Using every ounce of strength in my body, I was able to get out of bed. I wasn’t clothed, which was odd, since I always wore a nighty. I threw on a worn tank top and shorts and ventured out the door unsteadily.

Monica passed me in the hall. “Hey, Mon. . .”

“What the hell do you want,” she snapped back vehemently.

I was taken aback. “I. . . how-how did I get home last night? Did you pick me up?”

“Not on your life,” she put her hands on her hip and grimaced. “You bitch. How could you do something like that?” She grabbed hold of my arm tightly. “And what the hell is he still doing here?”

“Wha- who? What are you talking about?”

I was thoroughly confused. I’d had hangovers before, but nothing as strange as this. I’d blacked out the night before and had awakened to my best friend throwing insults at me! I was beginning to get the impression that perhaps something terribly wrong had happened.

And the evidence just kept mounting.

I heard the toilet flush from the bathroom and the door creaked open to reveal, not Tobey, not even Leo, but a complete stranger whom I’d never laid eyes on in my life. He smiled when he saw me, apparently knowing who I was since he called me by my name and kissed me on the cheek.

“Ah, morning Natalia. Nice digs you got here. Got anything to eat?”

The tall blond man went into the kitchen, opened the cabinet door and started nosing around for food. My mouth fell and I turned to Monica. Maybe she knew him.

“Who was that guy?”

“Oh, drop the innocence Natalia! You’re cornered, okay? You thought you could sneak another guy in here without me knowing about it. Well, the two of you were so fucking loud last night that I could hardly sleep. I’d thought maybe it was Tobey, but then Tobey called around two in the morning to check up on how you were doing,” she looked genuinely hurt and shook her head. “I had to cover your ass, although I’m not sure why. I should have told him that you were fucking some strange guy instead of lying to him.”

It was unbelievable! The words coming out of her mouth! They didn’t make sense at all. “Monica!” I gasped. “Stop! Listen to me, please: I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about! Last night, well, I’m not going to say that I didn’t have anything to drink because I did, but I wasn’t plastered or anything. Tobey left to see his mother, I was still there at the club with Brittany and Courtney and then. . . well, I’m assuming they brought me back home.”

Monica had stopped. Her face was still positively scowling at me, but when she spoke, her voice was somewhat rational. “Brittany and Courtney? What were they doing there?”

“They sat down to have a drink with us.”

“Was anyone else there?”

“Well. . . I think that Kirsten and Leo and Nick were still hanging around somewhere.”

“I mean, did you see either of them before you left?”

“I. . . don’t remember.”

She shook her head. “See, here’s the dilemma, Natalia.” She took my arm and led me to the front room. The blond man was sitting at our dining table over a bowl of Cheerios as we walked by him. She opened the blinds and pointed. “See that blue Trail Blazer down there? That’s his car. It seems as though he brought you here last night at your suggestion.”

“I swear to God, Monica, I’ve never seen that man before!”

“Oh really?” said the man, standing up, smiling. “How quickly we forget things, eh Natalia? Especially after last night. I’m tellin’ ya, it’s been years since I’ve had anything that good.”

My entire life was tearing at the seams. I ran my hands through my hair, seconds from bursting into tears. In fact, I could feel a lump rising in my throat. Something terribly, terribly wrong had happened. I could honestly not remember spending the night with anyone! I only remembered sitting there in the club with Brittany and Courtney, I hadn’t even talked to another man!

“Oh, now how’s this for perfect timing?”

Monica’s voice ripped me from my thoughts.

“What?”

“Tobey’s walking up the stairs right now.”

I peeked out the windows and saw him standing at the door, a single red rose in his hand, smiling.

Ding-Dong.

I froze. Monica folded her arms and stared at me as if to say What the hell are you going to do now?

And I honestly had no idea.

* * *

Tobey’s regular light knock was heard at the door and within a second, he was letting himself in with his key.

“Everybody decent?” he called as he came in. “Oh, hey,” he said when he saw Monica and I standing there near the door.

I glanced over at Monica, scared to death, and when she glared back at me I knew I was completely, totally alone in all of this and I didn’t even understand what was happening. I felt my lip begin to tremble.

“Hi,” I heard Tobey saying. “I’m Tobey,” with a wry grin he reached over and shook hands with the blond Neanderthal at our table. “Are you a friend of Monica’s?” he asked, the wry grin broadening as he glanced her way.

“Hey, bro, I’m Derek,” the guy said, as he shook hands with Tobey. “No, man, I . . .”

“Tobey!” I blurted, and he glanced my way, his brow furrowed when he saw my terrified expression.

“ . . . I came home with Natalia last night, met her in a club,” Derek was saying. “Woah, man, like – she’s wild, ya know?” Derek chortled an idiotic laugh.

“Excuse me, what . . . ?” Tobey asked, his eyes narrowing at Derek and then over to me.

“Tobey, please listen, I don’t know . . .”

“Yeah, man, we had a rip-roarin’ good time last night,” Derek was saying, “this girl knows how to par-tay.”

Tobey shifted his glare to me. It was so intense I actually backed away a bit. “How much did you drink last night?” he seethed, his voice slicing right through me.

“I don’t know,” I sobbed pitifully. “I don’t remember . . .”

"You brought some loser home from a club last night?" Tobey yelled in my face.

"Heeeeeeyy...." Derek drawled.

"Tobey listen it's not . . . " I sobbed, "please, I don't think you understand what's happened . . ."

