Locked In Amber

Many thanks to Rileyworks for his edits…

~Alkymist

******

Amber awoke, her eyes gradually blinking open. Her mouth felt dry and gummy; a wrinkle from the pillow had left a painful crease in her cheek. She was hot, and her head felt foggy and sluggish as she struggled to make sense of her disorientation. She felt out of sync, like a dubbed movie where the words don’t quite match the lips of the actors. As her consciousness slowly came online, she pushed herself upright and pulled her brown hair out of her eyes. At that point, she abruptly realized she was laying on an unrecognized bed. Further, she was only wearing her underwear.

She tried to recall where she was and why she was practically nude, but her normally quick mind felt like it was trudging through mud. She didn’t have a boyfriend and definitely wasn’t the type for a one-night stand. Plus, as she tried to focus on the previous evening, she found a pounding headache, but nothing else–it was a complete blank. The last memory she could really grasp was snuggling up on the couch with a good book and talking to Kat on the phone.

This was most definitely not her couch, and there was no book in sight–panic seized her heart in an icy grip. What the fuck happened to me?

Her eyes swiftly scanned around the room trying to gather her bearings, but everything was blurry. My glasses! Where are my glasses? She blearily fumbled around and found them on a small nightstand next to an empty wine glass, nearly knocking it over in her haste. Reflexively, she caught it, a muted ting cutting through the silence as her ring tapped the crystal. She set it upright and picked up the slim frames with more care.

As she slipped the lenses on, she could make out that she was lying in a tastefully decorated room, her legs tangled in the sheets that had been pushed to the foot of the mattress. A pair of french doors looked out on some kind of stone patio, but it was too dark to see clearly. A distant treeline was barely visible, black shadows cutting an erratic line across a deep blue-grey, hinting that morning was just around the corner. Or night has just begun, she thought.

The realization sent a chill down her spine and adrenaline spiked throughout her body like black tendrils. She bolted upright, her body in full-blown alarm mode. Oh my God! Where am I? What happened to me? And what the hell happened to my clothes! While she was starting to make sense of what was physically around her, her thoughts were still careening randomly.

“Oh, you’re up!” The owner of the voice had just walked in a door opposite the french door. Amber whipped around, her legs tangling even more in the sheets. A young man stood there in a pair of pajama bottoms, his brown hair tousled.

Spencer? Why is he…? Wait…no! Nonononono! Her brow furrowed. “What happened? What did you do?” Amber growled at him, her normally velvety voice distorted by her panic.

“I… Sorry?” He looked at her, his forehead creasing over his brown eyes.

She finally untangled her feet and stood up. “I’ll bet you are. What happened to me? Where are my clothes?” It was only after making the demand that she realized she was facing him bare-chested. She suddenly covered her breasts with her arms. “Stop staring at me!”

With a look of annoyance, he stepped back into the doorway and turned his back to her. “I’m not… You’re upset.”

“Upset? Of course, I’m upset! I’m fucking pissed.” Anger coursed through her. She spotted her skirt laying at the foot of the bed and grabbed it, pulling it on quickly. “I go home to read… wake up nude in your room in the middle of the night… God only knows what happened, and… and… aaaahhh, where the hell is my bra?” she yelled, her voice rising in pitch as her eyes darted around.

He glanced back over his shoulder but quickly turned back when she shot him a dirty look. “I think it’s on the floor on the other side of the bed.” She maneuvered around the bed, picked up the undergarment, and began putting it on. “This is not the morning I was looking forward to,” he muttered to himself.

“Oh, I’m sure it isn’t,” she said bitterly. “I can’t believe you did this to me.” She found her top near where the bra had been stashed and tugged it over her head, her voice muffled briefly as she spat out a machine gun staccato of words. “I don’t know what you gave me, but there’s going to be hell to pay!” As long as she was angry, it held the fear at bay.

She pushed past him down the hallway and found herself in a small kitchenette attached to a larger living area. Her purse lay on the granite counter; she picked it up looking for her phone. It wasn’t there. “Where’s my phone? Give it back!”

