A Fighting Chance (Tom Holland AU) [2]

Sixteen

Trigger warning--this chapter deals with spiking of a drink in attempts of rendering a person unable to give consent. Feel free to skip this chapter if you wish; I will include the plot piece revealed in this chapter at the beginning of the next chapter for those who do, along with the explanation that will be included at the end of this one.

Because Eternally Hunted was such an intense show, Ryan and I both knew we wouldn't get a whole lot of downtime. So, before rehearsals and preparation for production started, we decided we'd have a night out. Tom, Steph and I decided to take Ryan out for a night at a club.

Since my incident over two years ago, I had begun the process of warming up to drinking in public again. We were going to the exact same club that it happened in, but I didn't want to show any more weakness to what had happened.

As we walked in, I pulled Tom and Steph aside. "Keep an eye on me?" They nodded, both knowing I was intending on drinking a couple of drinks that night. I hadn't told Ryan the situation, mainly because it was still something I wasn't comfortable talking about.

As the night progressed, we were having a great time. I was three drinks in, and I was feeling a buzz. Back in college, three drinks wouldn't do anything to me, but I wasn't drinking as heavily as I did then. I attributed my foggy mind to my tolerance having lessened since I stopped partying so hard.

That was the exact opposite of what was going on.

Ryan said something along the lines of getting another drink before heading back to the bar. He was gone for longer than I would have imagined, and the next thing I could tell was that something happened behind the bar. Ryan came rushing up to us. "I just knocked the bartender out and called the police. Get Grace somewhere quiet and private while we all wait for the cops and paramedics."

Tom and Steph exchanged a glance before they walked me to a quiet, secluded lounge area of the bar. "How do you feel, Grace?"

"I... I think I'm..." I leaned my head against Tom, and I could see him bite his lip.

"Shit." His voice was soft, and I snuggled into him gently. Steph's eyes were wide as she grabbed my hand.

Soon, I could see Ryan walking with a pair of paramedics walking toward me. "Hey, Grace? These nice paramedics are gonna take you to the hospital, okay?"

"O-okay..." Tom stood with me for balance, but the paramedics stopped him and held onto me for balance.

"My apologies, sir, but due to the nature of her situation, we cannot let you come with us."

That was the last thing I remember.

I woke up soon after in a hospital bed. I looked over to see Steph sitting in a chair. "How are you, sweetie?"

"I, uh... oh fuck." I felt the same way I did when my original incident occurred.

"I know, honey. But hey, on the bright side, we know who did it. Both times." I raised an eyebrow at that. "The bartender. Apparently, he bragged to Ryan about the first time and told him he was three drinks into trying again."

"Was he trying to...?" She nodded, and at that, my blood ran cold.

"I'm so sorry, love." Her voice was soft at that. "They did some blood tests to try to figure out what he used, but he's locked up."

"Where's Tom? I think I remember him trying to come with me."

"He did try. They wouldn't let him ride in the ambulance with you, so we got a cab. He stayed in the room with us and signed all of the consent forms as your fiancé, but he had to leave for an interview about an hour ago."

"And Ryan?"

"He had a meeting with his trainer today, but he called the producers and explained your situation. They're going to delay everything until you're okay." She squeezed my hand gently. "He knows why you didn't say anything to him, and he's not upset. He told me to let him know when the blood work came back."

"Has it?"

"No. They were understaffed in the lab at night, so they've been delayed in testing." I took a deep breath, my head pounding.

Just as I was about to call a nurse and ask for painkillers, there was a knock at my room door. "Come in." The door opened and a doctor walked in.

"Your blood tests came back, Grace. We were able to determine that he was using the date rape drug GHB, which means this incident qualifies as eligible for criminal proceedings." I nodded softly, which only caused my headache to worsen.

"That's good. Am I allowed to get some painkillers? My head is pounding." At that, the doctor sighed.

"We were able to find something else through your bloodwork." Steph and I exchanged a nervous glance. What did that mean?

After we found out what the whole situation was, I decided to press charges and create a criminal case against the bartender. I was livid about the whole situation, but there were a few silver linings to look at. On one hand, I was glad to finally have some closure about what I had gone through.

I also had something pretty big to tell Tom.

Even though I felt awful, I wanted to go shopping and buy something for him. I needed him to know the whole situation, but being the extra bitch that I am, I needed to get something to help that.

Later, I was sitting in the living room with a gift bag on the coffee table and a mug of tea in my hand as I waited for him to get home. I had my favorite movie, 10 Things I Hate About You playing so I could get my mind off of last night. As I heard the door open, I looked back and smiled at Tom. "Hi there, darling. How was everything at the hospital?" He knew that they had found the substance and that I was pressing charges, but Steph and I hadn't told him everything.

"It was pretty good. Hey, I have something for you." I smiled as I patted the couch, and when he sat down, he saw the gift bag.

This is never something that should happen. I'm fully aware of that, and it is something I am not a fan of. With that being said, my hopes is that the inclusion of this will call attention to how awful it is. I want to call people out on r**e so that our society will stop protecting them.