been playing pool with seemed to have moved on to a game of flip cup with a bunch of older MMA fans.
My stomach rolled again, and I swiped my hand over my forehead. It came away damp with sweat, and I swallowed heavily. I'd been right before. Something was wrong, really wrong. But I hadn't realized it was me that was in trouble... until now.
Breathing in short, sharp gasps, I tried to make my way across to the bathrooms. I needed to find Bree and Dallas. I needed to alert them that I’d been drugged. I needed water. I needed to ride out whatever had been in Drew's drink. More than anything I needed my guys... But I couldn't go barging in there now. Not like this. I needed to just weather the storm and hope to fuck Drew had only spiked her gin with a recreational drug like MDMA or speed.
Halfway to the bathroom, my ankle rolled in my heels, and I started to crash to the floor—only to be caught by a strong arm around my waist.
"Whoa, Madison Kate," the vaguely familiar voice said with a laugh, "I think maybe you've had one too many?"
I blinked up at my rescuer a couple of times, trying to clear the double vision that had just started. "Bark? What are you..." I dimly remembered seeing him in the parking lot on my way in, arguing with his dad, Professor Barker. "I'm fine," I lied, swatting his hand away from me. "Seriously, I just need water."
He frowned like he didn't believe me, or like he was going to argue, but another guy in an SGU Ghosts jacket grabbed him by the sleeve and dragged him away to the bar where a bunch of other football players were hanging out with girls.
Bark turned once, shooting me a concerned look, but I waved him off while doing my very best sober face. The whole venue was spinning dangerously, though, and I was almost positive I'd vomit before I reached the exit. Fuck finding Bree and Dallas, I needed fresh air.
"Miss," someone asked me as I staggered my way to the front doors, "are you okay? Do you need help?"
I shook my head, waving them off. "I'm fine," I insisted, but it just came out as a slur. My tongue felt heavy in my mouth and my chest was tight, like I couldn't get enough air. I brushed the helpful person off and burst through the doors, desperately trying to suck in air as I stumbled down the steps.
My legs weren't obeying me, though, and my ankles rolled. Sharp pain seared through me as my knees scraped against the hard concrete, followed by my palms. My wrists gave out and my face smacked into the rough asphalt. The coppery taste of blood filled my mouth. I moaned in pain but I couldn't move. Everything was getting dark, my lungs screaming in pain as my gasping breaths pulled shorter and sharper with every inhale.
Whatever was in Drew's drink... it was a hell of a lot worse than Molly.
Rough hands grabbed me, lifting me up like a rag doll and manhandling me into a vaguely standing position. None of my limbs worked anymore, though, so it was as effective as making a wet noodle stand up. My vision was nothing but a swirling vortex of shadows and lights, so even when the person smacked my face several times and peeled my lids back, I saw no distinguishable faces.
A moment later, a sharp, biting pain struck my nose high up in my nasal passage like I’d just inhaled something toxic, and a strangled scream wrenched from my throat. The person holding me shifted his grip—I was assuming it was a he—and threw me over his shoulder. Vomit rolled in my stomach, threatening to eject now that I was upside down, but surprisingly I could breathe a little easier.
Flashes of vision broke the shadows, and I blinked sluggishly as my face passed car tires and my abductor's boots crushed on the gravel. A dim popping sound rattled through my brain, and I wondered if that was my brain cells exploding. Whether maybe whatever I'd been drugged with was causing massive brain aneurysms or maybe my eardrum had just burst.
The guy carrying me jerked to a stop, and my face smacked against the rough fabric of his pants. Voices. I could hear voices. Sort of. Everything was muffled and dull, like I was underwater. The voice crackled and broke, like