“Gave you? You drank some wine.” He had followed her into the kitchenette. He sounded frustrated. “As for your phone, I don’t know. You had it last night. Do you need me to–”

“Oh, of course,” she cut him off, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “One glass of wine equals waking up with no clothes on and a head filled with lead. Makes total sense.” She was annoyed that he had followed her and moved away from him, her eyes casting about looking for her phone. She spotted it on an end table near a sofa with a blanket partially tossed over it. She picked it up and jammed her finger against the button to power it on. Probably going to be dead. The screen lit up: 24%. It also informed her that it was a little after 5:30 in the morning. Okay, so it’s not dead. And not the beginning of the night. Her heart started calming down a bit.

She pulled up Katelyn’s number and called it, all the while keeping her eye on Spencer. He just stood there watching her, his eyebrows furrowed, his expression unreadable. A groggy voice answered. “Hey, girlfriend. How was last night? Wait, what time is it? You okay?”

“No, I am not okay,” Amber spat out. “I’m at Spencer’s. Can you give me a ride home? Do you know where he lives?”

Amber heard rustling as Katelyn moved the phone around. “Umm, yeah?” She sounded a bit confused or out of sorts. Probably because I’m calling her so early out of the blue. “I’ll be there soon as I can. Are you going to be okay until then?”

Amber glanced over at Spencer. He was walking over to a closet by the front door. He didn’t seem threatening. But isn’t that how his type worked? Take advantage and then act like nothing’s wrong. Deny everything. “I… I think so. But hurry, okay?”

“Sure thing. I’m heading out the door as soon as I grab my shoes. You call me if you need anything while I’m on my way.”

Amber sniffed. “Okay. Yeah, okay. He’s not… he’s… just hurry, Kat.” She hung up the phone but kept it in her hand. Her mind seemed to be clearing, and she had a thought. She stepped back into the bedroom and grabbed the wine glass from the night before, placing it in her purse. I’ll give this to the police so they can test it to find out what he put in here. She went back to the kitchenette and was startled. Spencer was back from the closet, her jacket in his hand. He’d seen her coming out of the bedroom.

“Here,” he said, handing it to her. “It’s chilly out.” He had an odd expression on his face, and his voice sounded flat.

Probably feeling guilty or trying to cover it up, she thought.

“Do you want to wait for Katelyn in here or up at the house, or…” He trailed off. “I could make you some coffee.”

Up at the house? It was at that point she actually took stock of her surroundings and realized a growing familiarity, as if a haze was starting to lift. A small patchwork of the previous evening’s memories started to trickle back: Steve’s out-of-control party… She, Katelyn, Aaron, Monique, and Tyler being invited to Spencer’s place for a more subdued get-together in his pool house… Her sitting by a pool drinking a glass of wine Spencer brought her.

The wine.

“I think I’ve had quite enough of you making me drinks,” she replied, tartly.

He frowned. “Suit yourself.” He moved into the kitchen and pulled down a mug, putting it under the Keurig on the counter. He popped a cartridge in and soon the aroma of coffee filled the air. It smelled delicious, and Amber felt herself becoming more alert. Her stomach growled loudly as he sipped from his mug. He glanced at her stomach and then back up at her face, but looked away when he got to her eyes.

He turned to the small fridge and pulled out a pack of pre-packaged muffins, opening them and taking one for himself. “Listen, I’m sorry that what I did upset you. I really am. Obviously, you’re mad, and I want to give you your space. ” He paused, looking between the muffin and coffee in his hands as if they somehow held the answer. “You’re welcome to help yourself to whatever you want. Or not. And you can stay here until Katelyn arrives. I’ll… I’ll be up at the house. It’s clear you don’t want to be around me.” He sounded resigned as he started walking past her.

Her stomach growled again. Gods, I’m so hungry! And he just opened them, so they are probably okay… She moved towards the counter, reaching for a muffin.

Spencer paused at the front door, glancing back at her. “And Amber?”

“What?” she mumbled, her mouth full of the flavor of blueberries.

“Your shirt is on backwards.”

******

Amber’s head leaned against the glass in the Camry’s door, her eyes occasionally twitching involuntarily as the trees flashed by. She wasn’t really looking out at the forest; she wasn’t really looking anywhere but inward. Kat was holding her left hand while she navigated the car smoothly down the curvy road. The glass felt cool against her forehead. She closed her eyes when the rising sun peeked over the horizon and caused her to squint. She was drained and the day had just begun. With her eyes closed and the hum of the tires, she felt herself starting to slip into her memories…

******

She rushed in the door, slightly out of breath. “Sorry I’m late. There was an accident or something that caused a massive detour.” She maneuvered around the front desk and passed behind Cindy to get to her own desk around the corner.

