Sam held back the desire to snap at her for being so freaking stupid. But since that wouldn’t accomplish anything other than alienating her niece, Sam contained herself. “Were you drinking too?”

“Some.”

“How much?”

“A couple of drinks.”

“Do you know what kind of drinks? Beer, wine, booze?”

“Some kind of liquor, I think. It might’ve been vodka.”

“Do you know where the alcohol and the drugs came from?”

“If I tell you, will Hugo get into trouble? His parents were away, and he wasn’t allowed to have anyone over.”

Sam sighed when she thought about the many things she had to tell Brooke about what’d happened that night. “No, he won’t get into trouble.”

“Hugo’s brother hooked us up.”

“Do you know the brother’s name?”

“Billy maybe?”

“Was he at the party?”

“I don’t know him, so I can’t say for sure.”

“Who else was at the party?”

Brooke thought about that for a minute. “Hugo and his best friend, Michael. Their friends Todd, Kevin and Brody, and a bunch of girls I didn’t know, and some other guys they went to school with. The only ones I knew before the party were Hoda, Todd, Hugo and Michael.”

“What’s the last thing you remember about that night?”

She closed her eyes and released a deep breath. “You’re going to be mad. Everyone will hate me.”

“That’s not true. You made mistakes, and we’re disappointed you made some bad choices. But most of all we’re grateful you’re alive.”

“Alive? What does that mean?”

“The Molly and the alcohol and the GHB combined to make you really sick, Brooke.”

“GHB? What’s that? I didn’t take anything called that.”

“We believe someone gave it to you. Probably in a drink. Do you know what else it’s called?”

She shook her head.

“The date rape drug.”

Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open as that news plus the pain between her legs added up to horror. “Oh my God. I was raped?”

“Yes.”

She began to cry in deep racking sobs. “By who?”

Sam remembered what Freddie had said about telling the truth and forced herself to say the words. “There were four of them.”

Brooke covered her mouth to muffle the sounds coming from deep inside her.

“Can you tell me what the last thing you remember is?”

She shook her head as tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Brooke, please. It’s so important that you tell me what you remember.”

With what seemed like tremendous reluctance, Brooke said, “I went into the bedroom with Todd. He was the reason I wanted to go to the party. I met him last summer, and we’d been texting while I was at school. I wanted to see him again so badly.”

“Did you have sex with him?”

“Yes,” she said softly.

“Was that your first time?”

“No.”