Cheap Shot by Brittney Mulliner
Reid
I didn’t stopto consider what I was doing until I was running across the lawn of the Alpha Gamma Nu house. I told the guys I needed to leave and ask Ben to wait for me. They couldn’t come here. I wouldn’t risk them getting in trouble.
The party had overflowed from the house, so I had to dodge people to get to the front porch. I hesitated at the open entrance. If I went in, I could end up suspended from the team. Would any of the coaches understand if I told them why I was here? Was this a good enough excuse? They would probably tell me to call campus security.
There wasn’t time for that. Haley needed help now. The call went silent before I even made it to the road. Too much time passed with her being alone.
I shoved my way through the front room, looking for the staircase over the heads of the crowd. Once I found it, I ducked my chin trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. I didn’t want to get stopped. The only thing that mattered right now was finding Haley and getting her somewhere safe. Her speech was slurred, and she seemed confused. I was pretty sure she’d been drugged.
The stairs were crowded, and it took me far too long to reach the top. A line pressed against the right side of the hall, and the person at the front was banging against the door. That had to be where she was.
I sidestepped past them and pushed the guy aside.
“Haley!” I pounded but didn’t hear anything from the other side. “I need to open this.”
The guy held up his hands. “Go for it. We can’t open it, and she’s been in there for like twenty minutes.”
I rolled my eyes. He didn’t think that maybe there was a problem? It didn’t matter. I preferred strangers left her alone rather than taking her away. Taking a step back, I aimed my foot near the handle. The door flung door open, and I sucked in a breath at the sight of Haley collapsed on the disgusting floor.
I dropped to my knees and pushed her hair from her face. “Haley, can you hear me?”
She didn’t move at first, but finally her eyes fluttered open.
“Haley.”
She blinked. “Reid?”
“I’m here. I’m going to call an ambulance.” I reached for my phone when she started shaking her head. “No, I just want to go home.”
“Haley, I’m pretty sure you’ve been drugged. You need to go to a hospital and get checked.”
I glanced back at our audience. “Did any of you see who did this?”
Shaking heads were my only answer. Great.
“Do you know who did this?”
She blinked. “Reid, I just want to go home. I don’t want to get carried out in a stretcher. I don’t want my parents to know.”
I shook my head. “They won’t.”
Whatever was going on with her family wasn’t my concern right now. I needed to get her out of here.
“Please,” her plea broke me.
“Fine, I’ll take you back to our room.” At least I could keep an eye on her there.
“Is she okay?” The guy I’d shoved out of the way earlier was leaning over my shoulder.
“No.” I eyed him. “I need your help getting her out of here.”
He straightened and nodded. “Yeah, man. Of course. Whatever.”
I lifted Haley enough to put my arm around her waist while pulling her arm over my shoulder. “Get on her other side.”
He didn’t hesitate before stepping in and pulling her other arm over his shoulder.
“We just need to get her outside, then I’ve got it.”
“Sure.” He gave a tight-lipped smile.
We walked with Haley, barely managing to drag her feet into the hall. People made room for us to pass as we half-dragged Haley with us.
“Move,” I barked at the people at the top of the stairs. They jumped and shifted out of the way, causing a chain reaction all the way down until there was enough space for the three of us to climb down.
I kept an eye on the crowd, daring anyone to take out a phone and record this. I heard a few people say my name, but I ignored it and headed to the front door. Once we were out on the front lawn and a good distance from the majority of the crowd, I stopped.
“Thank you,” I said to the helpful stranger.
“Yeah, man. Are you sure you’ve got her? Do you need more help? My car is down the street.” He pointed in the opposite direction from campus.
Haley wasn’t going to be able to walk, and it seemed like a better idea than carrying her back for anyone to see.
“If you don’t mind.”
He nodded and took off at a jog, and I put my arm under Haley’s knees and lifted her against my chest so I could bring her to the car.
I needed to get my phone out and call Ethan and Benjamin, but I didn’t have a free hand. I bent my hand back and waited for a slight vibration of my watch. It took three tries before I felt it. “Call Ethan Clarkson.”
“Calling Ethan Clarkson,” the female voice repeated, and I sighed when the ringing started but he didn’t answer. Where was he?
I pressed the button again. “Call Benjamin Cruz.”
It only rang once before he answered.
“Did you find her?” he asked.
I lifted her closer to me so he could hopefully hear me better. “I have her. I’m on my way back now.”
“Is she okay?”
“I don’t know, but she didn’t want to go to the hospital. I’m bringing her back to my room.”
“It’s past curfew,” he cautioned.
I was well aware of that, but what else was I supposed to do? Getting caught bringing a girl into my room by my RA wasn’t a top concern. “I’m already going to get in trouble for going to that party, I might as well keep breaking rules.”
“I’ll meet you at the back stairwell and help you get her in.”
“Thanks. Did everyone else leave?” I shifted Haley, trying to get a more comfortable grip.