“Oh, no problem. It’s been slow,” replied the middle-aged woman, standing up. “However, I am going to head out. Jordan’s teacher called. I need to go pick him up. Apparently, he had an issue in class.” She sounded exasperated.

“Ahh, I’m sorry.”

“Thanks. Nothing too bad – I think he’s just acting out because of the divorce. Though, I do have to tell you one thing. So, apparently, he told his teacher, quote ‘I didn’t sign up for this shit – my mother did.'”

The unexpected comment from a seven-year-old caused a rich laugh to erupt from Amber before she could catch it. A moment later she pinched her lips together. “Sorry,” she apologized.

Cindy smiled as she made her way around the counter. “No problem. I have no idea where he learned that language, but it is funny… though he won’t think so later tonight.” As she was pushing the door open, she turned back. “Oh, I forgot to mention–there’s a computer guy who’s here to work on prepping Mei’s office for the new network stuff. He’s down in her office. Arrived just before you did.”

“Oh, okay.” Amber stepped back and glanced down the hallway to get a better view. She didn’t see anyone but thought she saw the briefest flash of a shadow across the doorframe.

“You’re the last one here, so I wanted you to know.”

Amber gave her a thumbs-up as Cindy headed out the front door. She sat down at her desk and opened up one of her files to start some data entry, thought for a second, and glanced back down the hall. I should probably go check in. She put the folder down and headed back.

As Amber moved down the hallway, she could hear movement inside Mei’s office. She leaned her body around the door frame and could just see the top of some brown hair as someone moved around kneeling on the opposite side of the desk extension that wrapped around the side.

“Hey,” she called out, knocking on the doorframe. “Just checkin’ in.”

“Yah!” exclaimed a voice, followed by a thump against the desk. A moment later, a head popped up and a pair of brown eyes peered over the desk. They widened briefly as he looked over at her. “Oh! I mean, hey! Sorry, you startled me.” He was rubbing the top of his head.

“Oh, sorry!” she apologized. “I just wanted to see if you needed anything since I wasn’t here when you arrived. You okay?”

The young man stood up, straightening his t-shirt out. He looked to be a bit older than her, maybe 25 or so. “No worries. More shock than anything. I don’t think there’s any permanent damage.”

“That’s good.” She stepped into the office a bit and looked around at what he was working on. Several computer cables and various tools lay neatly on the desk.

“Say… why are there two of you?” he inquired.

She looked back up at him sharply. “What?”

He broke out in a grin and winked. “Just kiddin’. I’m fine.”

Amber rolled her eyes and smirked. “So what’s the plan? I wasn’t aware we were having anyone over and we’re closing soon.”

He looked around. “Well, the real work is tomorrow. Peter hired me. I just wanted to stop by and get the lay of the land, so to speak. I was in the area and figured I’d get a couple of things done now. Another woman… Cindy, I think… was here and let me in. Do you need me to leave?”

“Oh, no, we’ve got a bit of time left. Do what you need to do. Nice shirt, by the way.” She pointed at his t-shirt which depicted a glass half-filled with a liquid. It had a diagram stating ‘50% air:50% water — technically, the glass is completely full.’

He glanced down and then looked back up at her. “Oh, thanks. You too.”

Amber glanced down at her rather plain grey t-shirt. There was nothing particularly remarkable about it. “Uh, thanks?”

He visibly cringed. “Sorry. Just said that out of habit. I wasn’t really thinking.” Then, realizing how that sounded, he backpedaled. “I mean, it does look nice… well, you look nice… I mean, it looks nice on you.”

Amber looked at him, one eyebrow slightly raised and a subtle smile peeking out of the corners of her lips. “Well, thank you just the same.”

“Uh… you know what, I, uh, I think I’ll go back to what I’m good at.” He pointed at the wall under the desk and dropped back to his knee, grabbing a screwdriver from the desktop.

Amber turned away. As she moved back down the hall, she heard him mutter, “Suave, dude, real suave.” She chuckled softly.

