As she approached the bar, Lexi noticed the crowd clearing from the direction of the dance floor. Curious, Lexi moved forward to find out what was going on. Her heart began pounding furiously in her ears. She immediately felt sober and alert as adrenaline pumped through her system at record speeds. She darted forward into the open space her breathing accelerating with fear.
"What happened to her?" Lexi asked reaching her hand and placing it on Chyna's forehead. A man was holding her limp in his arms and she looked as if she were completely passed out. There was no way that this could have happened in the time they had been separated. Chyna drank too much to get black out drunk in this short period of time. There was just no way that alcohol could have made her pass out this way with her tolerance.
"Is she okay?" She knew her voice was hysterical, but she couldn't control it.
Lexi didn't even care who the guy was that was carrying her. She was just so terrified that she was losing her best friend. How could she let one more terrible thing happen in her life? Hadn't she suffered enough?
"Do you know this woman?" the man asked his voice deep and husky.
"Of course I know her. She's my best friend. What's wrong with her?"
"Let's get out of here," he said nodding his head toward the exit.
Lexi didn't even think twice. She bolted towards the door. All she could think about was Chyna's safety. A wave of guilt washed over her as she thought about how she had let her wander off even with a bad feeling in her stomach. Had she allowed this to happen? Somehow she couldn't help thinking that this was partly her fault. What type of person let this happen?
Just as she reached the door, she felt a hand reach out and grip her wrist. "There you are." Lexi recognized the man who she had been avoiding and nearly cursed a loud.
"Get your hands off me," she cried unable to deal with him while she had Chyna to worry about.
"Oh come on baby. Let's go back to my place," he moaned groping her body. She smacked his arm with her free hand, but he was too drunk to even notice.
"I hope I never see you again, you sick, twisted fuck," she yelled rearing back and kicking him full on in the shin with her high heel.
The guy stumbled backwards a few steps directly into a large bouncer dressed head to toe in black. "You stupid bitch," the guy yelled pulling his leg up and hopping on one foot.
"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave," the bouncer commanded gripping the obnoxiously drunk man by the shoulder and shoving him out the front door.
Lexi couldn't even take time to consider what had just happened because Chyna was still on her mind. She followed the man who was carrying Chyna out the front door. "Sorry about that. What's going on?" Lexi asked concerned.
"Honestly, I think she's been drugged. She's still conscious. She just needs some looking after and will be better in the morning," he said setting Chyna uneasily back on her feet. She took one step forward giving Lexi the faintest burst of energy and then slumped back into the man's arms.
"Oh my God! She's been drugged. Like roofied?" Lexi asked hysterical. "How could this happen?"
"Can we get her somewhere safe first?" he asked obviously worrying about her safety first and foremost.
"Oh you're right. Hold on," Lexi cried punching a number on her cell phone. Less than a minute later, Chyna's town car was pulling around the corner. Her driver parked and hopped out anxious to see that his beautiful celebutante was all but dead. The two laid her down carefully in the backseat before diving in after her.
"I'm Adam. Sorry about your friend," he said consolingly slumping back against the leather interior.
"Lexi," she managed a half-smile in his direction as an introduction. "What happened?" Lexi asked brushing hair out of Chyna's face and staring at her with a worried look on her face.
"I don't know everything really. She was dancing with some guy. When I finally noticed something was off, he was nearly carrying her out of the backdoor. She wasn't quite this bad then, but she was a mess for sure. I politely told him to back the f**k off or I'd deck him. He didn't listen," he explained calmly.
"Wow how did you know she was drugged?" Lexi asked her eyes wide with admiration for Chyna's savior.
"My girlfriend…uh ex-girlfriend," he said sighing heavily, "it happened to her a couple months ago. Same signs." He shrugged it off as if it meant nothing, but Lexi could see the hurt take over his features. She knew that feeling and could empathize with his pain even if she didn't know the whole situation.
"Wha…what happened with your girlfriend?" Lexi asked cautiously.
"She was fine. The next morning she had a killer headache, but other than that she was fine," he said avoiding the second part of the question.
"Oh, well that's reassuring," Lexi said letting them fall into silence as the town car took them through the city traffic. Lexi gripped Chyna's unresponsive hand in her own and prayed that Adam was right. Her friend would be alright by the morning and things would be back to the way they were supposed to be.
"Hey," Adam said reaching out cautiously and touching her knee. "Try not to blame yourself."
"Blame myself?" Lexi squeaked out.
"I did. It doesn't help. It was just a mistake, alright? Nothing you could have done," he said sitting back once more and staring forward.
