Grace.

Chapter 2.

Staying clean is my utmost priority. I'm not saying I couldn't shower when I was at the farm, I did, but because of the dust and whatnot, it's difficult to stay clean for a while. When I got home the first thing I did was throw all my clothes into the machine and then take a long, nice shower.
My friends had been asking when I'm coming back but I didn't say. I wanted to surprise them. The first person I texted was Mimi, then Luce, then Donna and Bebe. Bebe is Brooke's nickname. I asked that we meet at the mall and then perhaps go out later.
I was in the middle of moisturizing myself when I heard a knock on the door. It was Gloria. "Ria!" I cheered. She rushed in to hug my butt naked self. Ria, my gorgeous sister.
"And since when don't you say that you're coming back?" She started, taking a seat on my bed.
"I wanted it to be a surprise." I chuckled.
I pulled out a bra and a matching thong from my drawer and slipped them on.
"And how was it? How's Abuela and Abuelo?"
"It was fun as always and they're still amazing!"
"Diego and Angel?"
"Still foolish." I rolled my eyes.
Diego and Angel are our cousins. Dad's younger sister, tia Sofia is their mom and she's married to Antonio Chavez. A pretty cool guy. Him and dad are close friends. Gloria never really had time to go visit even though the rest of our family back home longed to see her. Gloria is the spitting image of our late grandma. She was white. It's a long story. Our dad's mom died a long time ago and his dad, well, he's alive and he doesn't really like to tell us about him.
The grandparents we have are actually mom's parents! They took my father and his four sisters in as their own when dad and mom fell in love.
Dad still has pictures of his mom which is how we know that Gloria looks exactly like her. Her name was Elizabeth Hills. Sometimes people don't believe us when we tell them we're sisters. Aunt Sofia and Uncle Antonio help at the farm which is why they stay there. Mom has always been the only child and my dad's sisters are practically her sisters too now. One big happy family.
"They miss you, you know?" I told her.
"I know. But I saw them last year on your birthday!"
"Are you hearing yourself?"
"Leave me alone. Where are you going?"
"To see my friends."
"Oh, okay. Should I leave a plate out for you?"
"Mmh...no." I zipped up my skirt and caught her glaring at me.
"Don't tell me you're going to Joe's," she frowned.
Joe's. The wildest place in that small town, Springfield. We loved going to Joe's. All the kids in town. Ria hated it. She hated that I drink. She hated that I'd go partying despite being top of my grade, a virgin and never having a boyfriend! Of course our parents didn't know about my side shenanigans, only Ria and her boyfriend, Daniel.
I didn't give her an answer and to her that was an answer.
"Come on, we spoke about this." She bit.
"Yes we did and..."
"And yet here you are! You're starting senior year next week! You've got to stop playing, Grace!"
"I've been living like this for the past three years, Gloria! I'm not affected by it!" I argued.
"You need to grow up. Yes, you're gorgeous. Yes, you're intelligent. You're still pure and practically a dime but that doesn't mean being a drunk who parties every weekend is condonable behavior, Grace. It's disgusting and degrading."
Gloria is mom when mom's not around. Sort of like my second mom. But she's strict. We argue most of the time and it's always about getting me to act right. She always tells me what to do and what not to do. Fun fact: her and I almost have the same names! She's Gloria Nina, and I'm Grace Nora! Okay, anyway, I never listened to her because I knew how to take care of myself and I didn't need her worrying all the time.
"Gloria, I'm seventeen." I said, calmly, taking a seat next to her.
"You're still so young. You may not see it now but this lifestyle of yours will somehow, someday affect you!" She stressed.
"I know how to take care of myself." I pressed.
"When you're sober. Look at you! Do you see yourself? Tell me one guy in this town who isn't into you? Who wouldn't want to get into your pants when you've blacked out?"
"I've got my friends with me and I don't black out!"
"After all the conversations that we have...I'm disappointed. What makes you think your friends who aren't virgins would protect you from situations like that?"
"No, not this again, Ria." I begged.
"Trust me when I tell you that those girls envy you. They probably go to bed most nights feeling like shit because they gave themselves to guys who hardly care about them! You didn't! And that's your power! That's what makes you great! That's what makes you...you! Don't you get it?"
"We could have this topic all night but I'm running out of time." I said, getting up to fetch my shoes. "Stop being so judgmental, Ria. I get what you're saying. I hear you, but everyone makes their own choices and we can't judge them for it. It's their lives after all."
"I get that, but as your older sister, I'm just trying to protect yours."
She got up from the bed and stood next to me, both hands on my shoulders. "I never had an older sister to tell me what's what and I messed up a lot sometimes! I've been your age once, Grace. I know these things. I'm not hating on your friends, I'm just trying to look out for my sister. Whom I love very much."
I dropped my shoes and pulled her in for a long, tight hug. "You know what the most absolute best part of my life is?" I asked her.
"What?"
"My family. You, Mom, Dad and everyone else. I don't think I could ever be loved the way you guys love me, and I love you all so much. But I'm a teen. I'm bound to rebel and have fun. And even though I've got friends, I'm still my own person. I know what I want. I know what's important. My family and myself are my top priority. Don't worry about how I get there, just be sure that I will. I'll still make all of you proud, Ria. Not because you guys expect me to, but because I want to." I assured her.
"And now I feel embarrassed at how I had forgotten how wise you are. Just like Dad always says."
"Stop worrying. I won't mess up. I got us."

