All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

ISBN: 9781098315504

My stomach twisted into knots and bile rose in my throat as the sirens blared, hard knocks crashing against the door.

“Shit, get the weed.” Vincent hissed and bolted upright as everyone started frantically collecting their things. Vincent’s features were laced with fear, a characteristic I had never seen nor associated him with.

I watched as people, even Jeremy, began to run for the windows in the back.

I sat, frozen in shock as everyone’s world’s came tumbling down and reality finally struck…

Her beautiful, hazel eyes light up immediately when I stepped across the threshold and into the safe haven I called home. I felt a slight tug of pity before giving my mother a hug and heading to my room.

I flopped down on my bed and shoved my face in the pillow, Jeremy’s words ringing in my ears. It seemed all he could talk about lately was the girls he was hooking up with and his older friends that provided him with weed. He was constantly reminding us that when we get to his age we’ll experience the same things… but he was only a year and a half older. It was as if he was purposely trying to make me feel childish, something he was easily succeeding in.

“Dennis, can you draw me something?” My six year old sister broke my concentration as she hopped on my bed with a coloring book and spread it on her lap.

“Don’t you have homework?” I asked nonchalantly.

She shrugged, “I can do it later.”

“Shana, not now, go finish your homework.”

She sighed, jumped off my bed and left the room, grumbling something incoherent.

I flipped over on my stomach and grabbed my backpack, pulling out binders to start my own schoolwork.

***

I woke up to the echoes of pots and pans smashing together and the sound of my grandmother banging on my door to get up for school.

I took a quick shower before heading to the kitchen and grabbing a piece of bacon and toast from my plate.

Mom greeted me with a warm smile, trying to hide the obvious signs of sleep deprivation in her features. I lightheartedly rustled Shana’s hair as I spotted Jeremy and Tito kicking rocks outside.

I quickly said my goodbyes and hurried out the door to my friends.

“About time,” Jeremy jokingly punched my arm.

Once out of distance from my house, Jeremey pulled out a pack of cigarettes and wiggled it in front of Tito and I. Almost instantly Tito accepted one, while I hesitantly shook my head, feeling a slight sting of embarrassment.

Jeremey snorted and stuck one in between his lips and lit it, “Relax Dennis, it’s not heroine.”

My face turned red and I shrugged, “I know,” My hand instantly reached for his pack, “I was kidding.”

We walked in silence for a few minutes, only speaking and making snide comments when one of us pointed out a woman walking down the street.

“You guys ready to go out tonight?” Jeremy broke the silence once we reached school.

“Hell yeah,” Tito laughed and nudged me, “I’m going to go ask Malia if she’s going to bring her friends tonight.”

I looked over to where Tito was referring and spotted a small group of popular girls talking in high pitched voices. Each one wore a low cut crop top and jeans, and I couldn’t help but find myself gawking at them.

I watched as Tito casually walked over to the group and was greeted with a hug from Malia. The rest of the girls crowded him and eagerly awaited their chance to put their word into the conversation.

“You comin right?” Jeremy asked.

I nodded, “Of course, I gotta be home by twelve though.”

He rolled his eyes, “C’mon Dennis, were going to be out ‘til three.”

I bit my lip but nodded, “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Great, I’ll see you after school man.” With that Jeremy gave me a slap on the shoulder and sauntered over to a larger group of boys that were his age. I watched them greet each other before I changed direction and hurried to class.

I barely focused on my classes, as I was distracted with what we had planned for that night. I knew I had a strict curfew of twelve… but what was three more hours? How mad could my mother get, after all, she’d probably be asleep by then anyways.

“Thirteen year olds have no business being out past twelve.” Mom’s words pounded in the back of my mind.

But how would I look being the first one who went home? I was already going to be surrounded by older people, I didn’t want to make myself look even more innocent than I already was…

***

“You need to help Shana with her homework before you go,” Grandma shuffled by me as I let out a long, drawn out huff.

