Already Gone Read online

  Mom didn't get up for breakfast that day. I was a little worried, so I poked my head into her room. "Hey Mom. You okay?"

  "I think I’ve caught the cold that's been going around," she said.

  There weren't any tissues on her nightstand or the floor, but there was a trashcan near her bed. Maybe she tossed them all in there.

  "Really?" I asked. "Want me to call Mr. Dunmore and let him know?" She had missed so much work lately, she must have been nominated for worst employee of the year. I really didn’t want her to lose her job.

  "I already texted him."

  "Okay."

  I turned to leave.

  "Lacy, I love you. I always will, no matter what happens this weekend. Sorry I can’t come."

  "I know, Mom. I'm sorry you're sick. I'm going to try and win this tournament, and I'll bring you the trophy for your shelf, okay?"

  "I don't care whether you win trophies. I love you even if you lose every single match from here on out."

  "Uh, but I really hope that doesn’t happen. Thanks for the vote of confidence, though. It’s super. And I love you, too, Mom." Even when you’re strange. That’s when I heard a beeping. "Hey, what about my phone?"

  "It's in my top drawer," she said. "You'll need to charge it."

  "I'll plug it into the car charger."

  "You can take my car," my mom said. "I think Hope already took yours."

  "Okay," I said. "Thanks."

  I felt great when I ate breakfast. I felt great when I texted Drew to let her know I had my phone back. I felt okay on the drive to Brazosport High. But, when I got to school, that sleepless night hit me like a baseball bat to the head.

  I had arrived a few minutes early, thanks to lucky lights and no traffic, and I sat down by the back of the school to look over my links for the negative counter plan for a minute when I saw him. Spoiled rich Jack. Before I even had time to think about it, I popped out of my car and slung my bag over my shoulder. I practically jogged so that our paths would cross.

  He smiled when he saw me and slowed down. "Hey there Theresa."

  "Uh, my name isn't Theresa. It's Lacy." He must’ve been really lit up back at Clear Lake.

  "I remember," he said, "but you couldn’t get my name right, and I like Theresa better. It fits you, like Mother Theresa, you know?"

  I rolled my eyes. “I'm not so perfect." In fact, I could really use an energy boost right now. I know I told my mom I wouldn't use anything ever again, but this was a true emergency. I had a shot at Yale, and even Mom would want me at my best. I was seconds from crashing. I thought about how I’d felt that Saturday night, like I could conquer the world. When I took that one tiny pill, my burning eyes, clammy hands, foggy brain and cotton mouthed exhaustion melted away. I needed it. Just this one last time, and it was a prescription drug anyway. It’s not like I’m planning to snort a line of unregulated, cut-with-rat-poison cocaine or anything.

  "Actually," I whispered, "maybe you could help me."

  He wheezed. "Mother Theresa wants a hit?"

  "Not marijuana," I whispered, “but maybe something to boost my energy, and help me think.”

  "Stop whispering, you weirdo. It looks super weird. I might have something," he said, "but I'd need payment."

  That I expected. "I have some cash."

  He grinned. "Duh, but that's not what I meant, not today. Right now I need a favor more than cash." He glanced back and forth like he was worried there were cameras in the clouds. We were late enough that no one was around. For all his accusations that my whispering looked crazy, his spastic scanning around us looked unhinged. I thought about just saying I was late and heading inside. Who knew what he’d ask for next?

  “No way. I’ve got cash if you can get me something to boost my energy and focus, but I’m not doing anything for you.”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know you, Theresa, not at all. Why should I trust you out of the blue? No favor, no energy boost. This could be a setup.”

  “What, like you think I’m working for the cops?”

  He laughed. “Or maybe the principal.”

  I felt uncomfortable. I remember that distinctly. And obviously in retrospect, I should’ve listened to my conscience and walked off. Or I could've said I'd pay him, but I wouldn't do him any favors. I should’ve said absolutely not. But I was so trashed that my eyes were burning, and I guess everything seemed more dire than it was. Things weren’t so bad yet. I know that now, but it felt like they were. I wanted my mind to move as fast as it had last weekend. I needed that edge, because this was a chance to redeem myself and I’d messed up enough already.