I wasn't telling her all of this to soften her up. I genuinely meant every single word. You might be wondering how it all started — my wild lifestyle. It all started with Donna. The quietest one in our group. It's always the quiet ones. She introduced us to alcohol and drugs, but it was first the alcohol. All only fourteen, we were chilling by the fields just having our normal conversations when she showed up with a bottle wrapped in brown paper. I immediately knew what it was.
"Donna!" I gasped.
"What? What is it?" asked Lucy.
"I brought you guys a surprise." Donna grinned.
"No! How'd you even get that?!" I interrupted.
"Get what?" Naomi and Brooke questioned.
"Grace, chill! Donny, what's that?" said Lucy.
Donna slowly unwrapped the paper and there it was...the bottle of vodka. It was like looking at gold or a shiny new toy. Well, to them at least. To me? I saw my life flash before my eyes. I saw the end of it, funeral and all. I knew my parents would kill me. Donna was the first to take a sip. I flinched. She handed it to Bebe. "Stop! Why? What's the reason?!" I panicked.
"Argh, there's no need for one. Is there? We're just trying something new," said Lucy.
I looked over to my best friend, Naomi, she looked as though she wanted a sip as well.
I gasped. "You too?!"
Her shoulders slumped, "It's just one sip."
I couldn't believe it! I just couldn't! Even Bebe! The most innocent one out of us all.
"Grace, rules are meant to be bent," Lucy shrugged.
"Since when?" I puffed.
"Since now. Life is full of disappointment. Might as well live it up!"
"Lucy, you're only fourteen. What do you know about life and it's disappointments?"
And then it hit me: Edgar. She was obviously trying to numb the pain and she thought alcohol would help with that. And then I thought about my situation with him. All of it. Believe it or not, I knew it was wrong. He was way too old and also, my best friend's brother! But you know how these things go. When a young girl such as myself starts crushing on a handsome boy, she loses herself. Just like how Lucy did. The only reason I took a sip of that vodka was to lessen the guilt.
Well, you can guess what happened after that. We became addicts! No, I'm kidding. But we did become naughty children who got obsessed with alcohol and the fun we had from it at a very young age.
At first it was the diner for milkshakes and fries. Then, it moved to the mall. Then finally, Joe's. And from there we've never looked back.

I arrived at the mall first.
Lucy, Donna and Bebe followed shortly afterwards. "There she is!" Bebe smiled, suffocating me in a hug.
"Hi, you guys." I smiled back, giving them each a hug.
"You've grown taller," said Donna.
"And even more prettier," Lucy added.
I blushed.
"Come on. I need to go get cigarettes," Lucy pulled us.
"Where's Naomi?" Bebe asked me.
"Probably on her way. Let me text her so that she knows where we are."
The mall was so packed that day. Kids in our town loved hanging out there during the day. Plus, it's the only mall you'll find in Springfield, so it kinda made sense. We stepped into the gloomy shop and of course, it too was packed. Lucy wasted no time and stood behind the que to the counter. We waited nearby.
"So, did you enjoy your spring?" The girls asked.
"Yep. Rode horses. Went swimming. Camping. Did a whole lot of things. It was really fun." I replied.
Just then, a group of jocks from our school came from the back of the store. One of them I didn't particularly like. His name was Luke, Brooke's boyfriend.
As soon as he spotted her, he handed the gloves he'd been holding to one of his friends and made his way to us. "Darling, you didn't say you'd be here." He started, completely ignoring me and Donna. I rolled my eyes and looked away, and that's when I caught one of his friends, Ethan, staring at me.
"Hey, you're back." He quickly said.
"Yeah?" I wondered.
How'd he know I was away? I didn't think much of it because as I was about to grow impatient...I heard Mimi's voice. I wheeled around and saw her standing by the entrance. She quickly ran to me and pulled me into a hug. "You're finally back!" She squealed. I knew she'd missed me. Even though we spoke everyday as well as video chats. I knew the main reason she was happy I was there in person was because of her one teeny tiny problem.
A boy. A boy I'll get into later.
After Lucy got her cigarettes we headed to the fountain and sat there to catch up on everything while eating. I had really missed them. My friends and I had been friends ever since we were like five. So, that's twelve years of friendship. Unbelievable, but true.
As we were catching up I noticed Naomi wander off — mentally that is. And I knew that whenever she was on her phone she'd be talking to that boy. His name's Austin.
I didn't like him for her. He was her first everything and she was madly in love with him. The only problem was that he had a girlfriend, and Naomi was his little secret.
When she caught me looking at her, she quickly put her phone away and smiled at me.
"Everyone's starting to leave. You know what that means," Donna grinned.
"It's party time!" Bebe sang.
We followed the groups of kids out of the mall as we all made our way to our favorite spot ever: Joe's.