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"Maybe you shouldn't have gone there that night. Maybe you should have told a little less lies. Maybe you shouldn't have gone and ruined my life"

~ One Night (Picture This)

HANNAH

As I stood there fidgeting with my fingers, I could hear my heart beating loudly in my ear. It wasn't enough to drown out the sounds coming from the room, but it was loud enough to engulf me in my own thoughts. 

What if she was just waking him up? 

I nodded. Yeah, a lot of couples do this. Right?

Unsure, I looked at him again. 

No. It can't be. The person sleeping usually wakes up in response by this point. It usually doesn't take much, no matter how much of a heavy sleeper they might be. 

This man was out.

I gulped hard, realizing I'd already made up my mind.

I'm pretty sure I wasn't breathing as I walked through the door. I felt like I was going to choke on my words when I opened my mouth to speak. "What the hell are you doing?" My voice sounded a lot more solid than I'd expected. The harshness of it even surprised me.

The girl stopped moving, turning around with wide wide eyes. "What? Get out, you freak! We're in the middle of something here."

Bravery wrapped its hands around my terrified heart, pushing me to walk farther into the room. "No, it looks like you're in the middle of something. He looks passed out."

"And?"

"You're having sex with a guy who is not awake," I replied, straightening my posture. I walked closer, hardening my eyes in her direction.

"Again, and?"

I couldn't understand if she genuinely didn't get what I was saying or if she was just playing stupid. "He can't consent if he's out drunk." I pulled out my phone. "So this," I waved at her, "what you're doing is rape."

That made her recoil, wiping that smirk right off of her face. "What? That has to be a joke. He's a guy."

I stared back at her, utterly confused. "And?"

Her eyebrows furrowed. "And I'm a girl. I can't rape him. He can just push me off."

I blinked. She has to be kidding.

No, she was staring at me. Dead serious.

"How can he push you off if he's passed out?"

"Uhh..." it took her a moment to come up with something. When she hit a dead end, she let out a soft sigh. "It's not like he's not gonna consent when he wakes up."

I almost started laughing at the absurdity of what I was hearing, but thankfully, I refrained. "Did you start having sex before he passed out?"

"No."

"Then how do you know he will consent to this?"

She groaned. "Because we've had sex before. Why the hell do you care?"

"Okay, him consenting in the past is not blanket consent for the future." I unlocked my phone and dialed 911, but didn't call. "And I care because I'm a normal human being who doesn't like to let rape happen if I can stop it. So either get the fuck off of him right now or I'm calling the cops."

"You're crazy!" She yelled, evidently frenzied. "I'm 4'11", how can I rape a guy, especially one that's much stronger?"

"Well, for one, you can wait until he's knocked out from having drunk too much, which is what's happening here. That's what you said."

As she stuttered to defend herself, I looked around the room. I finally found what looked to be her clothes and tossed them at her. "You're lucky this won't end up in court. That's what you get for being a girl. Now get off him and get out."

The threat in my voice shocked me. Fear lit up her eyes and she stumbled off him, naked. I shook my head, disgusted that she thought this was okay. I rushed to get the bed cover to cover him quickly before my eyes could see anything.

When I heard her silent footsteps running away, I turned around to make sure she was gone. When I couldn't find any trace of her, I got up and locked the door. Returning to the guy's side, I took out my water bottle and placed it on the nightstand. 

Gently, I tried shaking him. When that didn't work, familiar panic rose in my throat. I pushed the terrible memories that tried to invade my thoughts to the back of my head and pushed through. There's a good chance he drank too much and now has alcohol poisoning. I ran my fingers through my hair and put it up in a ponytail. Remembering what I learned about alcohol poisoning, I reached up and pinched his earlobe. He didn't respond to that either.

Taking in a shuddery breath, I tried my best to will the daunting fear that gripped my heart away. I put my knuckles to his chest and rubbed.

Once. Twice.

On the third rub, he stirred, his eyes fluttering open.

I let out a small gasp. "Hey, you're okay," I cooed, as he blinked slowly. When his head turned so his gaze met mine, I swallowed hard.

"What happened?" His voice was low and rough. He looked awful.

I offered him a gentle smile. "You drank too much. I was worried you had alcohol poisoning. Actually, I'm still not sure. Do you think you can sit up? I want to make sure you're okay."

His eyebrows arched slightly, but he gave me a small nod nonetheless. "I can try."

"Okay," I breathed out. "Here, let me help you," I said, offering my arms for him to grab.

He held onto my hands and slowly rose. He let out a loud groan as he slid up to rest his back on the wall. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Once he let go, I rummaged through my bag to find the emergency kit I packed just in case something like this ever happened. "Okay, I'm going to ask you a couple of questions and I need you to answer as fast as you can. They may seem stupid but they do serve a purpose." I looked up to meet his tired eyes. "Sound good?"