  I knew I should have turned him down flat and walked way, but I didn't.

  "Fine, what?"

  "I wasn’t kidding about the setup. The principal’s on to me," he said. "He's always after me, but he knows where I've got my stash, I think. I saw one of my regulars in the principal’s office. I just need to store it somewhere else today. Just for one day."

  I thought about it. I had to be the last person the principal would suspect of drug use. My mom knew I'd taken a pill last week, but no one else knew anything. Come on, the Valedictorian? It wasn't like I was on a suspect list or something.

  "Sure," I said. "But how are you going to get it there?"

  "You leave that up to me," he said. "You got a car?"

  "Sure,” I said. “I have my mom's car." I held up the shiny combination clicker and key.

  He cursed. "That won't work. It's too fancy, too new. Sorry Theresa, but I can’t keep chatting. I got to deal with this."

  "Wait, I have another car, my real car. This one’s my mom’s. My car should be in the parking lot because my sister drove it today."

  "You got a space number?" he asked.

  "Sure," I said. "Ninety-six."

  "Great," he said. "You got a key?"

  I nodded, and fished it out of my purse. "You aren't going to steal my car, right?”

  "Yeah, Theresa. If I wanted to steal your car, I'd ask for the crappy one." He shakes his head in disgust. "You’re valedictorian?” He rolls his eyes. “I could boost your old car in three seconds, if I wanted it, but I don't. I just need somewhere to leave my stash. I'll get it back before school lets out today, and I'll leave your key in the glove box when I'm done, okay?"

  "Sure," I said.

  He reached into his bag and pulled out a baggie. He handed me two small, white pills with tiny blue flecks. They looked almost the same as the ones I'd taken from Drew's mom.

  “Only take one at a time. No more than one a day, got it?”

  I nodded.

  “Don’t want you keeling over from a heart attack.”

  I stuffed them into my pocket and practically ran to the front office to do the announcements, my heart racing faster than my feet.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Hope

  Dear Diary:

  I'm lucky I had this journal in my bag, or I couldn't be writing this at all. Although, calling myself lucky in any way today might be dumb. It's been even worse than the last time I wrote. Way worse. Where to begin? Well, I sort of got back together with Dave. Or at least, we were still hanging out this morning. I don't really know what's going on with my life minute to minute anymore.

  The day started off so well. I went over to Dave's because I wanted to, well, I wanted to feel good about myself, maybe. It was a stupid idea, but it turned out okay. He's been working hard this whole time with a tutor so he could get his grades up and get back on the team. He just found out he's eligible again. I was surprised by how happy that made me.

  I know Dave isn't Mason. He's not as hot or as smart, and he's not as exciting, but maybe that's okay. Maybe my mom's right. Maybe I'm not that complicated, because it was almost a relief to be with someone who I knew wanted me. I didn't really appreciate him before, but he has his good points.

  Anyhow, after I found out he was eligible again, I told him he should come to practice. He needs to get in the water. He had been running while he
wasn’t swimming, but that’s not the same. I told him this morning to come swim, but he didn’t have all his gear. He had his suit, but he needed a pair of goggles. At the beginning of sixth period, I jogged out to the car to grab an extra pair. I always have a few pairs in the trunk.

  I don't know why the principal had someone watching the parking lot, and I have no idea why they thought I looked suspicious, but they did. The parking lot attendant came over to check things out. I explained what I was doing, and he said to go ahead, but he didn't leave. He just stood there.

  If I had any idea what was in there, do you really think I'd have just opened it up? I may not be Einstein okay, but give me some credit. I'm not a total moron.

  When I opened the trunk, it was full of all kinds of crap. Pills, bags of stuff, a bunch of junk I'd never seen. At first, I thought maybe it was part of some kind of science project for Lacy, but then I remembered she was in physics this year, not chemistry. They don't use powders, and pills and stuff in that, I don't think. At least, I never did in my physics for dummies class last year.

