Gifted Connections: Book 3

by SM Olivier

  “You made a face when you were about to take a drink,” Gavin said slowly. “Why did you make that face?” he asked as if he had a theory formulating.

  “I didn’t remember opening it,” I said with a frown. “I had my back to him for a little while. Do you think he put something in it?”

  “Rohypnol or a generic drug similar to that,” Drake stated through clenched teeth.

  “That stuff should stay in her system for forty-eight to seventy-two hours after the drug was ingested. She doesn’t look like she’s suffering from the side effect any longer,” Senator Bowen said skeptically.

  “Senator Bowen, you seem to know quite a bit about it,” I said sarcastically as I leaned forward towards him, folding my hands together on the table in front of me. “Tell me,” I said in a loud whisper. “Have you been known to use it before? I heard there was a big shake down in DC recently. A lot of your buddies were busted, weren’t they?”

  Jaxson snickered once more.

  I was deliberately being confrontational. I didn’t think it would be wise to tell them about my gift right now. How can I tell him I hadn’t called it forth? That it had come up when I needed it to, and that the sick feeling I had dissipated after the gift started to protect me.

  Senator Bowen stood up spluttering. “I was happily married for over twenty years, I’ll have you know. It just seems rather convenient that you’re accusing a man with a stellar record. A decorated soldier. A man who fought hard for this country of something he never been accused of doing before. You don’t have any signs of any of the side effects normally associated with the drug.”

  “Even the most respected men can have skeletons in their closet. I’m sure some of the men you worked with were the last people you would expect to commit such a crime,” Jace bit out. “There’s only one way to solve this. Draw her blood.”

  Paul stood up. “I’m going to get someone to do that right this minute. Senator Bowen, I think you’ve heard enough here. Will you like me to show you to your apartment?”

  “I want to know why she was alone,” Will demanded when they left the room.

  “I’m sorry, Ake,” Gavin sunk down into a chair. “I thought she was done with the laundry. She asked me to take the guitar back to the dayroom for her after…well after,” he looked at Noah, Remy, Troy, and Jace. “We saw the guys and then I went back to my room.”

  “I appreciate you keeping her company, Gavin. The blame isn’t on you.” Will then glared at the four guys. “Why was she less than a hundred feet away from you, and you didn’t even know she was there?”

  “Because they were too busy flirting with Adams and her friends,” I snorted.

  “We weren’t flirting with the girls,” Remy grunted. “They were following us around.”

  “That’s not how it looked to Blake,” Gavin said staidly. “I knew you weren’t, but we saw you all walking by with drinks in your hands and a group of girls that have been making her life hell, touching you and laughing with you.”

  Drake muttered a curse. “Real smooth guys.”

  “We told those girls to stop touching us and that we were unavailable,” Troy said as he slammed his fist into the table.

  “So, you guys knew they were hanging out at the same place. You chose not to remove yourself from the situation. You continued to hang out with them all night,” Jaxson said. “Makes sense to me,” he said sarcastically.

  I almost gave him a smile. Those were my thoughts exactly.

  I was surprised at the fire Drake and Jaxson were exhibiting. They were the pacifist types. They hated confrontations.

  “We were just drinking and playing poker with the guys,” Noah snapped. “The girls were there, but we ignored them. They were watching television with some of the other guys.”

  Drake grunted. “No, you guys were being immature children,” he stood up angrily. “She made a mistake today,” he looked down at his watch. “Yesterday,” he corrected himself. “And you ostracized her. She trusted her instincts and you all let your pride get in the way. How dare she make a decision without your consent?” He then turned on Noah. “Then you decided to frolic and play with them instead of standing by her.”

  “She told me too,” Noah spluttered.

  “That was before she knew Adams and the girls were going to be there. You should have left,” Drake said coolly.

  “She nearly died the other night,” Remy roared. “We made a decision and we wanted to stick by it. Pride had nothing to do with it.”

  “The hell it didn’t,” Jaxson stood beside Drake. “It was mostly pride with a little bit of fear sprinkled in it.”

