Actions Have Consequences

Chapter 6

"What?!" I rasped, my throat stuck, as he slid the metallic hand cuffs around my wrists. You. Have. Got. To. Be. Joking. Me.

"Now, where are your parents?" One of the officer's asked. I wasn't up for reading their name tags anymore.

"Out."

"Answer properly," he spat.

"They're on vacation. To L.A. for a week."

"Do they have cells with them? If so, I need to contact them."

"Um, yeah, duh." Who didn't have a cell. I gave the cop my Mom's cell number, wishing instantly that I'd given him a false one.

I was guided again, this time to one of the cop cars out of the three that were parked.

"So what, I don't get to lock the door? What if we get robbed," I muttered as the officer opened the vehicle door.

He pushed me down into the black leather seats. "We'll take care of it."

*

I paced the station corridor, three in the morning, while an officer in a nearby roomed eyed me through the window. They'd given me cups of coffee to help sober me up and it seemed to be working as I regained my senses and thought about what had happened. I'd been caught. There was no way to deny it. Caught red handed - my own house, my own supply of alcohol, my everything. I felt demented and reckless. Alright, it was fun at the time, but was it really worth it? I thought about all the punishments I was about to get and how they would change my life in such a way that would crush my popularity. Locked up in the slammer for years on end, all my friends would grow up together and diminish me from the picture and I'd never get another boyfriend if they found out that I was arrested. Well, some probably would not care, but others would.

A sudden burst of mumbled voices came into hearing range and I looked up. Shit. It was Mom and Dad, arriving from their interrupted vacation. Goodbye friends. Goodbye boys. Goodbye fun. Goodbye scho- Nah, that one's a good punishment. Goodbye life. Goodbye Taylor Summers.

Los Angeles was not far from Beverly Hills at all. Only a thirty or so minute drive, so no wonder they'd gotten here so quick after the cops called them to inform that their only child had been arrested.

My expression changed from worried to ashamed. I had to admit, I did feel quite guilty. Not entirely, but possible fourty percent of me was disappointed in myself. My parents staggered upon me and hugged me together in one huge bear hug. What the hell? I started to believe they'd gotten the wrong message...

"It's okay, honey, we'll get this misunderstanding sorted out. They've just made a mistake, that's all," my Mom whispered into my ear. "And what are you wearing?"

Oh, I got it. They thought the cops arrested the wrong person.

I stood back from the hug and looked at my parents with tears in my eyes. "I'm sorry. I really am. I didn't mean it. Well, I did. But, I never thought about what I was doing. The party was just -" I babbled all at once, my throat cracking again.

My parents stared at my uncomfortably. "What are you talking about?" My Dad asked.

"I-I-" Before I could explain, the cop that was watching me earlier from the office came out with a doughnut in his hand.

"Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Summers, right?" He wiped some crumbs from his lips with the back of his hand.

"Yes, what's happened, Officer?" My Dad wondered, glancing back and forth between me and the cop.

"Your daughter, Taylor, was found in consumption of alcohol."

My Dad chuckled with confusion. "Taylor? No!" He laughed, nudging my Mom's elbow. My Mom ignored it, her unfazed brown eyes, that were set deeply in their sockets, crumpled in pain as she stared at me.