  The attendant started shouting and then the police showed up. On school grounds, in the middle of the day. It was crazy. They made me follow them back to the school, while a police officer started taking photos, and stuffing everything into marked blue bags. I was lucky it was in the middle of sixth period, because the way they marched me through the halls, and into the principal's office you'd think I'd just killed someone. At least no one was around to see.

  Lacy comes to the front office every day to do the morning announcements, but other than breezing past the front desk to drop off excused absence slips, I'd never been up here. The principal's office was big, almost as big as the front lobby, and half the room was taken up with a wooden desk. The other side was crammed full of shiny, brown wooden chairs. The parking attendant shoved me down into a chair and walked out the door without a single word, but he glared at me as he left. The principal sat in his desk chair, scowling at me. He didn't speak.

  "What's going on?" I finally asked.

  He stood up and walked around the desk. "Hope Vincent, right?"

  I nodded.

  "Hope, did anyone ask you to store something for them?"

  I shook my head.

  "Anyone at all. Did they tell you that they just needed it put somewhere for a day, or even for a few hours?"

  "No," I said. "I haven't talked to anyone about anything going in my car."

  "Do you know what we found in your trunk?"

  “I saw all that stuff, but I don’t know what it is.” That was true, but it didn't sound good.

  "Did anyone else have access to your car? A key? Or did you leave it unlocked?"

  "The trunk can only be opened with a key." Before I said anything else, an image flashed across my mind. Lacy with a pill bottle. Mom yelling. Mom freaking out.

  Lacy had a key.

  What if the bags were drugs, and the drugs were hers? Would Lacy go to jail? She's eighteen, and I'm just seventeen. Lacy’s so smart, and she's going to college for sure. I thought about that recruiter. I had a chance at college, but I'd seen Lacy's letters. She'd not only been accepted to good schools, but she even had scholarship offers to a few. I didn't even have any ideas for a college major. Unless swimming was a major, which I doubted.

  Why would Lacy have an entire trunk full of pills?

  "Miss Vincent?" Principal Skinner was looking at me like he'd asked me something else and I hadn't answered.

  "I'm sorry," I said, "what?"

  "We found a lot of illegal drugs in your car, Miss Vincent. This is serious. You don't seem like the type of person to take them, but if I've learned anything in my eleven years as a principal, you never know. You could be in very real trouble if it turns out those are yours. Right now, until you tell us different, that's our assumption."

  I looked down at my shoes. "I was just going out to my car to get some goggles for a friend."

  "You're quite the swimmer from what I hear."

  I nodded.

  "I just want to get to the bottom of this. I want to figure out where those came from so we can deal with the problem."

  I glanced up at him. "If you find this person, what might happen to her? Or him?"

  "She," he paused then and stared at me for a moment, "would be in a lot of trouble."

  "Or he," I said.

  "Right."

  "What does that mean? Trouble like suspended?"

  "No, Miss Vincent. Trouble like jail time, or juvenile hall, at the very least. There were a lot of drugs in your trunk. Pot. Stimulants, narcotics. In Texas, the punishment depends on a lot of things. How much was found in your possession is one factor, certainly. Another factor is your age. Even if you aren't eighteen yet, they could choose to try you as an adult if the circumstances merit it. You should be completely up front with me today. The truth is your best defense."

  I suddenly couldn't breathe. I thought about Lacy, my brilliant sister. She worked so hard. She did so much. She helped around the house while I was out swimming. She helped with laundry while I went for jogs on the beach. She was always doing homework. She helped me with my homework whenever I asked. She always shared what she had, and she gave me whatever I wanted. The cherry on a sundae. The best seat on the rollercoaster. The bigger bedroom.

  She came to my swim meet, even when I was being a jerk. I knew she was there, and I kissed Moby anyway. I knew Moby liked her more, and I let her think I'd been with him, and if I was being honest, maybe I thought that would help me win him from her.

  She was a really great sister to me. She always had been.

  I was the world’s worst sister.