About five minutes later, she turned off her computer. There wasn’t a lot left to do in the time available, so she headed back down to Mei’s office. Might as well spend it with the cute guy who’s going to be around for the next few days. She cleared her throat in an exaggerated manner and stomped her feet loudly. “Just little, ol’ me coming down the hallway. No reason to be alarmed. If you want, I can loan you my bike helmet,” she belted out in a sing-song fashion.

When she entered the room, he glanced up and smiled, a network jack in one hand, a pair of needle nose pliers in the other. “Funny gal. You know, I’m a modern man–I have feelings too.” He went back to working on the port.

“Well, Mr. Evolution, would you and your feelings mind some company? I have nothing left to do for the day.”

He grinned. “You don’t? I’d like that very much.”

They passed the remaining time chatting about the networking project he was there for, his skilled hands working quickly while he spoke. She found out that he owned his own computer tech company, and her boss Peter had hired him. He’d be on site for the next couple of days, mostly working in the server closet, but there were a few odds and ends like this broken network jack and a dual monitor install.

As they were wrapping up and making their way back to the front desk, he asked her, “Do you mind if I run out to my car to grab a couple of things? It would be a lot easier to just leave them here for tomorrow.”

“No problem,” Amber replied. “Need me to get the door?”

“That’d be great!” He smiled at her. She followed him out, staying at the door as he made his way to a small SUV in the lot. She watched as he stacked up several equipment boxes. She caught him casting a sidelong glance at her, but when he saw she was watching, he looked away. Eventually, he made his way back in.

“Thanks,” he said as he squeezed by her, maneuvering the boxes so they wouldn’t catch on the frame. He smelled nice, just a hint of something that reminded her of camping in the woods.

“My pleasure,” she murmured once he had passed.

She followed him down the hallway and helped him offload the topmost boxes. “That ought to do it,” he said, dusting his hands on his pants and then picking up his laptop and tool case. “It’ll be all ready when I come in the morning.”

Heading back up front, Amber stopped at her desk to grab her water bottle and purse while he continued on to the front door. “So anyway, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then?” she asked brightly.

He stopped and turned, his foot holding the door partially open. “Sure thing. It’s a date!” His face froze as he realized how forward it sounded. “I’m sorry… I didn’t intend to be so… that wasn’t…”

Realizing his discomfort and that he wasn’t trying to be creepy, she wanted to let him know it was okay. “But Mr. Evolution,” she replied coyly, “how could it possibly be a date? We don’t even know each other’s names. Mine’s Amber.”

Relieved that she hadn’t been upset by his slip of the tongue, his eyes warmed and he grinned. “Spencer.”

…Spencer

…Spencer

******

“So… Do you want to talk about it?”

Amber started from her reverie, her head pulling away from the window. The sun was a bit higher now and there was more definition to the surrounding hillside. All in all, it was looking to be a beautiful morning despite the terrible way she’d opened it. “Hmm?”

Katelyn glanced over at her friend. Amber had always been the quiet one, but considering the nature of the call and her silence now, Katelyn was worried. “Do you want to tell me what happened?” She brushed a strand of blonde hair back over her ear. “You called me at o-dark-thirty practically crying and making it sound like something terrible happened at Spencer’s. Aaron was really concerned too; I had to talk him out of coming with me.”

Amber thought for a moment, trying to piece the hazy bits back together. Her head felt considerably clearer than it had earlier. Her memories of last night were still mostly missing, but thankfully, her mind was at least starting to engage at its normal pace. “I’m not exactly sure what happened. I woke up naked in his bed and… and I don’t know what happened to me. I think he drugged me and… I don’t know what else.” Her voice caught in her throat at the idea. “Some things have come back to me, but everything’s such a blur.”

“Shit. Seriously?” Katelyn tightened her grip on the steering wheel and looked over at Amber. “You two really seemed to hit it off last night. If we had known, Aaron and I never would have left you there. But you just seemed so happy.” She slowed the car down as a squirrel darted across the road. “You say you don’t know and it’s a blur? What do you remember?”

Amber took a deep breath and tried to still her shaking hands. “Well, I kind of remember we were all at Steve’s party, and it got out of hand. Didn’t a lamp get broken when two chicks started Jello wrestling?”

“Yeah,” Katelyn scoffed sarcastically with a roll of her eyes. “What else,” she encouraged.

“I vaguely recall Spencer inviting us to his place and… Did Monique and Tyler leave after a while?”