"Understand?" he asked incredulously. "Oh I think I understand . . ."

"Yeah, dude..." Derek started.

"SHUT UP!" Tobey bellowed at him.

"Tobey, please, please . . . " I begged.

“I trusted you!” he growled and the anger in his voice turned my blood thin. He threw the rose he’d had in his hand at my feet and stormed out, the force of the door slamming making the kitchen windows rattle.

I felt like my Universe had just split apart at the seams. A huge choking gasp ripped it way from my throat. I saw that guy Derek sitting at my table spooning Cheerios into his mouth bewilderedly and I went for him. I grabbed the bowl of cereal from in front of him and threw it in his lap, splashing milk everywhere.

“Get the fuck out,” I screamed. “I don’t know who the fuck you are, get out NOW!!!”

“Woah!” he said. “Dude, like was that like, necess….”

“LEAVE!!!” I screamed and sobbed all at once.

Mr. Hang Ten got a clue and headed for the door. I stood sobbing and looked helplessly over at Monica.

“Don’t look at me,” she said spitefully. “What did you expect?” She turned on her heel and went into her room, closing her door to me.

I sobbed uncontrollably, not knowing what was even happening to me. I collapsed in a heap on the floor, feeling completely helpless. I’d never felt more alone or more frightened in all my life.

* * *

Tobey

His heart was racing as he reached his car and got in. His breath came quickly, as if he’d just been running. Or fighting. He started the engine and squealed the rear tires as he drove away.

His heart continued to race as he drove through the city streets, he gritted his teeth and gripped the steering wheel till his knuckles turned white. He could not remember ever feeling this angry in his life. And oh – he’d had his moments.

How could she have done this to him? He’d never seen this coming, he’d thought she loved him as much as he loved her. He knew she did.

Didn’t she?

Things had been going so well. So incredibly, wonderfully well. He’d never been happier. He had plans brewing in his head, big plans. If things had continued on as happily as they’d been, he was planning on a home – a real home, all his own. Not a rental, not just a place to keep his stuff and have a mailing address. A home. A place to be, secure and stable, permanent. In the back of his mind, there was something that went along with this home. It was her, also something of security, stability. Permanency. These two things went hand in hand in his mind. A home, and a girl, all his own. Forever.

The corners of his mouth twitched downward as these thoughts flooded through his mind, and his chin trembled just slightly.

No.

He clenched his teeth tighter and kept driving, taking the long way back to his house. The rental. The one that had never truly been his own.

At last he reached the driveway at the top of the hill. He turned the ignition off and sat, staring at the empty white house in front of him. It had always been empty, even when he was in it. His breathing came in shallow, harsh gasps again, and his heart raced. The anger was still there.

Why the hell has she done this?

Creeping up on the edges of the anger came the hurt. It stabbed at him, right in the gut and he actually gasped a bit at its force.

WHY?

The tension in his jaw was so great it now began to tremble out of his control. He gripped the steering wheel ever more tightly and tried to take a deep breath. Mantra. What was his mantra? A little groan escaped from him at the effort he was putting into this. He was very dimly aware of his cell phone ringing next to him, but it didn’t seem real somehow. His breathing was now completely out of control, his mantra would not surface in his mind.

“FUCK,” he said out-loud, with such force that he was foaming at the mouth a bit. The scene back at her apartment came swooping back at him like a rush of heat just then. The sheer force of hurt that made its way straight to his heart ripped into the consuming anger.

“FUCK.” Again.

The battle was lost; the last one had come out as an undisguisable sob. He wearily leaned his forehead on the wheel and let the tears come. Torrents of tears.

* * *

Natalia

I picked myself up off the floor and felt the weight of the world settle upon me. My entire body was one big aching mess. I had sobbed till I had no energy left, now the tears just flowed freely, as water from a faucet. I was still willing myself to wake up from this nightmare, things were all so blurry and confuzzled in my head. What the hell was going on . . . ?

Tobey . . . My heart felt shattered, the ache was so great I actually gasped aloud. What the hell had I done? I searched my foggy mind, but all that came back was the drinks with Leo and Kirsten, all innocent fun, with Tobey at my side. Those two witches of the west had come over and tried to play nicey, Tobey had left – his mom had taken ill – Courtney bought us another round . . . And that is where it all ended. There was absolutely nothing beyond that.

Not being much of a drinker, I did have an occasional indulgence when the mood struck. Never had I drank to the point of blacking out, so the current situation was not making any sense to me whatsoever as I stumbled down the hall to my room. Once there I was faced with the horrid evidence of the previous night – my dress lay strewn on the floor, panties were actually flung on top of a lamp. Good lord, who had done these things? My head spun so fast I reached out to sit on the bed when a forceful wave of nausea overcame me. I dashed out to the hall and made it to the bathroom barely in time, splashing the sink and the rim of the toilet with the remains of last nights frivolities.

By now my head was pounding so hard I could barely hear anything over it’s noise, but suddenly the nausea was back and I tried to aim for the toilet a bit better this time. Then it all went dark . . .

* * *

”Nat . . . Natalia! Natty . . .”

“Tobey . . . ?”

“No, hon, it’s me, it’s Monica.”

I pried my lids open and made out her blurry face. “Mon?” my voice creaked.

“Oh honey, what’s happened to you?” she was saying. “You puked everywhere and then you blacked out – scared the shit out of me!”

“Monica . . . “ I struggled. “Call Tobey. I think . . . Mon? I think they drugged me.”