Cruel Summer

Chapter 20

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

~Stacee~

"I'm glad we finally got our dorm cleaned." Toni said as she fell back on her bed.

"Man, Ry better be glad I love her. We worked too hard trying to make sure the dorm room looks good, and I stay down the hall." I said as I sat on Ryan's bed.

"She will appreciate you. Do you miss having a roommate?" Toni asked as she looked at me.

"Yeah, but it's okay. I can't wait to share an apartment with you and Ry next fall. It's going to be fun." I said as I checked my phone.

"I can't wait, either. Hey, can you get me some Advil in the bathroom? I'm starting to get a migraine."

"Sure." I said as I put my phone on the bed.

I jogged to the bathroom to get the Advil. As I was reaching for the medicine, a green bottle filled with pills fell out of the cabinet.

"Shoot."

As I looked closer, I saw a small plastic bag of grass that was still inside the bottle.

"What the world?" I said as I picked it up.

"Can you find it?" I heard Toni asked as she continued to lay in her bed.

"Is this what I think it is? It can't be." I said as I grabbed the bag and walked back into the room.

"Hm?"

"Are you and Ryan smoking weed now?" I asked as I crossed my arms.

"What? Wait, are you being funny because I have dreads?" Toni asked as she took the bag from me.

"Toni, I'm not playing. You know how I feel about drugs. They are stupid and should continue to be illegal. Drugs are what tore my family apart because of my dad. Don't lie to me."

"Stacee, you know me. I have never smoked anything in my life."

"Well, it couldn't be—No! It can't be Ryan's. This isn't her. She's a bright student and a great friend. She's a goody two shoes." I said as I started pacing the floor.

"You found this in the cabinet?" Toni asked as she looked at me.

"Yes, they fell in the bottle with some other pills."

"What?" Toni asked confused as she went into the bathroom.

I followed her as we looked at each other.

"Wait, there's a label, but it's faded. It looks like it says James." Toni said as we both looked at the label.

"You think she was holding it for a friend?" I asked as I got a piece of tissue to pick up a pill to examine it.

"That's not like Ryan at all. Why would she do that? Her mom is an addict."

"You mean, her aunt? Speaking about that, she hasn't really said too much about her family drama anymore. What if she's smoking weed to overcome her feelings?"

"Yeah, it's been almost a week since that happened. We shoul—"

"Wait, not to cut you off, but this medicine sounds familiar. I think my sister took this before. It's called Celexa."

"Really? C'mon, let's look it up. We gotta get to the bottom of this."

"Wait, you do think that if Ry was going through something, she would come and talk to us? Right?"

"Of course, Stacee. We've been close since we stepped on this campus. Why wouldn't she?"

"I hope so." I said as I looked down.