Burned Pieces

The Secret

After breakfast she returned to her room to check on the the messages on her phone. They were send by her highschool friends who were planning a reunion as they were all back home for the next few weeks. With a short message she replied before walking over to her bags and sorting though her things. Dirty clothes in laundry basket, clean clothes into her closet and the rest landed in a pile on her desk that she would have to tackle later. With clean clothes in one hand and a fresh towel in the other she walked into the bathroom to take a shower. The cold water ran down her back as she inhaled the scent from the schampoo. Feeling the stress and tension being flushed down the drain for every second she stood under the pouring water. 

When she stepped out from the shower water drops were creating a puddle under her feet. In the mirror she saw herself and was surprised by what looked back at her. Instead of the energetic party girl she so often used to see when she was a high school students, she saw a bared face college student with a slightly darker shade of purple under her eyes. Her skin was pale as if she hadn't seen the sun for months and her hair desperately needed a trim. In one of the bathroom boxes she found an old self tanner she had used last summer, but as she pressed the pump nothing happened. She tried again and shacked it. Nothing. Suddenly she noticed the almost erased expiration date. It was long ago expired and had dried up inside the package. She let out an almost soundless cry and threw it away. 

Back in her room she got dressed and checked her phone again to see what they had decided on. Lunch at their usual spot. If she left a little earlier she would have time to get a haircut and buy a self tanner before meeting up with her high school friend group. She hurried out to her car and started driving down the street. Only a few houses away from theirs she saw her brother and his friends walking on the sidewalk. The only people she recognized was her brother Vinson and his friend Jack, the rest she assumed was some new friends he made while she was away. As she looked at Vinson he turned around, facing her car. Without a warning he stepped out on the road she was driving on. Millions of thoughts went through her head as she pressed the breaker to not hit him. As the car stopped only a few feet away from him her head banged against the lean. She swore quietly under her breath. What in the world was he doing? He continued as normal, followed by his friends. Only Jack turned around, throwing her an apologizing gesture before they disappeared around the corner of a wall. Sometimes she wondered what was going on in his head. Did he want to die? Because it definitely seemed so. Still upset with him, she continued driving and couldn't wait till that evening, when she verbally was going to kill him at the dinner table. 

With a new haircut and a bag of self tanning lotion she walked out of the store and towards the restaurang they were meeting at, which was only a short walk away. When she walked through the door she could see that almost all of them had already arrived and walked over to greet them. 

- "Val, your here". Stacy, one of her closest and oldest friends stood up to give her a hug. She hurried over, while opening her arms. 

- "Of course, it was such a long time ago", she walked around the table, hugging all of her friends before taking a seat. They talked for a while before everyone had arrived, and at last they were full scale. 

- "I am starving", Emma said while  looking at the menu lying in front of her. "Lets order". 

The food was served while they exchanged their best college experiences and everything thy had been up to. 

- "Mia, didn't you mention something about a party?", Stacy said while picking up her glas to take a sip. 

- "Oh my god, yes.", Mia began excitedly putting down her fork. "I thought that we should throw a party again. It has been decades". She added while Emma sighed playfully as if to sign she just wanted a chill vacation. "My parents are out of town, we can get gamed up and invite a bunch of people from highschool. We need this. I swear it will be fun". 

The idea of a party sounded exhausting, especially since she had no plans of socializing or getting dressed up the following weeks. But when thinking back of all their crazy pre-parties and  late nights she couldn't help but wanting to relive it. 

- "I think it sounds fun", Stacy said while Mia mimed a thank you to her. "What do you think Val?". Just like that all the attention was on her again. 

- "I think it sounds fun", she answered slowly, revealing the hidden uncertainty underneath. "I will probably regret it, but who knows when we will get the chance to do it the next time". 

The next hours passed in a blur and suddenly it was turning dark outside and time to return home. They took their farewells and returned to their own cars with the promise of meeting up soon again to plan the party. The sun had almost set when she drove up on the driveway. She turned the keys, hearing the engine noise dying out. Although it had been fun catching up with them, it had made her unusually exhausted. In her car she sat for a while in the darkness before regaining the strength to bring herself to unbuckle the seat belt and step out of her car. The walk towards the door seemed longer than usual and she had to stop and catch a breath before eventually pressing down the handle and walk in. 

- "Is that you Val?", her dad called out from the kitchen where he was scrambling with the pans.

- "Yes, I'm back". She shouted over the noise. 

- "Okay, dinner is ready in a few minutes". 

They were all seating at the dinner table when she noticed that her brothers chair was still empty. 

- "Where is Vin?", she wondered looking at them. 

- "He is with Jack", her mother answered without looking at her. Seemingly as if to avoid eye contact. 

Dinner went by smoothly and after cleaning up she made her way back to her room. Just as she was about to walk into it, she noticed her brother's bedroom door being partially open. The curiosity took over and after listened to her parents' quiet voices, making sure she wouldn't be caught, she sneaked across the hallway. The bed, the desk, and his drawer all looked the same as it had always done. The only think that stood out to her was that one of his drawers wasn't completely closed. With a piece of cloth handing out, keeping it from closing completely, it looked as if something quickly had been showed into there in a hurry. She knew she should have left, but she couldn't stop herself. His usual tidiness revealed that there was something up with that drawer and she had to find out what it was. Carefully, she opened it a little more before realizing it was only a part of his sweatpants that had gotten stuck.

She let out a laugh before silencing it by placing a hand over her mouth. She tried tucking in the sweatpants when a rustling sound stopped her. It sounded like plastic being squeezed together. With one hand she moved the pants aside while using the other to dig around under it. The cold, soft feeling of plastic stroke her hand and she pulled in it. There it was, a small clear plastic bag hidden beneath his clothes. It was similar to the one you would get at a craft store to hold small buttons, but there were no buttons in the bag. Instead, there were dried leaves chopped into small pieces. Unsure of what to do, she looked at it, millions of thoughts racing through her mind. She knew what it was, but couldn't believe that her own brother would have this in his room. The sound coming from somewhere in the house made her quickly put it back under the sweatpants and close the drawer. She ran back to her own room and closed the door behind her. Blood rushed through her veins as she lent against the cold surface, pressing her palm against her forehead. He was her brother. She knew he would never do anything like this. So why did he have marijuana hidden in his room?