Lexi nodded knowing he was right. There was no way to know that sleaze ball was going to drug her friend. They had been out together a million and a half times and nothing like this had ever happened. What were the chances that tonight of all nights it would happen? That it would ever happen?
When they stopped in front of Chyna's building, Bernard rushed forward to help them, but Adam insisted that he could handle it. Bernard looked at Lexi skeptically obviously wondering if it was appropriate to be leaving her with a perfect stranger. Under different circumstances it would have made Lexi laugh that Bernard was concerned about something like that since Chyna brought a whole lot of strangers back here. Tonight was not under different circumstances though.
Adam carried her up to her room and deposited her on the bed. He left the room allowing Lexi to change Chyna into more comfortable clothes. She then tucked her under the covers and left her there to sleep off whatever was put into her system.
"Are you sure we shouldn't take her to the hospital?" Lexi asked anxiously.
"I think she'll be fine honestly. If I was worried, then I would have already taken her there. I think she just needs to sleep it off," Adam told her standing in the middle of the living room rather comfortably.
Lexi was a bit surprised about this since most people who saw Chyna's extravagance were either amazed or incredibly uncomfortable. "Is there any way we can repay you for what you did?" Lexi asked knowing for some reason that he would never take money even though he could tell Chyna had plenty of it.
"Absolutely not. I would have done the same for anyone," he reassured her.
"Are you sure?"
"Look if you want to do something for me, then take my number and let me know how she's doing in the morning. I'd feel like a real dick if she was really hurt and I didn't do anything about it," he said running his hand through his shaggy, dirty, blonde hair.
Lexi smiled for the first time since she had found Chyna in the condition she was in. They exchanged numbers and Lexi showed him out the door. "Thanks again," she said just before closing the door behind him.
She couldn't believe the night that she was having. But it really put things in perspective. What if something had happened to her or what if their relationship faltered because of it? Isn't that what Adam had alluded to in the car? He and his girlfriend had suffered because of this. It wasn't worth it to wait around and hope that everything was going to be better when so much could come crashing down on your life. She needed to take action. She needed to do something to make sure this wasn't a climactic moment in her life.
Falling backwards onto the leather sofa, Lexi kicked her heels off and then dug around in her purse for her cell phone. Finding the number she was looking for, she punched the dial button and waited. She didn't care that it was almost three o'clock in the morning.
"Lexi?" Ramsey's voice answered obviously very surprised to hear from her. She wasn't sure where he was, but wherever it was had a lot of background noise.
"What are you doing on Saturday?" she asked louder than she wanted to speak, but she wanted to make sure he heard her.
"Hold on one second." After a minute, Lexi heard the noise die down and his voice come back through the line. "What did you say?"
"What are you doing on Saturday?" she repeated her question unable to believe she was doing this.
"Um…working probably. Why? What's up?" he asked his voice tentative but obviously curious.
"I have to go to an engagement party because Chyna's dad is getting remarried. It's a long story, but I'm supposed to bring a boyfriend and I don't have one. Will you go with me?" she asked rambling on despite herself. Her stomach had started knotting all over again at the fact that she was actually asking him to do this for her.
"You want me to go as your boyfriend?" he asked skeptically.
"You don't have to. I just…uh…it's for Chyna. She's really beat up and she got roofied tonight."
"What? Is she okay?" he asked flipping out.
"Yeah. She's just crashing right now. I just need to make this right for her."
"I'll get out of work and be at JFK as soon as I can Saturday," he said altering his decision immediately.
"Oh thank you so much," she said honestly grateful that she wouldn't have to search for another guy to go with her.
"Hey Lexi…"
"Yeah?"
"It's really good to hear from you."
Lexi smiled to herself. "Yeah, it's good to hear from you too."
"Even if you don't have everything together, I'm really glad you called."
Lexi couldn't help but think how glad she was too.
* * *
K.A. Linde
Best News
The present's just a pleasant
Interruption to the past
And you don't want to look much closer
'Cause you're afraid to find out all the hope
That you had sent into the sky by now had... crashed
And it did because of me
- Something Corporate "Konstantine"
* * *
Chapter 3: Present
"You know I like Ramsey, right?" Chyna asked sighing as she fell backwards onto her plush, king-sized bed. The comforter had recently been changed into a maroon and gold ensemble with massive quantities of matching throw pillows of every size and shape imaginable covering the pillow top.
Lexi looked up from where she had been digging through her backpack and smiled. She knew exactly how Chyna felt about Ramsey. He was one of the few guys who had ever bypassed her appearance for her personality. Chyna found that type of behavior extremely appealing, and it didn't matter to her whether or not they ever hooked up from that point on. If he made it a point not to be interested in her, then she could respect his obvious devotion to Lexi. Chyna always had a weak spot for loyalty.