“They’re going to be here soon,” I argued, “I need to go.”

“I don’t care, you’re our mathematician, help your sister.” Her demanding tone shoved me into silence, forcing me to grudgingly walk into the kitchen where Shana smiled up at me.

I gave her a fake smile and sat next to her, pointing out the mistakes she was making in an uncalled for condescending way.

A few minutes later I heard a car honk while we were halfway through a math problem. I bit my lip and looked down at Shana, “I think you can handle the rest on your own.” I said.

“Where are you going?” She asked.

“Just out with some friends,” I slipped on my jacket and opened the door slowly, attempting to be as quiet as possible so Grandma couldn’t hear me leaving.

I sprinted to the car, a cloud of smoke billowing out as the door opened for me. I hopped in and was immediately greeted by pushes and hands clasping on my shoulders.

A gruff looking guy gave me a toothy grin before turning his attention back to the road and hitting the gas pedal. Everyone in the car laughed as we raced down my neighborhood and onto the freeway.

“Ay Dennis,” I turned around to see Jeremy relaxing in the backseat with a blunt in his hand and a girl attached to his hip. Next to her sat Tito with his arm slung around Malia. He gave me a slight head nod before returning to his conversation with her.

“That’s uh-,” Jeremy pointed at the short, dark girl sitting next to me. She was slim and beautiful but looked like she held a grudge with anyone who tried to talk to her.

“Alyssa.” She glared at him then turned her daggering gaze to me.

“Right Alyssa,” he grumbled and passed the blunt to Tito who happily obliged. He must’ve noticed I was staring at it because he passed it to me next.

I hesitantly took it, painfully aware of everyone’s eyes plastered on me. I cleared my throat and took a hit, letting the smoke fill my lungs before releasing it as slowly as possible. I couldn’t help but let out a cough before passing it back to a smirking Jeremy.

“So how do you know Vince?” Alyssa asked me.

“Were going to his place,” Jeremy told me, cutting her off, “Forgot to tell you.”

I didn’t know Vince well, all I knew about him was that he was the friend Jeremy was always bragging about.

“Yeah.” Alyssa interjected, and scooted closer to me so her face was inches away from mine. I smelled her minty breath and felt a moment of embarrassment towards my own breath, “He hooks us up.” She grinned.

“I know,” I lied.

The driver slammed on his brakes in front of a small, broken down house. The driveway was dimly lit but I could still make out the peeling paint and boarded up window.

I watched as three or four guys walked out of the house, only taking their hands out of their pockets to greet the people already piling out of the car.

I jumped out of the car and saw from the corner of my eye Jeremy pointing to me. A boy who was much taller than the rest of us stood next to him, studying me and nodding to Jeremy’s words.

The last one out, I closed the car door and started to walk towards Tito and Malia who were heading towards the house.

“Hey wait,” A ruff hand clamped down on my shoulder making me slightly jump. I turned to see the guy who was with Jeremy smiling down at me as we walked, “I’m Vince, Jeremy told me ‘bout you.”

I smiled, not knowing exactly what he meant by that, “Cool, I’m Dennis,” was all I could make out.

He chuckled, the smell of alcohol in his breath hitting my nostrils “I know, you smoke?” He asked offering me the joint he held in his hand. I nodded and took it, taking a few hits before returning it.

Vince slapped me on the back and caught back up with Jeremy and the friends he had come out with.

His house was stained with the smell of smoke residue mixed with a faint scent of mildew. We walked into the living room only to be immediately greeted by clouds of smoke.

“That’s Rex, that’s Leon.” Vince gestured towards two guys slumped in the corner on a couch.

My eyes focused on the coffee table that was littered with weed, bongs, lighters, and rolling papers. Tito asked if he could pack a bowl and fell back on the couch with Malia, grabbing the bong on his way down. Alyssa plopped down across from the pair and I awkwardly sat next to her, feeling her body inch closer to mine.