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It was a Saturday night, and I was at a bar in San Francisco with my friend Piper. It was her idea, since she finally wanted me to make a move on a guy. I’d never been the type to get with a bunch of guys, but I agreed. I needed to do something with someone. We pregamed at Piper’s, but we also decided to order some shots at the bar. I started to take shots of the vodka, not realizing that someone had slipped something into it. It burned the back of my throat, and as I drank, my vision started to get blurrier and I lost my handle on the world around me.
I accidentally got separated from Piper since she had went over to talk to Jason, her boyfriend who happened to be there. I was getting drunker by the second. Some guy came up behind me and put his hands on my waist, having a very harsh grip on me. I didn’t know who it was, but I knew that I wanted them off me. Unfortunately, since I was so drunk and drugged, my pleas weren’t strong enough and the guy kept holding me down.
As he started to turn me away from the crowd and towards the bathrooms, Percy saw me. He went to my university—a tall, strong, and handsome swimmer. I talked to him sometimes, but we still didn’t talk too much. We used to be closer, when I was in my first year of university, but we grew apart. I didn’t think he wanted to be friends with me anymore.
I didn’t even know he was there, and before I even realized it was him, he already read my pained expression. “Step away from her,” he said. “She clearly doesn’t want to be with you.”
“Chill, man,” said the man who was holding me. “Don’t get messed up in things that don’t involve you. Let me have some fun.” His grip on me tightened.
“I said get away from her,” Percy said, with a fierceness I had never heard in his voice.
“God, man. Fine,” said the other guy. He let me go and pushed me slightly towards the ground. I stumbled, thinking I was going to hit the ground, but I didn’t. I felt warm, strong hands around me: one under my arm, and the other around my waist.
“Hey, Annabeth,” Percy said gently, careful not to startle me. I didn’t think he was going to help me. I was so surprised, I just looked at him with glassy, wide eyes. “It’s okay, you’re safe,” he said, and I immediately choked up. I was still drunk, and hadn’t realized what was happening. I let out a sob, tears streaming down my cheeks.
“I-I’m sorry,” I choked out, my body shaking.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Percy whispered gently into my hair. “Don’t apologize.” He had pulled me into a hug now. One of his hands was wrapped around my waist, keeping me steady. The other was caressing my hair and back, stroking it soothingly. We stood there for a while.
Eventually, when my breathing had slowed down, Percy broke the silence. “I’m going to take you home. Is that okay?” he asked gently. I nodded wordlessly. He moved his hand from my back and put it under my arm, holding me up. We slowly walked out from the bar and to his car.
When we made it to his car, which was one block away, he opened the door of the passenger seat and helped me into the car. I started to get really woozy, and could barely keep my eyes open. I struggled to get the seatbelt on as Percy walked over to the driver’s seat. Seeing my struggle, he reached over the center console and helped me click it into place. Since Percy already knew where I lived, he punched in my address and started to drive. I fell asleep to the hum of the car.
When I woke up, Percy was standing over me with the door to the passenger seat open. He removed my seatbelt and helped me up.
“I-I’m okay. I don’t need your help,” I said, my face flushing.
“Okay. I’m still gonna walk you up,” he said. I nodded and got out of the car. We walked to the front of my building, to the elevator, and up to the thirteenth floor. We stepped out and made it to unit 1315. As I was reaching for my keys, I felt bile coming up my throat. I unlocked the door and bolted to the bathroom, vomiting into the toilet. Percy ran after me, wondering what was wrong. I retched into the toilet, not being able to stop throwing up. There were tears streaming down my face. Percy wordlessly came up behind me and collected my hair into his hands.
In between retches, I croaked out, “It-It hurts.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay. I’ve got you,” Percy said, rubbing my back in slow, sooting circles. I kept vomiting violently, until finally after what felt like hours, I stopped.
“I’m s-sorry. I-I don’t know what happened,” I choked, tears still streaming down my cheeks. With his thumbs, Percy wiped the tears away. “I think someone drugged me.”
“Yeah. That man,” Percy said, and helped me up. “You’re safe. Don’t worry. Let’s get you cleaned up.” Since Percy and I used to be close, he knew where everything was in my apartment. He grabbed me a new shirt and some shorts, and handed them to me. I went back to the bathroom to change.
Once I came out, Percy was waiting by my bed. “Are you feeling any better? Are you okay?” he asked, the concern evident in his eyes.
“Yeah, I guess. Thank you,” I said, and I couldn’t resist choking up again. “So much.”
Percy wordlessly pulled me into a hug, his hands resting on my head and my waist. “Don’t mention it,” he whispered, stroking my hair. “It’s okay. You’re safe.” Eventually, Percy helped me into my bed, continuing to rub soothing circles on my back. He sat there for a second, making sure I was okay.
“Y-you can go if you want. I’ll be fine,” I said in a small voice.
“No. I’ll stay with you, don’t worry,” he said gently. He went over to turn the lights off, and sat next to me.
“You can l-lay with me. If you want,” I stumbled out, my cheeks flushed. Percy nodded, and climbed into bed beside me.
“Goodnight ‘Beth,” Percy whispered.
“Goodnight Perce,” I said back. I felt Percy place a gentle kiss on my hair, as a promise that everything would be okay. I felt myself be lulled away by sleep, knowing I would be safe because of the boy beside me.