  “Where were you two?” Troy asked cuttingly at Jaxson and Drake. “Why weren’t you with her?”

  “Don’t pin it on us,” Jaxson hissed, although I saw the guilt in his eyes. “She wanted to be alone. She didn’t want to be abandoned like you guys did to her.”

  “Knock it off!” Will roared finally. “I thought you guys would understand the importance of keeping her safe by now. I want a full explanation about this nonsense tomorrow. It’s too late for all this right now.” He rubbed his temples as he glared at the boys.

  Paul came back shortly thereafter with a someone to take my blood, then pictures were taken of my bruises. I longed to climb into bed and sleep, but I knew my night was far from over.

  Chapter 14

  We were back to our apartment when Noah turned to me. “Let me heal you.”

  “No thanks,” I said succinctly.

  After finding out he willingly hung out with Adams after the way she treated me and them, he was put on my list. I didn’t want anything to do with him right now. My anger was still boiling under the surface.

  Paul basically put me on house arrest. I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere until my blood test came back. Which was better than the option Senator Douchebag AKA Senator Bowen had for me. He wanted me to stay in one of the detaining cells where Paul had Bradford transferred when he was medically deemed okay.

  I had no clue why the Senator was here. The way he kept looking at me made me feel like he didn’t trust me. He didn’t trust us.

  “Really?” Noah said in exasperation. “Now you’re upset with me, too? You told me to go out. I wouldn’t have left if I thought this was a…test.”

  “It wasn’t a test,” I bit out. “I didn’t mind you going out, but you chose to stay in the same room with a girl that hates me. Hates us!”

  “She was watching television with some of the other guys,” he argued as he ran a hand through his auburn curls.

  “What about the other girls?” I rolled my eyes. “I distinctively saw one of them touch you. You may have told them to leave you alone, but that didn’t stop them from touching you. I know what I saw.” I turned and glared at all of them. “Let me go out and start drinking after I ignored you, and then let some guys paw all over me and see how you like that.”

  I turned and went up to Drake since he was the closest one to me. “Do you mind if I sleep in your bed, if not I can take the couch?”

  “Not at all, let’s go to bed,” he put a hand on my lower back and guided me into his room.

  “Really? You’re going to bed?” Troy sighed in frustration. “Can we talk about it?”

  I turned. If I could spit fire I would. “Yes, I’m going to bed, and no, I’m not ready to talk. I don’t know if you realize this or not, but I was nearly raped tonight. I’ve been poked and prodded and basically called a liar. And oh yeah, I was drugged. I’m calling it a night. By the way,” I said pointing at my chest and then at them. “You see this? I’m upset with you, and I’m to the point where if this was a normal relationship I would probably call it quits,” I felt hot tears burn my eyes, and I heard and saw the shock cross their faces. “But at least I’m still talking to you. That’s more than what you did earlier.” I looked at Jace. “I remember a time when I gave you the silent treatment, and you said we needed to communicate to make our relationship work. Obviously, you don’t prac
tice what you preach.”

  He reeled back as if I had hit him physically.

  Drake ushered me into the room, and I slowly got undressed.

  “Do you want a shirt?” Drake asked as he took his off.

  I nodded. “Yes, please.”

  He handed me the one he just took off, and I smiled at him. I loved wearing their shirts, especially when it smelled like them, and he knew that. He slid into bed, and I climbed in after him, seeking the warmth and shelter of his arms.

  I felt like I had just gotten to sleep when I heard an alarm going off. I felt a warm arm pinning me down to the side of a warm, hard male’s chest and common sense flew out the window. I was disoriented. I was fatigued. In my exhausted frame of mind, I couldn’t compute that it was Drake. I yelped and immediately began to panic. All I could see was Bradford pinning me down with his body.

  I couldn’t breathe. I tried to take big gasp of air, but I couldn’t. I began struggling against the arms that reached for me.

  “No,” I screamed between ragged breaths as I tried to slap it off. When I was free of it, I scrambled away. I barely registered the pain of falling off the bed.

