Page 58 of Life of the Party

“Yeah?” She was giggling.

“What a pain in the ass.” I sighed. “I’ve gotta go.”

“Have fun studying. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, if I’m allowed.” I rolled my eyes again, slamming the phone down in disgust. I restrained myself from throwing it at the door, just barely. The urge was still there. I took a few deep breaths with my eyes closed, tense and agitated. I needed something—I craved something to take the edge off my mood. I wanted a smoke, I always did, but even if I found a way to sneak one, I doubted it would be enough. This was a deep belly craving, like my very veins were in need.

Then I remembered. I sat straight up in bed, my eyes wide at the thought. Could I really do that? Here? Would I get caught?

I slid off the bed and found my purse. Charlie’s vial was still inside it, I’d forgotten to give it back to her. She’d forgotten too, or didn’t care—she hadn’t mentioned anything about it. I held the vial in my palm for a moment, my hand still hidden in the bag. The silver canister was cool and heavy, filled with promise. I went over the choice in my head, weighing my options. Cocaine was almost impossible to identify unless someone knew what to look for. Would my dad? For the most part, I would seem completely sober to him, maybe just a little jittery. But I was going to be holed up alone in my bedroom all night. There was no way he’d notice.

Screw it. I needed to get high. It only took me a few minutes, the lid was off and the white powder up my nose in an instant. I did a couple, then a couple more. The relief was instantaneous, beautiful. I could feel delight creep slowly through my veins, my tension melt and ease away. I sighed and screwed the lid back on, hiding the vial back in the purse.

I sat on the bed and tapped my foot. I turned up the music, a little Limp Bizkit. I pushed my studying stuff away and grabbed some nail polish.

Visions of Grey danced in my stuttered thoughts. I couldn’t wait to be with him again. I painted my toes and then my fingers. I took two grad dress options out of the closet and stared at them, debating. I chose the black one—the one my mom hated—and put the other one away. I tried the dress on and paired it with shoes.

I stood in front of the mirror, wondering what to do with my hair. I did it up, down, half-up, half-down. I spun. I put together an outfit for the next day. I picked up some deep red lipstick and painted my lips, staring into the mirror. I practiced some sexy smiles. I took the grad dress off and hung it up. I put some lotion on my legs.

I did not study at all.

CHAPTER 24

I awoke with no idea when I crashed. My face was stuck to the opened pages of my math textbook; my body impossibly crumpled on the bed. I blinked at the sunlight that stung my eyes and peeled the textbook from my skin.

A knock on the door made me jump, still on guard though I had nothing to hide…now. I pushed my dark mess of hair back from my face.

“Mackenzie, you’re going to be late!” Mom’s frantic voice got louder as she opened the door. She was still dressed in her scrubs from the night before and she looked dead tired. “I woke you up half an hour ago! What have you been doing?”

“I don’t know, I fell back asleep.” I straightened myself out, my body stiff and sore from the awkward position. I yawned and stretched.

“There’s no time for that.” She checked my clock radio and the frown on her face deepened. “Get dressed. I’ll give you a ride.”

Luckily, I already had an outfit picked out from the night before. I threw on my jeans, a red tank top and some flip-flops. My hair was an absolute mess, I couldn’t do anything but twist it into a bun-type thing at the back of my head. I quickly lined my eyes with black and put on some mascara, brushed my teeth like lightning, grabbed my purse and my books and a black hoodie on the way out the door.

I stepped into the warm summer morning, shoving my things into the backseat of the car and hopping in the front. I could practically hear Mom’s teeth grinding as she backed the car out and zoomed down the street.

“I can’t believe you.” She spoke in frustration.

“So I slept in.” I shrugged. “It’s no big deal.”

“Tell that to your diploma exam.” She shook her head. I shrugged again. I wasn’texactly prepared for my diploma exam anyway, ten minutes wasn’t going to change things. I gripped the door as Mom took a corner too fast. “I can’t believe you’re seventeen. You act like you’re twelve. Where’s the responsibility?”

“Ugh.” I rolled my eyes and leaned against the window. “Did you and Dad have like, a meeting or something? Are you trying to drive me crazy on purpose?”

“Your father and I,” she said curtly. “Have ignored this situation for far too long.”

I groaned. “So you did have a meeting.”

She ignored me. “It’s our fault, if there’s anyone to blame. Our schedules are just so crazy; it’s not that we haven’t noticed…we’ve been too tired to deal with it properly.”

“Are you talking to me?” I wondered.

“Things are going to change, Mackenzie,” Mom warned. “You need discipline, and rules, and boundaries.”

I scoffed. “Yeah, okay Mom. I’m graduating in three days. You’re going to start this now? Don’t you think you’re a little late?”

The expression on her face told me she’d at least considered it. She bit her lip. “No.” Mom lied. “As long as you’re living under our roof, things are going to change.”

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