“Yeah, I told them to go home and sleep. I haven’t been able to get a hold of Ethan though.”
I shook my head. Where was he? His constant disappearances weren’t an issue, until now. He came and went as he wished, but it was strange for him to ignore our calls. He was glued to his phone. It never left his hands, so what was going on?
“Did you text him too?”
“Yeah, I told him Haley needs help. I figured that would be enough to get him to call me back, but nothing so far.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you in a second.”
“Okay.” I couldn’t turn my wrist to see if the call ended, but it didn’t matter. Within a few seconds, headlights blinded me, and I climbed in the backseat with Haley in my lap.
“Where to?” Our driver asked once I shut the door.
“Murphy Hall.”
It was a straight shot down the street that took less than a minute. “Thanks so much. I really appreciate your help.”
“Yeah, no problem.” He turned and eyed me. “Hey aren’t you––”
“Thanks again.” I cut him off before he could finish and got out.
Benjamin was holding open the back door for us. I stepped in, and we took the stairs to the second floor, where he opened the next door.
Luckily, no one was out in the hall so we were able to get to my room without being spotted.
I laid Haley down on Ethan’s bed. She opened her eyes again.
“We’re in my room. I’m going to keep an eye on you. If you stop breathing or start throwing up or something I’m taking you to the hospital.”
She nodded before letting her lids fall closed. “I’m tired.”
“You can sleep.” I covered her with one of Ethan’s blankets.
“What happened?” Benjamin stood next to me.
“I’m not sure yet. It’s possible someone slipped her something, but she said she was only drinking water. She might have a medical condition. I’d ask Ethan, but he won’t answer.”
“What house was she at?”
“Alpha Gamma.”
He huffed. “I’ve heard some messed up things about their parties.”
I didn’t want to think about that. Her bright red shirt was tucked into her jeans and she didn’t look too rumpled. Hopefully she was able to get into the bathroom before anyone had a chance to hurt her.
“Are you sure we shouldn’t take her to the hospital?” he asked.
“She begged me not to.”
He pulled out his phone and started typing.
“Should I call campus security and tell them someone might be drugging girls at that party?” I didn’t know what to do about any of this. I felt worthless standing here.
“We don’t know that’s what happened,” he pointed out. “And they’ll want to talk to her, then there will be a whole investigation with you involved too.”
I dropped my head and groaned. I didn’t want this to blow up, but I couldn’t sit here and not warn someone if there was even a chance of someone drugging women. I took my phone from my pocket and checked the university’s site for the security number. I could block my number and call to leave an anonymous tip. It wasn’t like they would take the time to try to track me down after that.
I held the phone up to my ear and closed my eyes.
“West Penn Campus Security,” a calm female voice answered.
“The Alpha Gamma Nu house is hosting a party, and I think there is someone there putting roofies in drinks.”
I expected her to gasp or freak out, but she stayed just as calm as before. “I understand. Do you know of a victim?”
“Yes, but I’d like to stay anonymous.”
“I understand. I will call for a security team to check on the party. We appreciate your help keeping our campus safe.”
I hung up without responding. It was done. I reported it, and it was out of my hands now.
“Now what?” I sighed.
“Some sites say that we should take her to the hospital and have her tested so they know what the drug is.” He scratched his neck. “Most of the drugs listed say that they’ll leave her system within twelve hours and leave little to no symptoms. It doesn’t really do damage unless she’s using them recreationally.”
I wasn’t the right person to make this decision. I needed Ethan.
I called him again, but it went straight to voicemail. Where was he?
“Haley?” I shook her shoulder, but she didn’t move.
“We should take her.” I didn’t want to take any risks with her health.
I bent down to pick her up, and she stirred. Her eyes fluttered open. “Reid?”
“Haley.” I was so relieved. “We’re going to take you to the hospital, okay?”
She shook her head as her eyes flew open. “No! No hospitals.”
“You should get tested to find out if you were drugged,” I said.
Benjamin stepped forward. “We need to find out what’s in your system and make sure you’re okay.”
Panic filled her face. “No, they’ll tell my parents, and they’ll come and take me home. I can’t go.”
“No one will call your parents if you don’t want them to. You’re over eighteen,” Benjamin said.
Her eyes filled with tears. “No, please.”
I brushed away the tears on her cheeks. I wouldn’t force her. She was awake and talking. I could wait it out. “Okay.”
She relaxed just a bit. “Please. I just need to sleep.”
I nodded. “We’ll stay here. As long as you don’t get worse.”
She closed her eyes, and Benjamin moved around the room, appearing next to me again with a bottle of water. “Drink some of this.”
Her eyes peeked open, and her arms lifted a few inches but fell back to the bed, so I took it from him and held it to her lips. She drank a few sips before giving a small shake of her head. Her eyes fell closed again.
Her face went slack, and a few seconds later, her shoulders dropped onto Ethan’s bed and her breathing evened out.
“I really hope this isn’t a mistake,” Benjamin whispered.
Me too.