The Drug Years

Lacey's point of view
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I pulled up to his house. The lawn was manicured to a perfect inch height and the bushes were trimmed into box shapes. There wasn't a droopy flower in sight and the porch was free of dirt from shoe traffic.

I knocked on the door three times before Jaden opened it. His face was slightly red and he had bags underneath his eyes. He was wearing a very wrinkly, stripped shirt that was red and white and jeans that hung loosely on his hips.

"Can I come in?" I asked.

"Sure." He motioned for me to walk inside and I complied.

"We are friends, right?" I asked quickly taking a seat onto the brown couch.

"Yeah, of course," he replied sitting beside me.

"Quinton is being weird again."

"He's probably just high," Jaden stated. "He usually is weird when he's stoned."

"How can I fix him?" I asked wanting to find some way to help Quinton.

"You can't. Only he can help himself."

I sighed before changing the subject. "How are you? I heard what happened."

He looked down to the ground before saying, "She said she didn't love me at all. Then she told me she cheated several times and our whole relationship was a lie."

"That's horrible," I replied shocked. "How could she just renounce everything?"

"I don't know," he replied. "But I think I'm going to give up on love because it's too complicated. How is it possible to know that the other person feels exactly the same way? Sure I was going to break up with her, but only because of the distance, not because I hated her. I love, I mean loved, her and she just didn't care."

"I guess you just have to hope that the other person feels the same way," I whispered.

He just shrugged. "What's to say it was real love? I'm only a teenager. So are you. How can we possibly know what love is?"

I looked off into the distance. He made a point. What was love anyways? Certainly me and Quinton were in love. Right? We had to be. There is no way a guy like him would date someone like me if he didn't have any feelings towards me at all. So it was love.

Doubts ran through my mind. How could I be in love? I'm only sixteen about to be seventeen in a few months.

Jaden looked at me and noticed where my thoughts had gone. "Quinton loves you. You've changed him more than you know."

We sat in silence for awhile. It surprisingly wasn't awkward like silences usually are. Jaden turned on MTV after awhile and we watched Cribs. Then we talked about what kind of house we would have if we were billionaires. Soon it was almost time for dinner, so I left his house and drove to mine.

"Where have you been?" My mother asked the second I walked in.

"A friend's house," I replied continuing to walk to my room.

"Wait just one second," she demanded. "I called Ashleigh and Rachel and neither of them knew where you were. So where were you?"

"I have other friends besides Ashleigh and Rachel," I stated.

"Oh, like a boyfriend?" She said.

"I wasn't at Quinton's house. I was at a friend's house," I replied.

"I had a nice chat with Ashleigh," she randomly stated. "I haven't seen her around in a long time. She told me that you two had a fight. Then she told me what it was about."

I started to panic. What did Ashleigh tell my mom? "Ashleigh was making stuff up earlier," I lied. "She couldn't be trusted anymore."

"Really? So it's a lie that you had sex with Quinton?"

"Yes," I lied.

"Oh, so if I was to check your room, I wouldn't find any condoms?"

"Yeah," I said truthfully. I had hidden all evidence of sex with Quinton.

"Why don't you believe me? You'll take the word of a backstabbing friend, but not your own daughter?"

"Honey, you've been acting weird lately. How can I trust you?"

"What have I done that's weird?"

"You're grounded, and if I was you, I'd break it off with Quinton before I break it off for you."

"What?! I haven't done anything! I was at my friend Jaden's house!"

"Yeah, your boyfriend's drug friend. I wouldn't make plans with him anymore because you're not allowed to see them as long as you live under this roof. Go to your room and don't come out til dinner is done."

"Ugh!" I yelled stomping to my room and slamming the door. I jumped face first onto my bed. "What the fuck!" I yelled into my pillow before breaking into sobs.

My life was going to hell.