  But now she needed my help. She was the only other person with a key, so I knew she'd made a mistake, a big one. One that could eat her whole future in one bite. Me on the other hand, well, I loved swimming, and it would've been cool to swim for UT. But once I was done, it wasn't like I had some major career plans I would springboard toward. The next sixty years of my life would be essentially the same, even if I got kicked out of school and went to Juvie for a while. Lacy though, this would destroy her, and she's like a rocket launching into space. The sky's the limit.

  I had a chance to fix this if I played this just right. Maybe she would forgive me for being spoiled and selfish and greedy. Maybe she would love me again.

  "Miss Vincent, I'm going to ask you one more time before we pass you over to the police. I'm much nicer than them, and I can recommend other options in your case, like diversion if you want to avoid going into police custody. Trust me on this, I’m your best friend right now. Did someone ask you to hold these drugs? Where did they come from? Who else had access to your car today?"

  "No one else had access. I share the car with my sister, but I've been the only person driving it for more than a week. My mom will confirm that. We got in a big fight, and she's been getting rides, or driving my mom's car. She doesn't have access to it at all."

  "If no one else had a key, then how do you think the drugs got into your trunk?" The principal had returned to his side of the desk. I guess he wasn't so worried about getting me to confide in him, now that it looked like I might be the villain.

  It was now or never. This was my shot. I could toss Lacy under the bus, tell him I'd forgotten, that Lacy had a second set of keys. I could swear those drugs were not in the trunk that morning, when I tossed my swim bag inside.

  I could have told him the truth and my life would have gotten much easier, much better.

  I didn't.

  “They're mine," I said. "All the drugs are mine. I’ve met a lot of people with swimming and I live on the beach. I meet more people that way. I always have a big bag with me. I make a lot of money on the side with that. I was trying to figure out how to get out of it, but I guess you got me before I did."

  Principal Skinner sat on the edge of his chair, and shuffled some papers. "Are you sure? Your mother has a good job, and you already have a car. Why did you need money so bad
ly? Why would you sell drugs?"

  "I’m sick of sharing a car with my sister. We got in a fight, like I said, and I want my own car. And not a piece of junk. I realized I could make a lot more money if I just sold some stuff, but a little turned into more."

  He raised one eyebrow. "Just like that, you decided to 'sell some stuff'?"

  "I'm not saying anything else," I said. "Don't I get a lawyer or something?"

  "You're a minor," he said. "Once I hand you over to the police, they can't talk to you without your guardian there. She will make decisions about whether you have a lawyer. Who is your legal guardian?"

  "My mom, Rosemary Vincent."

  "Alright, if you're sure that's your story, I'll hand you over to the police. They'll take you downtown, and contact your guardian to come and meet you at the precinct."

  I just stared at him, trying to look penitent, but guilty.

  The two men in dark blue police uniforms didn't put me in handcuffs. They even let me keep my backpack with me. I guess they weren't worried about me doing them bodily harm. Strangely, with my police escort, I felt less embarrassed than I had being marched through the halls with the principal and the parking lot attendant.

  I followed the officers quietly and quickly, and climbed into the back of their squad car. It had a glass partition between the back seat and the front. I wished for a second that I had a club or something I could pound the glass with, like a movie thug. I didn't, so I just sat there, holding my backpack on my lap. Everything felt surreal, like it was a bizarre dream. They took me to the police station, and then after filling out some forms, they led me over to a small room with a few mirrors. It must be an interrogation room, but no one interrogated me. They just left me to sit in here alone. I'm guessing we're waiting for my mom. If she's got a migraine, we might all be here for a while because she turns off her phone.

  I should be mad at Lacy maybe, for putting me in this position. Or maybe I should be angry because I'm pretty sure she and Moby will work things out, and I still kind of wish he'd picked me. If I’m honest, I might wish that more because I hate to lose than because I love him or something. I could be fuming about having to spend my Friday afternoon and evening stuck here waiting for my mom, but I'm not. I feel oddly calm about the whole thing. The cops told me that even if I end up getting booked, the judge will set bail. We don't have a ton of money, but they said it won't be too bad. One of the cops, the older one, said he has a son about my age. He seemed almost sorry to stick me in here, even if he does think I'm a drug dealer-in-training.