Baton Rouge.

Chapter 8 - "Weak Minded."

"Who gave you these damn drugs!?" Rodrigo barked.

Melissa sat in her room, staring into space with her arms folded. Rodrigo walked closer to Melissa, giving her a serious look.

"Melissa Rodriguez, I am talking to you!" Rodrigo growled through his teeth. "You better answer me, damnit."

Melissa looked at her parents with her teary eyes of rage, looking away again.

"I was bored and I saw a cigarette or what they called a "blunt", and I chose to smoke it." Melissa sighed. "I don't know why, I just did it...."

"You just did it!?" Maria scowled. "What the hell kind of response is that, Melissa!?"

"Wait a minute, who is they?" Rodrigo asked.

"What are you talking about, Dad?" Melissa snarled.

"You said 'What they called a blunt', who is they?" Rodrigo asked.

Melissa was obviously talking about Jionni and his friends, but she didn't mean to state it like that. Melissa looked down and decided to confess.

"I was peer pressured into-"

"She was pressured because of me."

When Maria and Rodrigo turned near the stairs, they saw Louis stepping up. He placed his hands in his pockets, walking by the front of Melissa's door and looking at her.

"I had friends over last night and.....we got a little crazy with the party we had last night before heading back to the naval base." Louis continued. "When Melissa came over, I pressured her into smoking marijuana since my friends were doing it."

"You bastard." Maria whispered sinisterly at him. "Do you know that your sister could've been KILLED because of you?"

Louis bowed his head, taking a deep breath.

"I know..." Louis sighed.

"You apologize to your damn sister, then you get the hell out of my house." Rodrigo growled as he stormed out of the room. "Melissa, you're not doing any outside activities for a while. That's your punishment."

Louis looked up at Maria, tucking in his lips.

"Mom, I'm sorr-"

Before Louis could say anything, Maria smacked him in the face. Her eyes welled with rage and disappointment as she stormed out of the room, shutting her bedroom door. Louis sighed as Melissa got up from her bed and hugged him as hard as she could.

"Thank you so much, Louis." Melissa whispered, crying as she clutched onto his shoulders.

Louis shut the door to her room, sitting down in her rolling chair and looking at her.

"Now Melissa, as a result of me covering for you, you need to tell me everything that got you into this situation." Louis said in a serious tone. "Did you really do cocaine last night?"

"No, I promise." Melissa said in a serious tone. "I......the weed that I smoked was laced with PCP."

"Who were you with last night when you called me?"

Melissa took a deep breath, twiddling with her fingers.

"I met with a boy at my school and I decided to start hanging out with him since he was the only friend I had there. At a party, he gave me some weed laced with cocaine for his own sick amusement after I asked him if there was anything else inside of the drug, and he said no." Melissa said. "The second I got my test results back, I broke off my friendship with him. He's a liar, obviously."