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Zak frowned, spinning one of his rings around. “Are you pissed off with me because I’m pissed off with Ana?”
“No,” I lied.
He raised an eyebrow. “What do you expect, Maddy? You were absolutely ruined because she slipped vodka into your drink. Enough to make you and Emma puke like I’ve never seen puke before.” He turned to face me, lifting his knee to the sofa and keeping one foot on the floor. “Do you know how worried me, and Liam were about you both?”
“Yes, I know, so you’ve told me.” I just about stopped at rolling my eyes, mainly because it hurt when I did.
“It was totally stupid. What if we hadn’t been there? What if there’d been some dick lads who decided to take advantage of you both? Another couple of drinks and you wouldn’t have been able to see, never mind stand.” His jaw was tight as he gritted out the words, his fisted hand pushing into his seat as heemphasised the danger he’d considered us to be in. “The thought of that makes me feel sick.”
“I’m sorry, I should have been more careful, but she’s my friend, Zak.”
He shook his head, disdainfully. “Friends don’t do that sort of thing.”
“It was a joke,” I stressed.
“Well, I don’t really see it that way.” He shifted a little closer. “A joke makes you laugh, and there was nothing funny about last night.”
“Seriously, Zak.”
A tight knot developed in my chest as our eyes met. Zak’s were full of fear, and I couldn’t understand why. I’d been drunk, and yes, Ana had done got me in that condition, but I’d been safe. It wasn’t like I hadn’t been drunk before.
“Why are you getting so uptight about it.” Grabbing a cushion, I hugged it to my stomach, pressing my fingers into it. “We were fine. You and Liam were there. Loads of people from our year were there.”
“But what if we hadn’t been? What if you’d been at a party with people you didn’t know?” He gave a frustrated sigh. “Your best friendwasthere, and she was the one who got you into that state.”
“And you’ve never spiked anyone’s drink,ever?”
He shook his head, his lips tight and thin. “Never.”
I scoffed and felt the sofa dip as Zak moved closer to me.
“I haven’t and never would.”
“Okay, I believe you, but you don’t need to get so uptight about Ana. I’ll speak to her.”
“I know you think I’m overreacting Maddy, but I’ve seen what something like that can do to people.”
I frowned. “What do you mean? When?”
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed and then licked his lips. “My friend had her drink spiked at a party once and ended up being sexually assaulted. If it hadn’t been for one of my mates walking in on them she would probably have been raped. She’s been traumatised ever since. She never goes out and doesn’t trust anyone.” Inhaling through his nose, he shook his head. “That is not what I want to happen to you.”
I felt a sudden flash of guilt as I saw Zak’s fear replaced with sadness. It was clear that he’d been affected by his friend’s trauma, and I understood a little more why he was so angry about what Ana had done.
Throwing the cushion to one side, I moved closer to him and grabbed his hand. Instantly, his fingers wrapped around mine and squeezed them tight, tension, fear and sadness coming off him in waves.
“I’m sorry about your friend.”
Zak breathed out as he nodded. “She’s still suffering because of it, and when I saw you like that, well it brought it all back and honestly, Mads,” he said pulling me closer, “I was petrified about what could have happened. I wish that I’d taken more notice of what was happening at that party. If only I’d noticed how out of it Ruby was. But I didn’t.”
It made sense as to why he was so angry with Ana for what she’d done. Why he was insistent that I speak to her. “Did they get whoever did it?”
He shook his head. “When Oscar walked in and saw what was happening, he pulled the guy off Ruby. He punched Oscar and ran out, though. No one knew who he was and there was, and Ruby was the only one who’d spent much time with him, and of course, she couldn’t remember anything about him. Oscar saw what he was doing and clearly how far he was going to take it.” He sat back, taking me with him so that I was sitting in his lap. “Seeing you like that it just brought it all back.”
When he brushed my messy hair from my face, I leaned into his touch, enjoying the coolness of his palm against my hungover heated skin.
“I’m sorry that you were scared for me. And I promise that I’ll speak to Ana about it.”
He sagged and breathed out, letting his forehead drop to mine. “Only if you want to do it for you. Please don’t do it for me. I’m just being over protective.” Placing a soft kiss on my lips, Zak’s thumb stroked my jaw. “I’d hate it if anything happened to you.”