“Tyler said he had to work early so they left relatively soon after arriving. Might have been around 10:00 or so. They only stayed for about thirty minutes, I think. Not even worth the drive time, if you ask me.”

“Okay, yeah, that kind of sounds familiar.”

“This is good! What else do you remember?”

“Umm, let me see. I remember you and Aaron making out by the garden, I think. Oh, and Spencer and I were talking by the pool since you two were kind of ignoring us.”

Katelyn blushed slightly. “Yeah, sorry about that. But you know us two, we just can’t keep our hands off of each other.” She and Aaron had started dating in high school and had just really connected. Even after being apart for parts of college, they had maintained a solid relationship. It was no surprise to anyone when they got married soon after graduating. “Besides, it wasn’t exactly like you minded having time with your crush.”

Amber grimaced. “Please don’t call him that now. How was I to know what he was really like? I mean, it was just occasional office visits.” She sighed. “I have terrible luck with guys.”

Katelyn glanced over again. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have called him that. And don’t be hard on yourself. It seems like you’re starting to remember pieces. I’m not yet asking in an official capacity and I know this might be hard, but can you remember anything else? Or is it too hard to think about? Do you recall him doing anything specific to you?”

Amber pondered some more. What do I remember? Everything is a patchwork and what I do recall is just so muddled. “Well, it’s hard. I… I’m sorry. I remember us all being there as a group. I remember music playing. I remember him getting me a glass of nice wine. He seemed so considerate. God, if I only knew! I mean, he must have drugged my drink because it just gets foggier after that.”

Katelyn slowed the car down, pulling over at a wide spot in the road. It was a lookout point with a small stone wall and a plaque commemorating something that was long lost to the weather and teenage vandals. Katelyn hopped out of the car and said, “Come with me. Maybe the fresh air will help.” Amber got out and joined her.

They both stood there for a moment, the early sun’s rays casting a molten gold on their faces. Katelyn spoke up first. “Okay, so to summarize, you remember Steve’s fiasco of a party and us leaving for Spencer’s place. You kind of remember the time at Spencer’s, but that’s it? No other details?”

Amber shook her head. She shivered and zipped her jacket up further. The dawn air was crisp and helped with mental clarity, but her skirt and top were more suited for a nightclub than an Autumn breeze. She sat down on the wall. Katelyn sat facing her. “Yeah, but don’t date rape drugs make you forget?”

Katelyn didn’t answer the question as she was lost in thought for a moment. Her eyes stared off into the distance without actually looking at the valley below. “Amber, you know that I’m your best friend in the world and would do anything for you?” Amber nodded, wondering where this was going. “And you know that, if what you say about Spencer is true, I will bring Hellfire down upon him, right?”

Amber laughed abruptly, the first moment of positive feeling in the day. She knew Katelyn was being hyperbolic as that would pretty much ruin her future in law enforcement, but the support was nice. She nodded again. “What are you getting at Kat? I wouldn’t lie to you about this.”

Katelyn’s distant gaze sharpened as she turned her pale grey eyes to Amber. “No. No, you wouldn’t. But right now, I’m trying to balance a very precarious line. On one hand, I am your best friend ‘To Infinity and Beyond’ as was codified at the age of eight by a pinky swear in front of the Almighty Pixar.” She held up her pinky and wiggled it while smiling.

Amber snorted, gave her a half-smile, and then reached up, wrapping her pinky with her friend’s. “And the other side of the line?”

Katelyn gave the pinky a little squeeze. “The other is that I’m an officer. So, I’m in your corner and do not want to diminish your feelings in any way, but I also need to gather facts because what you’re talking about is a huge accusation. Do you trust me to lead you through this?”

Amber looked at her friend. Katelyn had always been there for her. Right now, a part of her wanted to just rant and rail against the injustice of it all. But the logical part of her brain, the part that had helped carry her through her difficulties in life, and the part that she usually prided herself on whispered trust her. Amber took a deep breath. “Yes.”

Katelyn nodded. “Okay, let’s break this down to what we know and don’t know. ”

“Okay.”

“First, let’s list what we know about Spencer.”

“Umm, well, he’s 25. Smart. Runs his own computer tech company–”

“Sorry,” Katelyn interjected. “I didn’t mean details like that. I meant facts about your relationship.”