  The light came on and I saw Remy, Jace, Jaxson, and Noah standing in the doorway. Troy sat up in his bed turning on the lamp on his nightstand. I looked around in confusion, blinking the sleep from my eyes. I realized I was now on the floor, and I was staring up at Drake’s concerned expression.

  I still couldn’t breathe, and I knew I was in danger of getting sick all over the floor. The nauseousness and dizziness was back in full force.

  “Move,” I gasped out as I tried to scramble to the bathroom. I made it just in time to throw up into the toilet. The only problem was, I hadn’t eaten since last evening, so it was disgusting bile that came up.

  I felt hands go to grab my hair back. “Don’t,” I snarled knowing his presence. It was Jace once more. I felt him try to push calm onto me, but I used everything within me to push him back and raise my barriers.

  “Blake, you’re having a panic attack,” he explained soothingly. I could still hear the hurt in his voice. “Let me help,” he pleaded.

  “No,” I said resolutely. When I felt his gift begin to retreat, I slumped onto the floor. Throwing up and fighting his gift was too much for me right now. I took deep breaths in and out, trying to breathe normally once more.

  I was okay. It wasn’t Bradford. I fell asleep with Drake. I was okay. This was the baby-blue rug Troy picked out. It was soft under my cheek and fingers. I curled my fingers into it. I could smell the vanilla air-freshener Jace had put in here. Not Bradford’s cologne. I was okay. I could hear Troy’s alarm going off once more. It was an annoying high-pitched sound that he downloaded. He must have forgotten to turn it off. He was notorious for doing that. I was okay.

  I opened my eyes. Breathing normal once more.

  The cold beneath the bathroom rug seeped into my bones, I started to shiver.

  “Blake,” Jaxson said as he knelt beside me. “What happened beautiful? Are you okay?”

  “It was too dark,” I whispered as I closed my eyes. “I forgot where I was for a moment.”

  “Can I touch you?” he asked softly. I weakly nodded, and he pushed my hair back off my face. “You’re getting goosebumps, are you ready to head back to bed.”

  I shook my head and slowly sat up. The guys were all huddled in the hallway, but I wasn’t ready to talk to them yet. I was still angry at them. Well most of them. “I need to brush my teeth first.” I said ruefully.

  He grabbed my toothbrush out of the holder. He turned on the faucet, rinsing it, before he put toothpaste on it. He then handed it to me.

  “I’m okay,” I muttered to the guys.

  They still didn’t move. I rolled my eyes and finished brushing my teeth. Jaxson led me back to the Drake and Troy’s room, then I crawled under the blankets.

  “Do you want me to keep the light on?” Troy asked from across the room.

  I started to shake my head, but then I nodded.

  The next time I woke up, I was alone in bed. I looked down at my watch and was shocked to see that it was almost noon. I padded out into the bathroom and started the shower. I maniacally scrubbed my body. I knew he hadn’t really done anything with me, but I still felt violated. I scrubbed my skin nearly raw. It was bright red. My bruises were disgusting but I couldn’t bring myself to ask Noah for his assistance.

  I left the bathroom and rummaged through my clothes to find something. I settled on a pair of skinny light-washed jeans, a white racerback tank top, and then added a black off the shoulder sweater. I could hear the television as I came out of the room.

  Drake was sitting at the table looking through binders Paul gave him. Jace and Noah were watching something on the television, and there was no sight of Jaxson, Remy, and Troy.

  Drake looked up and gave me an assessing look. How are you feeling? he asked in my head.

  I’ve been better. I answered dryly. I went into the refrigerator to find something to eat.

  “Hey, Blake, how are you feeling?” Noah asked tentatively.

  “Good,” I answered briefly. I had no intention of letting anything go right now. Petty, I know.

  Drake got up and slipped his arms around my waist. I tried not to flinch. I hadn’t even heard him walk up behind me. He went to withdraw, and I hastily grabbed his arms and left them in place. “Please don’t,” I whispered.

  He nodded against my head. “Would you like me to make you an omelette or a sandwich?” he asked softly.

