Born to Run Free

Sean carefully laid Celia on his bed, brushing the hair out of her face. He thought about putting her in her own bed, but he really didn’t think she should be left alone in her condition, so he settled on his bed. He watched her for a moment, and he couldn’t help but think what would have happened if he hadn’t showed up. He shook his head, remembering he had told Cooper that he would call him, and he grabbed his phone, walking out into the hallway.

“Is she okay?” Cooper answered, and Sean could tell he was worried for his best friend.

“She’s okay now, but there’s something you should know,” Sean began, and there was a moment of silence, where Cooper was waiting on Sean to continue. “When I got there, Celia was in some back room of the club with two guys. She was passed out on the couch in the room, halfway naked, and the two guys were about ready to rape her,” Sean said in a rush.

“What?” Cooper screamed. “Is she okay?” he repeated his earlier question.

“Yeah,” Sean said. “The guys bolted when I walked in the room, and they hadn’t done anything to her yet, but they were getting ready to. Does Celia always drink this much?” Sean asked.

“She gets drunk, but never to the point where she passes out. What the fuck was she thinking?” Cooper muttered.

“I don’t know,” Sean told him. “She’s here in the hotel room right now, and I’ll keep an eye on her and have her call you tomorrow.”

“Thanks,” Cooper told him, hanging up the phone.

Sean walked back into the bedroom, debating where he was going to sleep since Celia was currently occupying his bed. Deciding that he’d deal with the aftermath in the morning, he stripped his pants and shirt off and slid into bed next to Celia, slowly falling into a deep sleep.

Sean slowly stirred awake when he felt something hit against his chest. He looked down to see Celia’s arm across him, and she was wide awake next to him. “What the fuck happened last night?” she questioned, looking down at herself and Sean to see both of them were only half-clothed.

“It’s not what you think,” Sean said sleepily, rubbing at his eyes to try to wake himself up.

“What happened?” Celia asked.

“What do you remember from last night?” Sean asked her.

She turned to look at him, wondering why he wouldn’t just tell her what had gone on the previous night. “I went to this club because one of my friends invited me. And, then I got there, and I started drinking, and…” she trailed off.

“And, then what?” Sean asked, sitting up in bed and looking over at her.

“I don’t remember,” Celia whispered, trying to rack her brain to remember what had happened.

“Celia, I got a call last night from Cooper asking me to go pick you up because someone called him saying you were completely trashed and out of it. When I got there, you were in some back room, completely passed out, and two guys were getting ready to rape you,” Sean told her, deciding to go ahead and tell her the whole truth.

Celia’s eyes widened in disbelief. “What?” she questioned. “How is that even possible? There’s no way I got that drunk and passed out. I only had two drinks,” she insisted.

“Well, I don’t know what happened then. All I know is that when I got there, you were unconscious, wearing just what you’re wearing right now, and two guys were on top of you, ready to take off your underwear.”

“You’re lying,” Celia said, shaking her head, unable to believe what he was telling her. “Sean, I only had two drinks,” she repeated.

“Why would I lie about this?” he questioned. “If you don’t believe me, call Cooper! I called him when I brought you back last night.”

“I will call him,” Celia told him, getting up out of bed and making her way to her bedroom. She slammed the door behind her, quickly grabbing a t-shirt and a pair of shorts out of her suitcase, throwing them on before she picked up her phone and called Cooper, who picked up on the second ring.

“Celia, are you alright?” he asked without so much as a greeting, and Celia could tell he was worried about her.

“What happened to me last night?” Celia asked, sitting down on the bed. She knew that Cooper hadn’t been there with her last night, but she was hoping that he could fill in the blanks, and that his answers wouldn’t be the same as Sean’s. She still wasn’t ready to believe that Sean had saved her from nearly getting raped. She knew she only had two drinks, and there was no way that was enough alcohol to make her unconscious. “Coop, all I remember is having two drinks with Yvette. The next thing I know, I’m waking up in bed with Sean.”