“Oh! Right. Of course.” Amber gave a brief shake of her head as if to clear out the additional details she’d been about to list. “Well, he started coming into the office about three months ago for a networking project and we started chatting and…” Amber paused for a moment. “This feels weird. I mean, you already know a lot of this stuff. It’s not like I’m telling you anything new.”

Katelyn scratched the back of her head. “Yeah, I know. I’m just thinking it’ll help us frame the situation so we can figure out what the hell happened.”

“Oh, yeah, that makes sense. But it still feels weird,” Amber said with a half shrug.

“Well, you’ve talked about Spencer quite a bit over the past couple of months, so would it be easier for you if I just list what I know at this point and then you can fill in details as we go?”

Amber nodded. “That might work. Maybe it’ll help me figure out what I want to say.”

Katelyn brushed her hair back over her ear. “Okay, so a couple of months ago, you started talking about this cute guy who was working on an IT project at your office. You told me that he seemed really nice and friendly. You hit it off right away. You thought he was a bit shy (something you could relate to), and said it was sweet how he was obviously smart but kind of stumbled around you. I remember because when you called me after the second day, I suggested you see if maybe you could go out. But you said that would be awkward and weird since he was just there for one more day on that project.” Katelyn paused, obviously awaiting an answer.

“Yeah. I mean, I wanted to, but I wasn’t really sure how to bring it up and he never brought it up, so…” She shrugged. “I know it’s probably hard for you to understand. It’s just difficult for me to initiate stuff like that. I was always good with school but not with people.”

Katelyn had known Amber a long time and this was not the first time they’d talked about shyness. Their personalities were different, but Katelyn did understand. “That’s why you have me as your best friend.” She poked Amber lightly in the shoulder. “I’m good with people–you should just follow my advice,” she teased.

The corner of Amber’s lips tugged up slightly. “You were no slouch at school either.”

“Maybe, but not like you. But we digress. So you and Spencer had a good three days at your office. You wanted to ask him out or have him ask you out, but it didn’t happen. So at the beginning, things seem pretty positive.”

Amber had a churning feeling in her stomach. “Yeah, and, honestly, I feel kind of sick right now. I mean, we’re talking about some memories that, up until this morning, were really happy ones. And now I have this weird mix of happy and bitter at the same time like it’s been corrupted or something.” Her eye glistened, and she wiped it away.

Katelyn tightened her lips and nodded. “I understand. And I really want to help you through this. That’s why I’m asking all these questions. But if you need a break, let me know.”

Amber gestured and said, “Yeah. I’m good.”

Katelyn continued, “So, after the project was done, you were surprised when you saw him again a week or two later because he started coming in on occasion for other fixes, right?”

Amber nodded. “Apparently Peter really liked his work and he’d signed on a new support contract with Spencer’s company. He was in every so often doing a lot of different tech stuff for Peter. With the changes at the office, we needed a lot of tech support and it made more sense to just have someone on call.”

“And how did that make you feel?” Katelyn inquired.

Amber gave a half-hearted shrug. “Well, at the time, I was glad. We didn’t get to spend a lot of time together since we were both working, of course, but it kind of felt like this safe way to banter and even flirt a little.” She briefly gave a half-smile at the memory.

“Okay, so he’s in the building off and on. During that time, how has he acted? Any telling behaviors like sexist jokes, leering, bragging about the girl he banged last weekend… that sort of thing?”

Amber didn’t really have to think that hard. “No, he was always sweet. A bit quiet, but not to the point of poor social skills. He took pride in his work. He learned everyone’s name in the office, unlike the other guy who works for him that would occasionally come instead.”

Talking positively about Spencer at this point started to feel like a rejection of her current emotional state and her nerves decided to fight back. “But aren’t sweet and charming how all serial killers–”

“Amber,” Katelyn interrupted her. “I really do understand that right now your mind is wanting to focus on the negative feelings you have. Trust me, I am not ignoring or trying to downplay how you feel. I’m just trying to gather data. Okay?”

Amber sighed.

“So, what do we have so far?” She lifted a finger, “One, Spencer has always been a gentleman around you. He certainly was around us last night. And two,” she lifted another finger, “I know that you’ve said he seemed to fancy you. There was the banter, of course, but I also recall the mysterious Austrian chocolate bar.”