  I leaned into him and smiled up at him. “An omelette will be amazing. Thank you. How was your meeting with Paul?”

  “It was postponed until one. Would you like to go with me?” he asked.

  I nodded. “I would like that.” And I meant it. I needed to get out. I needed to not make leaving this apartment a taboo. The sooner I got back on the horse, the better. Then I frowned. “Am I allowed to?”

  “Your restrictions have been lifted,” Jace said as he came into the kitchen. “Paul came by and said they found traces of the street drug like rohypnol in your blood sample. Jemmy, Sierra, and Gavin found the corrupted footage of Bradford slipping into the laundry room, and from one of the angles of the cameras, in the hallway, you could clearly see him slip something in your drink. He was lurking in that hallway until he knew Gavin was no longer with you. He also said you may be feeling like you have flu-like symptoms for the next few days. He has excused you from your classes today and tomorrow.”

  “I’m fine,” I shrugged as I went to see if there was any coffee left in the pot. I refused to look at him.

  “Have you thrown up again? Do you still feel tired? Are you nauseous? Dizzy?” He scrutinized me.

  “I said I was fine,” I snapped. Then in a calmer tone I asked Drake. “Do you think Paul will mind if I tag along?”

  He gave sympathetic look before he said. “I’m sure he won’t mind.”

  The apartment door flew open and Jemmy came in first, followed by Dawn, Sierra, Rachel, and Jaxson.

  Jemmy nearly tackled me to the ground as she hugged me. “I swear you have Charlie Brown’s luck sometimes. You never catch a break.” Her voice was full of tears, and she squeezed me to the point I almost couldn’t breathe.

  I laughed uneasily. It was no surprise that my ordeal would spread like wildfire. “Who are you telling?” I muttered.

  “Come on,” she took my hand. “We’re going to have a girl’s day. We brought a laptop and DVDs.”

  “And snacks,” Rachel embraced me next.

  “If you want,” Sierra added hesitantly. “We can leave if you want some time to yourself.”

  I gave her a small smile. I was really growing to like her the more I got to know her. She was intuitive and had this calming aura about her. It was like she had an old soul that resided in her.

  “Well,” I looked over at Drake. “I’m going to a meeting with Drake.”

  Drake waved his hand. “You can have a girl�
��s day if you want. It’s just a meeting today and if we move forward, you can come with me then. You girls can use my bed if you want to.”

  The idea of watching movies and relaxing sounded like a good decision to me right now. I was trying to escape with Drake, but this was also a viable option.

  “Beth has that extra television down at her room. We’ll go grab it. There’s no use watching movies on a small screen,” Jace volunteered. “Or you can watch it in here.”

  I shook my head slowly. The idea of closing a bedroom door and away from prying eyes sounded better to me. “We can go in Drake and Troy’s room,” I decided firmly.

  “Then it’s set!” Jemmy clapped her hands jovially before she went over to the stove. “Whatcha cooking me brother? I haven’t had lunch yet.”

  Jace and Noah left without another word. I assumed they were going to get the television.

  “Then you better hit the DFAC before it closes,” Drake made a show of looking at his watch.

  “Why are you so mean to me?” she whined.

  Dawn laughed. “I can run down there and get some to-go containers of food and bring them back.”

  Drake shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. We have plenty of food. I’ll make something for you girls.”

  “Spaghetti and chicken fingers?” Jemmy asked hopefully.

  Sierra and Dawn had mirroring looks of disgust.

  Drake chuckled at their expressions. “No. I’ll think of something.” There was definitely a look of relief that covered their faces.

  “We’ll get the room ready then,” Jemmy cried excitedly. “Come on girls,” she called to the others.

  “Can you hook me up too, bro?” Jaxson asked hopefully.

  “Sure,” Drake shrugged before he set my omelette on the kitchen table.

  I sat down and picked up my fork.

  “Guess what?” Jaxson asked with a forlorn look before he sat down.

  “What?” I asked taking a big bite of my ham and cheese omelette. My stomach was happy for the sustenance.

  “Mr. Bates didn’t like Cooper,” he said sadly.