“What?” Cooper cried. “That mother fucker slept with you—”

“I didn’t sleep with Sean,” Celia interrupted him. “Coop, I need you to tell me what you know about last night.”

“Cel, what’s going on?” Cooper asked worriedly.

“Please, just tell me what you know,” she pleaded.

“I don’t know that much. Yvette called me and said that you were pretty out of it, that you were completely wasted. I knew you needed to get out of there before you did something stupid, like go home with some random guy, if you were that drunk. And, since I’m nowhere near there, I called Sean up, asking him to go get you. He called me when he got you home and told me that you were passed out and that there were two guys that were about to rape you.” He heard sobbing coming from Celia’s end of the phone, and he suddenly stopped. “Cel, what’s wrong?” he asked her.

“Coop, I know I only had two drinks last night,” she choked out. “I wasn’t drunk.”

“Then why were you passed out?” Cooper asked her. “You don’t think someone drugged you, do you?” he asked, the thought just coming into his mind.

“I don’t know,” Celia said. “All I know is that I didn’t drink enough to get drunk, let alone pass out. Coop, what would have happened if you hadn’t have called Sean or if he hadn’t gotten there in time?” she asked, realization suddenly hitting her as to how lucky she really was.

“I don’t know,” Cooper admitted. “But, you owe Sean.”

“Yeah, I do,” she agreed. “Listen, I’m going to go. I need to thank Sean for coming and getting me last night,” she said, wiping at her eyes.

“Okay,” Cooper told her. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Bye, Coop,” she said, hanging up the phone. She slowly opened the door to her room, looking across the hallway into Sean’s room to see he wasn’t in there. She heard the shower running, and she leaned against the wall, waiting on him to come out so she could talk to him.

Five minutes later, Sean walked out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist. He jumped when he saw Celia standing there. “Shit, Celia!” he exclaimed. “You scared the shit out of me. What are you doing just standing there?” he asked, walking down the hallway towards his room.

“I needed to talk to you,” Celia said, following him into his room.

“And, you had to wait right outside the bathroom?” he joked.

“Sorry,” she apologized, realizing he was standing there, waiting on her to leave so he could put his clothes on. She turned around, facing her bedroom, but not leaving the room, waiting on him to get dressed. “And, I was just waiting on you because I needed to talk to you.”

“What the hell are you doing right now?” Sean asked with a small laugh. “Why did you just turn around?”

“I thought you wanted to get dressed,” she said, not turning around just yet.

“Um, Celia, in case you forgot, we’ve slept together. You seeing me naked is the last worry on my mind,” he assured her, causing her to blush. “But, just so you know, I’m dressed,” he told her. Celia slowly turned around to see that Sean had put pants on but remained shirtless. “What’d you need to talk about?” Sean asked her.

“I never properly thanked you,” Celia said quietly.

Sean looked over at her, unsure as to whether he had heard her correctly or not. “Thank me?” he asked.

“Thank you for saving me last night,” Celia told him. “I know I was a bitch this morning, and I’m sorry, but I really am grateful that you came and got me last night. Because if you hadn’t come when you had, I really don’t know what would have happened,” she said, tears springing to her eyes.

“Celia,” Sean began.

“Sean, I only had two drinks,” she told him. “I know I didn’t have enough to get that drunk,” she said, one tear sliding down her cheek as she thought about what happened the night before.

“Do you think someone drugged you?” Sean suddenly asked.

“Coop asked the same thing, and honestly, I don’t know. All I know is that I didn’t drink that much. And, then you tell me that those guys almost raped me, and…” she trailed off as more tears fell from her eyes. Sean took a few steps towards Celia and pulled her in close to him. “Why?” she cried. “Why do I do this to myself? Why do I put myself in these stupid situations?” she asked him.

“I don’t know,” Sean said softly, continuing to hold her.

“I’m such an idiot,” she muttered. “I could have been raped!”

“You’re okay now,” Sean said soothingly, not loosening his grip on her. “You’re going to be just fine,” he assured her.