“Yeah, I was pretty sure it was him. Came back from lunch and it was on my desk. No one at the office knew anything about it, but later I heard someone mention that he’d been in to switch out a monitor for Peter. But,–” he was obviously just trying to charm his way past my guard.

Amber was about to voice her last thought, but as soon as she started, Katelyn raised her eyebrow as if she knew what direction Amber was headed. She shut her mouth again. She just wanted her friend to get to the part where they commiserate about the bastard but knew from experience that Katelyn was like a terrier and once she was on a mission, she would not stop. Trust her–she’s never let you down before.

Katelyn continued. “Three, you’ve been wanting to ask him out for weeks now, but being your cute, little, introverted self, and despite the urgings of your best friend, you kept chickening out. The best you could do was flirt with some repartee when the opportunity came up as he passed by your desk.”

Amber nodded again.

“So when he invited us to his place at Steve’s party, do I recall correctly that you turned to me with a look of absolute excitement at the prospect.”

Amber couldn’t keep her lips sealed any longer and burst out rather heatedly, “Yes, Katelyn, but again, I have to say it, how do I know that he wasn’t just buttering me up?”

“You don’t,” Katelyn said straightforwardly without any hint of affront.

Amber, about to go on with additional rebuttals, abruptly stopped, her mouth partially open. She hadn’t expected that response.

Katelyn gave Amber a very sympathetic look and then softly said, “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Amber was slightly confused at the change in direction.

“I…” Katelyn paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. “I just realized how hard I’ve been grilling you. At work, I was once likened to a gila monster in that affectionate way that cops like to tease each other. One of the detectives said that once I bite into something, I never let go. I don’t know how true that is of the lizard, but it is a fairly accurate depiction of me.”

Amber nodded, thinking about Kat’s history with school… life… friendships. “Yeah, but it’s not a bad thing.”

“No, I mostly agree. But sometimes it can be too much… like now. I am so focused on this, I forgot to stop and check in with you to see if I’m being too direct or if you want more support. I’m used to interviewing suspects, not my best friend.”

It was Amber’s turn to take her friend’s hand. “Thank you. And you’re right, talking about this is really hard for me. But you’ve always had my back and I trust you. I’m angry and you’re trying to be objective. I’m glad you’re looking out for me.”

Katelyn looked back and a half-smile crossed her face. She leaned over and gave Amber a hug, whispering, “always.” The two women just held one another for a while watching the sun slowly rise above the distant hills.

Once she could feel Amber’s tension release, Katelyn sat back. “Are you okay with continuing?”

Amber looked inward. She felt like she was on a pinball table and everything was bouncing all over. She was exhausted and the morning had barely started. But she knew that she also wanted to get through it–the sooner she got it out, the sooner she and Kat could figure out what to do about it. “Yeah.”

“Okay. Well, if you need me to stop, let me know.” She awaited confirmation before continuing.

“So, on to point three…” Kat paused, looking at her fingers. “Or was it four?” With a slight shake of her head, she put her hand back into her pocket. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. We’re all at Spencer’s house after leaving Steve’s place, and Spencer continued to be a great host. You may not recall, but he never made any encouragement for Aaron and me to leave or seemed like he wanted to separate you from us. He was totally cool with us staying and even offered us the guest bed in the pool house. But I hadn’t had anything to drink, and you urged us to leave as you seemed so happy. So far, from my perspective, Spencer seems like a pretty great guy. But there’s obviously more to tell. Do you feel ready to share so we can get a complete picture?”

Amber felt her pulse jump. “Okay. I think the air is helping; I’m feeling a bit better.” Katelyn waited for her to go on. “So yes, you’ve said these things and they are all true, but none of that proves he didn’t drug me and have his way with me after you left. It could all have been a long ploy to get me by myself.”

“That’s true,” Katelyn replied. “Tell me more about this morning.”

Amber took a deep breath. “So, I woke up pretty much naked in his bed. Well, not his bed–the bed in the poolhouse. I was confused and disoriented; my brain felt like lead. I couldn’t remember most of the night. Still having problems there. That’s totally what date rape drugs do, right? Didn’t you learn anything about that during your academy classes?”

“Yeah, they can.” Katelyn pondered for a moment. “You woke up nude?” She reached out her hand and took Amber’s. The touch was calming to Amber’s nerves.

