that should've happened. I'm so sorry, Alicia." Matt sighed.
Alicia stood from the stool, walking over to Matt and crashing against his chest as he engulfed her in his arms. She sobbed into his chest, hugging him tightly.
"Thank you for saving me." Alicia sniffled, not knowing how to express how grateful she was that he had been there for her. If it hadn't been for him, she would've been in an even worse predicament. She shuddered at the thought, pulling away from the hug and wiping her tears.
"I feel so fucking guilty that I encouraged you to go out with him."
"Don't, it's not your fault. He did this to me, not you."
Matt sighed, wrapping an arm around her. She leaned into his side, hiding her face in his chest. She felt safe in his arms. She actually trusted him.
Joba and Andrea watched them from the couch. Andrea was absolutely heartbroken that this was happening to her best friend. Roy was on the way to see her. He had been worried sick since he heard the news.
Matt and Alicia retreated to her room, leaving the living room to Andrea and Joba.
"I feel so sick." Andrea mumbled, crawling into Joba's lap. He held her closely, kissing the top of her head.
Meanwhile, Alicia and Matt sat on her bed, backs against the wall as they stared blankly at the ceiling. Alicia sighed, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"Matt, I seriously don't know how to thank you. If you hadn't showed up, he would've raped me." Alicia mumbled, reaching for his hand. He intertwined his fingers with hers, squeezing her hand supportively.
"I shouldn't have had to show up to save you. I'm so sorry he tried to hurt you. He's a fucking piece of shit."
"Yeah, he is, I shouldn't have gone in the first place. I went for the wrong reasons."
"What do you mean?"
"I was trying to make Andrea happy, or maybe I was just trying to distract myself with someone else to avoid my real feelings."
"Your real feelings?" Matt wondered. Alicia groaned, sitting up and facing him. He raised an eyebrow and she tried to find the right words to say.
"This is totally not the right time to talk about this."
"We don't have to if you don't want to." Matt said, shaking his head.
"No, I should get this off of my chest. Life is so fucking crazy, I know how valuable time is now. I just don't know how to say what I'm trying to say." Alicia started, taking a deep breath and collecting her thoughts.
"I've been thinking about you a lot, and I realized that I sorta have feelings for you. And I know, I'm crazy and we're both just friends, but-" she started. Matt quickly cut her off with a kiss, surprising her completely. She didn't know he felt that way about her. She eagerly kissed him back, taking his cheek in her hand. They pulled apart, smiling widely at each other.
"It took me a while to realize how fucking much I liked you. The two of us are really fucking stubborn." Matt joked, making her giggle.
"We really are. I'm just scared we're gonna lose out friendship."
"You're still my rat." Matt winked, making her laugh loudly.
"You're still my rat, too." She smiled, pecking his lips quickly.
There was a knock at the door, pulling them away from the moment.
"That must be Roy. He's gonna be freaking out."
The two climbed off the bed and walked out into the living room where Roy and Andrea were talking intensely.
"I'm so sorry, bubs." Roy sighed, pulling Alicia into his arms.
"I'm doing a lot better now, it's okay."
"He didn't do anything, right?"
"Just drugged me." Alicia joked, making them all roll their eyes.
"It's too soon for jokes." Andrea scolded her, smacking her playfully.
"Sorry, force of habit. Really, I'm fine bub." Alicia smiled, pinching Roy's cheeks. It had been a long day and the three guys said their goodbyes, Matt hugging Alicia tightly.
"C-can you stay?" She whispered.
"Let me go change at the house, I'll come back." He replied quietly so only she could hear. She nodded, watching as the three guys left the apartment.
"What was that? What were you whispering about?" Andrea asked, crossing her arms.
"He's gonna come back to spend the night." Alicia shrugged.
"Oh?"
"We kinda kissed."
"What?" Andrea yelled, hand flying to her mouth.
"I told him how I felt and I was terrified he wouldn't feel the same way, but he kissed me. I just didn't want to sleep alone tonight and he makes me feel safe."
"I could've told you that. He's liked you for weeks."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"Cause you got super mad any time I mentioned him."
"Well, you were right. Are you happy?"
"Extremely."
Matt returned fairly quickly and the two retreated to Alicia's room. She turned off her light, sliding into bed and closing her eyes. Matt laid down next to her, protectively wrapping an arm around her. She snuggled into his chest, his warmth instantly making her feel safe.
"Goodnight, Matt."
"Goodnight."
