Dare to Be Different (29 page)

As she attempted to sort through some of those truths, she started to smell something funny. It was like nothing she had ever smelled before, and she was pretty sure she didn’t want to know what it was. She looked around the circle and saw kids smoking stuff that didn’t look like regular cigarettes. Drugs! Someone had brought drugs to the party.

Drew stood and contemplated her situation for a few moments. She could go home. But if she called home, she would be in big trouble. Perhaps her best bet was to hope that nothing happened and that she didn’t get caught. Tomorrow, it would all be over and she could go back to normal life, she hoped. But since she
was there and had decided not to leave, and since she had decided not to let herself get in this predicament again, she thought it might be a good idea to take her opportunity to try some things that she may not have a chance to do again.

So in the next hour, she took a few puffs of Trevor’s cigarette; she drank a beer, plus a few sips of a different kind of drink that Trevor had; and, with her judgment even more skewed by the alcohol, she actually allowed herself to be convinced to try the drugs that were being passed around.

She really didn’t like how she was starting to feel—kind of fuzzy and like she was in slow motion—but after a while she started to get used to it and went for more beer. She really didn’t want to get out of control, but she did want to have fun. So this is what it meant to party? It felt great to Drew … like second nature. She looked at her watch and was shocked to see that it was one in the morning. The time was going so fast, and Drew didn’t want the night to end.

Trevor came up behind her, put his arms around her, and squeezed. “How’s my girl doing? You having a good time?”

“Mmm-hmm,” Drew murmured as she settled the back of her head against his broad chest. She liked the way it felt to be held, and for a minute she forgot where she was. He turned her around to face him and leaned in for a kiss. It was a much softer and longer kiss than the one they shared in the bleachers. It felt much more grown-up, and in no way did it make her giggle. Drew hoped that the moment would never stop.

Trevor pulled away slightly and said, “I like kissing you.”

“Mmm, I like to be kissed.” She smiled and kissed him again.

“Here,” Trevor said as the pot came around through the group and back to them. He offered her some. She tried to decline, but Trevor teased her a bit and convinced her to have some more. “You can’t really know how you’ll feel until you try it for real. That one hit you took earlier just isn’t enough to get the full effect.”

Drew took it out of his hands and put it to her lips and lightly inhaled.

“Oh, no, that’s not how you do it. Watch.” Trevor demonstrated for her and then put it to her lips once more.

As Drew inhaled, she wondered why he
wanted her to smoke it so badly. She let the thought pass, though, and began to really feel the effects.

Trevor leaned in for another kiss, and this time, neither of them pulled away. Drew became a bit afraid that she’d never want this to stop, so she pulled away. “Let’s go inside and get a snack. I’m starving.”

“Okay, but you’re not getting off that easily. We’ll pick that up again a little later, maybe when we’re alone.”

Drew was afraid to consider what that might mean. But it didn’t matter yet. The party was in full swing and some people were still arriving. She reminded herself that she was a smart girl and that she had everything under control.

Chapter 12

Back at home, Mom and Dad tried to relax and watch some TV before bed. But something was just not sitting right with them. They were uneasy about some of the things that Drew had said and some of the signals they read from her, but they had a difficult time deciding what it was that made them so uneasy.

“She was nervous,” Mom said. “She was nervous and fidgety when she was talking to us. Do you think that’s what is bugging us?”

“That could be it. You know, I’ve been thinking… “ Dad hesitated. “I don’t want to ask Dani to betray Drew, but maybe she knows something.”

“We could talk to her. Or I could always try
calling Samantha’s mom.”

“That’s a good idea. Do that first, and then, if we still need to, we can talk to Dani.”

Mom dialed the phone and waited for someone to pick up. Finally someone answered, but the background noise was so loud that she could barely hear the person on the other end of the line.

Casting a nervous glance at her husband, Mom said, “I’m looking for Samantha’s mom. Is she available?”

“No lady, she’s out of town,” the boy slurred and then hung up.

Mom sat and stared at the phone in her hand like it was a snake. After recounting the brief conversation to her husband, they were both so concerned that Mom immediately went upstairs to wake Dani up and ask her to join them in the family room.

Dani came down the stairs, sleepily rubbing her eyes. When she realized what they were asking her, she struggled over what to tell her parents. She wasn’t willing to lie, but she really wanted to protect her sister as much as she could.

“Danielle,”—it was never a good thing when Dad used her full name—”if you know anything
about where your sister is and what she might be doing, we need to know. It seems as though there is a lot more to the story than we were told, and we’re concerned that she could be getting into some trouble. This is definitely not the time to try to protect your sister from getting caught. She could be facing much greater dangers than

that.”

Dani realized that this situation was much bigger than just wanting to protect her sister. Her love for Drew meant that she needed to help her parents help her sister. She wound up telling them everything she knew, starting with the first time Drew got a ride home from Trevor, and about the kiss in the bleachers, to what she had heard about this party around school. She told them that there was no adult there and that there was to be alcohol and possibly even drugs. She also let them know what she had been hearing about Trevor and how he mistreated girls.

Her parents were horrified, but they set their horror aside for a moment and sprang into action. They looked up Samantha’s address and took off for the house, afraid of what they might find when they got there. Dani stayed at home and went up to her room after they left so she
could think and pray about the situation. She was glad that everything was finally coming to light, because she had been so worried about Drew. But she was also worried that Drew would never forgive her for telling their parents what had been going on. Dani knew that now more than ever before, her sister needed her prayers and her support.

Bonfire blazing, people laughing and milling around the yard, Drew and Trevor were having a great time being silly and raucous by the fire. One thing Drew noticed about alcohol was that it made her less inhibited. Things that would have made her uncomfortable just a few hours before suddenly became completely acceptable and desirable. She became very comfortable with Trevor’s touches and even initiated some herself, which made him very happy.

After an hour or so of flirting around the fire, Trevor wanted Drew to come with him to find a private place for a few minutes. She knew that it would mean more kissing; and even though she was scared, she really wanted to go. They decided that the pool shed would be a great place for them to hang out. On their way to the pool shed, Drew
heard something funny coming from the front of the house. Wondering what was happening, she pulled Trevor toward the front, even though he was trying to pull her in the direction of the shed.

When she got a little closer, she heard shouting. “Where is my daughter? Someone better bring me to her now!”

Drew instantly recognized her father’s voice and turned to Trevor, hoping he could help her make sense of it all. Her mind was fuzzy because of the alcohol and drugs, so she couldn’t fully grasp what was happening to her—and she even started giggling.

Trevor shot her a look and said, “This really isn’t funny.”

“Everything’s funny.” Drew giggled again. She was completely incapable of grasping the gravity of the situation. “I know what I’ll do. I’m going in to the bathroom so I can clean myself up before I see them.” She ran off through the back entrance to find the bathroom before her parents found her.

In the bright yellow bathroom, Drew took a look in the mirror over the sink. She was horrified by what she saw. Her clothes were a mess, her makeup was smeared, and she knew
that she reeked of smoke—cigarette and bonfire smoke. As soon as she thought of the smoking, her stomach began to turn. The combination of beer and smoke on an empty stomach were quickly becoming too much for her to handle. As the bubbling continued to rise in her belly, she turned and lunged for the toilet, emptying the contents of her stomach. Feeling a bit better, she washed her face and hands and tried to smooth her hair. Wishing she could stall a little longer, she knew that her time was up. It was time to face the music.

She slowly opened the door a crack. She had no idea what she would say to her mom and dad. She realized that she had disappointed them in just about every possible way in that one night. As she was coming to her senses and remembering everything about the night and what led up to it, Drew wished with all her heart that she could go back and have another chance to do things the right way. But it was too late.

She saw her parents enter the house and approach Sam’s sister, who pointed toward the bathroom. They both saw her at the same time, and there was a moment of eye contact that Drew would never forget. Her mom was crying
and wiping her eyes. She looked so sad. Her dad mostly looked mad. Drew wasn’t sure which one she was dreading the most: the disappointment or the anger.

Drew started to open her mouth to speak, but Dad cut her off and said, “I’m not interested in hearing anything from you right now, Drew. Just collect your things and let’s go.”

Mom covered her mouth with her tissue and sobbed harder when she heard her husband’s words.

Drew quietly got her jacket from the hook on the back of the door. She started the long, shameful walk out to the car and couldn’t lift her head to look her parents in the eye. They said nothing.

She sat in the backseat, silent, alone, listening to her mom crying softly in the front seat. Suddenly her words came back to her, haunting her:
“I’ve got everything under control.”
She regretted those words so much. But it was too late. She had failed.

Dad started to walk back into the house to talk to Samantha but decided he would be better off taking his daughter home and coming back. As her dad walked to his car door, Drew caught
a glimpse of Trevor standing on the side of the house, watching the scene unfold. He shook his head in disgust; he looked angry. For a brief moment, Drew felt a bit of shock to realize that he was angry with her instead of being worried about her. She shrugged off those feelings, because she had much more important things to deal with.

Her dad got into the car, backed out of the driveway, and headed down the street. Before they got to the end of the block, they heard sirens and saw lights flashing. Three police cars screamed past them and pulled into the driveway they had just left. Policemen got out of the car with their hands on their guns and started shouting at people in the yard.

Dad continued driving away, but they all realized immediately what could have happened if they had arrived five minutes later than they had. That realization dissolved Drew into tears. She knew she deserved to be there facing the police with her “friends,” but she was so glad that she wasn’t.

A few minutes later, at home, the Danielses all walked into the house; and Drew, feeling sick again, ran to the bathroom. After she was sick
for the second time, she decided to take a quick shower to attempt to rid herself of the filth that covered her from the evening. She stood in the shower, under the hot water for a long time. It was difficult to hurry, because the room seemed to be swaying. She finally finished and got dressed.

“Mom … Dad …” She didn’t know what to say to them when she entered the family room. They were sitting silently in the dimly lit room, not even speaking to each other.