From The Start (1st Draft)

Chapter 6

I only stayed in the library for a few more minutes when I decided it was time to leave to meet up with Jake. I forgot the key to our house on the way out this morning, so I figured I could borrow it from him. I knew he was probably going to be at his friend's shed in the woods that he showed me sometime last week, so I put my books and magazines in my bag and swung it over my shoulders.

It wasn't that long until I came to the spot where I had to switch paths. I still couldn't stop smiling from what had happened, and I was wondering if I had just dreamed the whole thing. How could Alexander want to know anything about me? Why me?

I finally saw a couple of boys in the distance standing near the shed, and it wasn't long until I saw Jake sitting on a rock with something in his fingers. The minute he saw me, he handed whatever it was to his friend and stood up in rage. I kept my eyes on what his friend was holding and realized it wasn't just a cigarette. It looked like it was a joint.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked me, grabbing me by the arm and pulling me away.

I swatted at him until he let me go, while he glared at me in anger. "I was going to ask you for the house key," I said, looking past him at the boys still continuing to smoke. "i

When I looked back to my brother, and I mean really looked at him, I noticed how he wreaked of weed and how bloodshot his eyes were. He groaned in aggravation as I crossed my arms and frowned at him while he spoke. "You could have just waited," he growled. "Go home."

My mouth fell open. "No," I said.

"What do you mean no? You never should have come here," he said loudly.

"I'm your sister Jake," I hissed at him. "I needed to find some way to get into the house."

"Go home."

"No," I scowled.

"Where the fuck is our mom at?" he laughed, glancing back at the boys who thought he was being funny.

"Don't swear at me," I whispered. "She's in a meeting."

"Where?"

"Jimmy's school. She told us this morning," I said, getting irritated. "You would know if you ever paid attention to her."

"And you think I listen to the shit she says?"

I quickly pushed him away from me until he stumbled backwards, almost falling. He wasn't sober. "Don't talk about her like that," I said painfully.

"Get out of here," he said harshly, digging for something in his sweater pocket. He pulled out the key and slapped it down hard into my hand.

"What are you doing," I asked him, soft enough for only him to hear.

"What you mean?"

"Don't get back into drugs," I begged him, as he rolled his eyes and started to walk away.

"Like I said," he urged. "Get out of here. This isn't the right place for you to be."

"It isn't the right place for you to be either. You're better than this! You know that."

"Stop it! You don't belong here. You're not good enough for this shit. You're boring as hell," he huffed under his breath. "This place isn't where you should be."

"You're right," I barked, as every single one of them turned to stare at me. "It isn't, considering you're partying with people you barely know. They could have put something in it and you wouldn't have even known, or cared."