Two lives.

01. private roads & scary men

May 2nd, 2024
10:53 AM

"Sienna!" My mom's voice pierced through my sleep, jolting me awake. "Ugh, what does she want now?" I thought as I groggily sat up. "Sienna Anise!" she shouted again, louder this time, propelling me out of bed and toward the door. I rushed downstairs, still half-asleep, confused by the noise and shouting.

When I stepped into the living room, I froze at the sight of two police officers standing by the couch. My mom was pacing, her face twisted with anger.

"Do you want to explain why there are cops in my living room?" she demanded.

"Oh, fuck."

Seven days earlier.

"Yo, Sienna!" Luke called, shoving past people in the crowded hallway of our high school. He finally caught up to me, grinning like he always did. "Did you hear what Bryson got?"

"Nah, what did he do now?" I asked as we turned the corner into the lunchroom, heading for the table where my friends always sat. My group—Luke, Kayla, Adrian, Bryson, and Mel—had been tight since middle school. Adrian's my neighbor, so we've known each other forever. He eventually introduced me to everyone else. Even though I'm the only freshman, we all get along great.

"There you are! It took you forever," Kayla teased, standing up to hug me as I reached the table.

"Blame the kids in the hallway," I said, laughing. "Nobody knows how to walk."

"Did you hear what Bryson has?" Adrian asked, dapping me up from across the table.

"I was about to hear," I said, sitting next to Luke and Kayla. "Luke was telling me right before we walked in."

"Yeah," Luke said, grabbing a handful of nachos from the lunch bar. "Bryson drove all the way to Washington and bought a bunch of illegal fireworks."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, that sounds like Bryson."

"Not only that, but he wants to take them to some party in Gaston and set them off tonight," Kayla added, stealing a chip from Luke's plate.

"Hey!" Luke swatted her hand away. "Get your own!"

Mel made a face. "That cheese is nasty anyway."

Adrian chuckled, flicking a crumb at her. "It's probably gonna give you cancer."

"I don't care if it does," Luke said through a mouthful of nachos. "This stuff is the bomb."

"Okay, back up," I said, trying to steer the conversation. "Bryson wants to bring illegal fireworks to a party?"

"Yup," Kayla nodded. "Some kid is throwing a party on his parents' farm while they're out of town. Bryson's been talking about it for days."

That sounded like Bryson—always at some party. He and Luke, being the seniors of the group, were usually our ticket into any event. Plus, Luke's good looks and charm didn't hurt.

Luke, with his dirty blonde hair and messy skater style, always had girls flocking around him. And he skated, which just made him that much cooler in everyone's eyes. Half of my wardrobe used to be his clothes—stuff he didn't want anymore but still looked good on me.

"I mean, are we going?" I asked, still confused about the whole fireworks situation.

Luke shrugged. "Why not? It sounds fun."

"Last time you said that, we ended up stranded with no gas," Kayla pointed out, groaning at the memory.

"That was Adrian's fault," Luke argued. "He said he'd pay for the gas."