“Well, I was wearing my panties, but the rest of my clothes were kind of all over the place. I was sort of covered with a blanket.”

“And where was Spencer? How was he acting?”

The memory was still a bit foggy since she had barely been awake, so Amber thought for a bit. “I think he was watching me. No, maybe he was outside the room somewhere? Yeah, he must have been outside because I remember now that he came in the door after I woke up. Uhh, he said something about it being close to morning, I think.”

“And did you say anything to him or ask him anything?”

Amber looked down at her feet. “Well, I was pretty freaked out, so I kind of accused him of drugging me and started grabbing my clothes.”

“And how did he react?” Katelyn was looking at her intensely.

“Well, he seemed…, I don’t know, he seemed kind of annoyed. I think he was guilty that I’d figured it out. After I got dressed, he offered me coffee and said he was sorry.”

Katelyn narrowed her eyebrows. “Sorry? He apologized? What did he apologize for?”

Amber tried to recall exactly. The entire morning was a mixed-up jumble. What did he apologize for? “I think he apologized for doing something to me. Or… something like that.”

“Huh.” Katelyn bit her lower lip. “Well, that certainly sounds suspicious. Okay, this next question may be super hard to answer, but I need to ask it. If it’s too hard to talk about, please just let me know.” She squeezed Amber’s hand in support. “Do you physically feel… um, like something’s happened? Vaginal pain or discomfort or other physical signs that something happened to you?”

Amber contemplated how she felt physically. Everything felt normal, other than her nerves. “Well, no, now that you put it that way. I mean, I had to pee while I was waiting for you, but that was just from the coffee.” Something started to tug at her subconscious like a small dog pulling at a half-buried bone, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.

Katelyn looked out across the vista and watched a bird slowly rise on the air currents before speaking again. “I mean, not feeling anything doesn’t prove that something didn’t happen, of course. But physical evidence would certainly lend a lot of credence that something had.”

“True. But I don’t know how blackouts work from drugs. I mean, I only had one glass of wine the whole night, and that’s not going to knock me out.”

Katelyn turned her head sharply again looking at her friend. “What did you just say?”

“I said he must have dosed me with a drug because I only had one glass of wine. I’m sure of it. You know me–I’m just not much of a drinker ever since, well… You know my strict limit is one drink. And besides, this isn’t like a hangover; it’s something different.” Amber looked back at her friend and sensed that something was up. “Why?”

“Of course! You’ve mentioned it several times.” Katelyn was tapping her chin while looking down at the ground. She seemed to be talking more to herself. “How did I miss that? I must be tired.”

Her eyes swung back up to Amber and she slid her hair behind her right ear. “No, one glass of wine wouldn’t have enough alcohol to affect your memory.” Here she paused and reached over to take Amber’s other hand. “But what about one glass of wine late at night after having had several Jello shots earlier in the evening?”

Amber stared at her blankly for a moment. “What?” The tugging in the back of her mind started getting more frantic.

“Steve’s party? The Jello? Didn’t you tip a few back before they ended up being used as a wrestling mat?”

The tugging started to tear something open and there was a trickle of memory…

Her reluctance to go to the party, but acquiescing to Katelyn as she hated the image of being “one of the quiet ones”. Katelyn’s whistling approval of her skirt and boot combo. The loud music, too many people, the reek of alcohol everywhere, and way too much body heat. So dreadfully thirsty.

A girl offering her a Dixie cup “for dessert”. Carelessly tossing it back, the cool Jello’s texture refreshing on her parched throat, but finding the alcoholic taste and the odd salty flavor behind it not to her liking.

“No, wait, I’m starting to remember. I just had one, but it tasted weird.”

Katelyn frowned. “You remember something? That’s great!. Are you sure it was just one? And weird how? I hate Jello so I didn’t have any.”

Amber thought hard. The tugging was worse and almost felt like a buzzing that was interfering with her thought process. “I don’t know. Tasted like raspberries and booze and…” She shrugged. “Kind of salty maybe? I didn’t like it, but I’d already swallowed. The chick who handed it to me said something too, like ‘now the party’s started.'”

…party started…

…started.

Like the trickle of water ahead of the Okavango Delta flood, the tugging in the back of Amber’s mind ripped completely free, and flashes passed through her head in quick succession: