It was like I was trapped in a fog. I vaguely felt arms round me as I tried to push away. I tried to scream or beg but the words didn't come as anything other than quiet whimpers. I heard people talking around me but I couldn't comprehend what they were saying. As I heard a car door close, I felt myself slip back into the fog.

I groaned as I tried to open my eyes but bright lights flooded my senses.

"Letty? Are you awake?" I heard Mia's frantic voice and felt her grab my hand. I nodded slowly and peeked out of one eye.

"I'll go get a nurse…" Mr. T excused himself.

"Where am I?"

"The hospital." She responded quietly, squeezing my hand.

"Why? What happened?"

"You don't remember anything?" Mia asked confused.

"No. It's all kind of a blur… What happened?"

"Well, I guess some guy drugged your drink and he tried to…" Her voice cracked and she let the sentence hang. I sat up a little, fully awake now.

"And? What happened? Did he...?"

"No! No, no, no. Somehow you managed to get away and you fell down some stairs and passed out. So you'll be sore from the stairs, but you weren't… you know… You're okay. We just didn't know what to do because at the time we didn't know what had happened. So Vince picked you up, and he and I took you took you here. Dom went after the guy."

"How'd he know who it was?" I asked as it all sunk in. I tried to piece it together in my mind, but I could only make up the situations, not recall any actual memories.

"Well I told him who it was, since you had been talking to him for most of the night, but he seemed to already know who he was. I assume he saw you talking to the guy all night. But anyway, Dom went after him. Beat the shit out of him." She said with a small amount of pride in her voice. I gave a weak smile.

How could I not remember this? How did I let something like this happen to me to begin with? I swallowed the lump in my throat as the tears stung the corners of my eyes. I turned y head away from Mia and she squeezed my hand reassuringly. I bit my lip and closed my eyes in an effort to calm myself. I took a deep breath when the door opened and I opened my eyes.

"Hello Letty, I'm Carla, I'm the nurse assigned to your case. I'd like to talk to you a bit now that you've woken up." She said pleasantly. I nodded and Mr. T gave Mia a look from the doorway and she got up and left after another gentle squeeze.

"All right. So can you tell me anything you remember about last night?" She asked sweetly.

"I really don't remember much. I remember going there… Talking to some people…" I wasn't sure if I should tell her everything. I wondered if I could get in trouble for underage drinking through the hospital.

"Do you remember accepting any drinks from someone you don't know."

"Is that how I got drugged?"

"It's the most common method of slipping girls drugs without their knowing. Do you remember who gave you the drink?"

"I remember who I was talking to. I assume he's the one that gave me the drink. I don't actually remember getting a drink from anyone, but my friend Mia said it must have been the same guy."

"Well you are very fortunate. The drugs were not of high quality which is why you still maintained some mobility and consciousness for enough time to get away. Most girls are not as lucky as you, which brings me to my next question. Are you interested in pressing charges?"

"I didn't know I could do that." I shifted uncomfortably. Hell, why the fuck would I know what to do in a situation like this?

"Yes. Chances are that other girls are in the same situation and would come out of the woodwork to support your case. You have a strong case as it is, as we have proof of drugs being in your system, and you were seen with the man all evening before the two of you disappeared together. You are also underage by law of the state of California."

"I don't know… I kind of just want to forget about the whole thing…" I admitted with tears in my eyes.

"Well. How about I give you some information and you think about it for a little while, talk it over with your parent or guardian? You don't need to make any decisions right now." She gave me a reassuring smile and I nodded and took a deep breath. She exited and within seconds, Mia rushed back in. She wasn't alone though. Vince hurried in behind her and Dom leaned against the doorframe awkwardly.

"Hey girl, how you feelin'?" Vince asked squeezing one of my feet under the hospital blanket. I suddenly became aware of the fact I was in a thin hospital gown with no bra on. I pulled the blanket up under my arms and shrugged.

"I've been better." I responded, putting on a brave face.

"What'd she want to talk to you about?" Mia pried.

"Mia! It's none of your business…" Mr. T chided from the doorway with Dom.

"it's cool. She wanted to know if I wanted to press charges."

"And?" Mia prodded.

"I said I didn't know…"

"What the fuck do you mean you don't know?" Vince shouted with bulging eyes. I looked at him surprised.

"Do you know what he could have done to you?" he continued, "You have to put that fucker behind bars!"

"Vince, language." Mr. T reprimanded, looking into the hallway to make sure no one heard V's cursing.

"I just want to forget about it…" I said looking out the window with a furrowed brow. I bit my lip as I fought the tears again. Fuck!

"How about we go get something to eat, and give Letty some alone time, hmm?" Mr. T suggested in a tone that meant 'get your asses in the hallway'. Mia and Vince both dragged their feet but followed him. I continued to stare out the window in the silence.

"You know V's right…" I jumped when I heard Dom's deep voice. I looked in the direction and he was standing next to my bed, looking over me out the window as well. I didn't say anything and just looked at him. He looked tired. And he had some bruising on his face; apparently the guy had tried to fight back. I'm sure the fucktard looked worse; I'd seen Dom's handiwork before. Not pretty, that's for sure.

I sighed and closed my eyes, resting my head back on the pillow.

"I don't know what I should do…" I mumbled, mostly to myself. I felt his hand wrap gently over my wrist. I reflexively jerked it away and my eyes shot open as I cowered and tears threatened to spill. I looked at Dom and his eyes were wide with surprise.

"Letty, I'm not going to hurt you…"

"Please don't touch me… Please…" I begged quietly.

"Letty it's okay…" he responded concerned. But I wasn't seeing Dom.

"No! Just get away from me! Please stop…" I begged as I cried. He moved back from the bed with his hands raised.

"Letty relax, it's me. Dom." I continued to beg and cry until Dom finally pushed the Call Nurse button. She rushed in and looked between us.

"I didn't do anything!" He said instantly.

"Sir, please leave."

"But—"

"Sir! If you could please wait outside…" She said ushering him out.

She came over to me and wrapped her arms around me. At that point I just started bawling. I heard someone rush in and grab me from the nurse gently. I recognized the scent immediately.

"I'm here baby… Shh... Mama's here." I latched onto my mother and sobbed into her chest. She crawled into my hospital bed with me and I curled up with her. She held me until I was all cried out. She stroked my hair and rocked me in a way that only mom's can do. Finally I just laid against her numb.

"I'm sorry Mama…"

"For what?"

"For letting this happen to me… I should have known better."

"Oh my child. Leticia, you don't need to apologize for anything. You are the victim here. You didn't do anything wrong."

"But I shouldn't have been there at all… And I shouldn't have—"

"Honey, we can all go back in time and see things we should have done differently. The point is that a man saw you and targeted you to be his victim. You made a mistake, but what he tried to do is so much worse than anything you ever could have done. I'm just so thankful I have such a strong daughter." I scoffed.

"Letty, you have no idea how lucky you are. How strong you are. You have the power to put this man away. To stop him from hurting girls that aren't as strong as you. Who can't get away. Who aren't as fortunate."

"So we should press charges?" I asked wiping my face.

"It's up to you." She said simply. I nodded.

"Yeah… I think we should. I don't want to be like this…"

"Yeah you gave Dominic quite the scare."

"Oh shit Dom!" I didn't even care that I had cursed in front of my mother. She didn't seem too upset about it either; I guess she was letting it slide due to the whole situation.

"I didn't mean it… It's just he touched my arm and all of a sudden I wasn't seeing him. I was seeing… Him. The guy. It was like I was back there again. I just want this all to go away." I said with my lip quivering again. My mother continued to sooth me as I cried on and off for God knows how long. It felt good to let it all out now. There were few times I was so thankful for my mother as this one. That woman is a pillar of strength in a hurricane.

I stayed in the hospital another night, even though I felt fine. It was mainly for psych evaluations and to keep an eye on me. My mom took me home and stayed home with me all day, despite missing work. She said she had accumulated some time off anyway. Sleeping was awful. It wasn't that I had nightmares, it was that every shadow in my room scared me. I was terrified that if I closed my eyes, somehow he would come out of a dark corner and grab me. The doctors ended up prescribing me drugs to sleep, which helped but left me feeling hollow. Like I didn't have a soul. I just sat around the house doing nothing. Mia kept her distance, I assume by Mr. T's orders because I knew she'd be itching to see me. He did bring by lasagna for us to eat but I hardly felt like eating anything, another symptom of the meds. After about two weeks of being a zombie I just stopped taking the sleeping meds. I couldn't handle not feeling anything anymore. The same day, my mom had to go back to work so Mia was put in charge of making sure I didn't throw myself off the roof or whatever they thought I would do. Like I couldn't take on Mia if I really wanted?

"Stop being so awkward." I commanded after sitting in silence with her for a few minutes.

"Sorry… I... just don't know what to say." She admitted honestly.

"How're Dom and Vince?" I asked trying to start conversation.

"They're okay. You really gave Dom a scare."

"Yeah... I feel bad about that… is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's just freak out. We came back from getting food and he was curled up in the hospital hallway with his head in his hands. The nurse told us it wasn't unusual for girls to have flashbacks when other guys get near them." She shrugged.

"Yeah it was really weird… it was like I wasn't seeing Dom at all. I just freaked… I should probably say something to him…"

"I'm not all that concerned about him. You're the one with the traumatic experience." I rolled my eyes.

"I wish people would stop treating me like I'm about to break. I'm fine. I'm just sick of being stuck at home."

"Well you could come over for dinner." Mia suggested and I nodded. I ran upstairs and washed up a little, throwing on a sports bra, tank, and loose-fitting basketball shorts. We walked to her house as the sky was turning amber with the setting sun. It was nice to have some fresh air and some company.

Mmk. So this is just a follow up to the previous one and a set up for the next one or two. :) I'm gonna knock them out quickly, no worries. :) And there will be some yummy goodness in them. Watched Los Bandoleros today so I'm high on some Letty/Dom cuteness. Sorry it took so long.