He nodded.

"Alright, what day is it?"

He blinked but didn't falter. "Saturday. September 14th."

Such a big relief came over me that I almost cheered. "What country are you in?"

"The US."

"What's your name?" As soon as I asked it, I realized I didn't know the answer, to begin with.

However, he answered it so fast, and surely, I was convinced he was right. "Matthew Dermont."

I nodded, unable to keep from smiling like an idiot. He might be okay. "Good! This is great! Alright, I'm going to check your temperature."

Well, I was also going to check his breathing rate to make sure it wasn't low. I didn't tell him just to make sure he didn't try to alter it.

I took out my thermometer and brought it near his forehead. At the same time, I looked down at my watch to look at the time before counting his breaths for the following thirty seconds. Once the time was up, I removed the thermometer. His breathing rate was normal and so was his temperature. I placed the thermometer on the bedside table next to him and pulled out my phone.

He was watching me quietly as I jotted down his numbers on my phone. I'd have them ready just in case he ended up in the ER, which seemed unlikely since he was doing well. When I finished, I looked up at him. "Your numbers are normal. I don't think you have alcohol poisoning."

"That's good, right?" He asked, catching my eyes.

I nodded. "Yeah, but you can never be too sure. I'd like to keep a close eye on you overnight."

He raised his eyebrows, a mix of shock and discomfort taking over his features. "I'll be fine. This isn't the first time this has happened."

I didn't want to push so instead I took the water bottle I'd put on the nightstand and handed it to him. "Fine. Drink this at least."

He eyed me for a second before nodding and taking a small gulp. "Why do you care so much?"

I chuckled. "About you having something that can kill you?"

That made him smile. "I guess."

"That's not why I came in here in the first place."

"What do you mean?"

Oh, Lord. My throat went dry. Was I supposed to tell him everything? I mean, if I was him I'd like to know. I tried my best to even out my voice as to not freak him out. "Um, I was only looking for a bathroom around the hallway. I heard some...moaning coming from this room. The door was wide open. This girl was having sex with you. She was on top and you were passed out. I felt like I needed to step in. So I did and I kicked her out. And now here we are."

He sat there frozen. My heart was beating through the roof, my dry throat getting dryer. He didn't even blink.

"Was it a blond, really short?" He finally asked. His voice was still low, but devoid of emotion.

My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. "Yes. Oh my God," I covered my mouth with my hand, "was that your girlfriend?"

He studied me for a moment. "Would you have reacted differently if you knew she was my girlfriend?"

I gulped. "No."

"Then why ask?"

Nervousness trickled into my system and suddenly, my hands felt sweaty. "Um. I'm sorry. I really thought she was taking advantage of you."

He looked away at that, taking another gulp of the drink.

Damn. Guilt washed over me. "Here," I said, handing him a granola bar I pulled from my bag. "Eat it slowly. I'll go back to the party and try to find your girlfriend. I'll apologize to her."

His eyes turned to me then. The sadness that sat in them almost broke my heart. "Don't. She's not my girlfriend."

"Wha-but you said-"

"I said "if" not that she actually was."

I breathed out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "But you remember her?"

"Barely. I started drinking before the party started."

I eyed him worriedly for a second before wiping the look off of my face. No one wants pity in moments like this. "Well, that water and granola should help."

Finally, he gave me a small smile. He looked terribly tired and so out of it. But that smile, damn it was gorgeous. I blinked, mentally checking myself.

"Since you'd rather be alone, I need you to put your phone number in here," I said, handing him my phone, "so I can check up on you later tonight."

"You know, that's not necessary."

I chuckled. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to never text you again after tonight. I just want to make sure you're okay."

The broken look he gave me in response almost made me ask him to let me stay again. But he'd declined and I couldn't force him into anything.

I watched as he put in his number. When he handed my phone back to me, it was already saved. I locked it and put it back in my bag. "I'll text you or call a bit later. Drink more water, alcohol is terrible for water retention. And eat food. Greasy food if possible. Okay?"

He was watching me intently, something swimming in his eyes that I couldn't read. "Okay, I will."

I inhaled a big breath. "Promise?"

He smiled. "I promise."

"Lay on your side if you decide to sleep. Try to push it if you can so you can eat and drink more. It'll fight off a hangover tomorrow morning."

"Got it."

I watched him for a second. "Take care, okay?"

He nodded. "I will."

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(please don't forget to comment and vote. thank you so much for all the support)

- what would you have done in Hannah's shoes?

- what do you think about this story so far?