Chapter 4

The weekend.

A bar.

Flashing lights, music loud enough to hurt.

Yvette walked me to a booth, said she was going to find her friends, and told me to sit tight for a bit. "Willow, I'm going to go say hi to my friends for a minute. Hang out here. I'll come back for you soon."

I'd never been to a bar before, and the whole vibe of the place put me on edge. I caught her hand.

"Yvette, weren't you going to introduce me to your friends?" I asked.

"I need to give them a heads-up first," she said. "It'd be rude to drop a stranger on them out of nowhere."

I believed her.

I sat there like a good girl and waited half an hour.

Then some random guy slid into the booth and dropped a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, gorgeous. All by yourself?"

I pulled away.

He leaned right back in. "Come on, don't be like that. Let's get to know each other."

I shrank away again.

He muttered a curse and grabbed my wrist. "What's with the stuck-up act?"

Panic shot through me. I hadn't expected him to actually put his hands on me. I yanked hard, trying to break his grip. "Let go of me."

The music was so loud no one noticed a thing.

My reaction seemed to set him off. "Fucking hell, you stuck-up bitch. You should be grateful I'm even interested. Don't make me do this the hard way."

I was even more terrified now and started screaming. "Yvette. Yvette."

But Yvette was nowhere to be seen.

Just as I froze, another guy appeared and pulled the foul-mouthed creep off me.

"Who the hell are you? What are you trying to do to my sister?" he snapped.

The first guy assumed he was someone I knew and got out of there fast.

The guy who'd stepped in turned to me. "I'm a friend of Yvette's. She's upstairs. She sent me down to get you."

I thanked him quickly and followed him upstairs.

But I still didn't see Yvette anywhere.

He seemed to read my mind and offered an explanation. "She probably stepped into the restroom. Here, have some water first."

He poured me a glass. I took it and drank a few sips.

Maybe it was because it was getting late.

Before I knew it, I'd dozed off.

When I came to, I was in a room I didn't recognize.

My heart started pounding.

My phone was gone.

There was no one else in the room.

When I stepped outside, I realized I was in a hotel.

I borrowed a phone from the front desk.

Back at the Lawson house, my father was waiting in the living room.

His face was dark, and the moment he opened his mouth, he was furious. "Out all night? Who the hell were you running around with? Do you have any idea today is your move-in day at college?"

Mom rushed in beside him to defend me."Willow's still young. It's normal for her to want to have a little fun."

Dad only barked at her again.

I panicked and tried desperately to explain. "I wasn't running around with anyone. Yvette took me out...

"She said she was taking me to a party. I waited in the private room until I fell asleep, and when I woke up I was in a hotel..."

Yvette stood off to the side, eyes red, looking like she'd been wronged beyond words.

"Willow, I know you don't like me, but how can you make something like this up? I had dinner with a friend last night and came straight home. I never took you to any bar." She said.

I went still. "You're lying."

I lunged forward and grabbed her wrist. "You were the one who took me there. There are cameras at the entrance."

Yvette stepped back, and tears spilled down her cheeks.

"Willow, you were the one who asked me to drop you off last night. I never said anything about taking you to a party. How can you pin this on me because you're scared Dad will be mad?" She said.

"Willow, please don't do this... Mom, I swear, I didn't..."

Mom looked at me with something in her eyes I couldn't read.

"Willow, apologize to your sister," Mom said.

"I didn't do anything wrong," I said. "Why should I apologize?" I said.

Dad slammed the door on his way out.

I clung to Mom's hand and kept trying to explain. "Mom, I'm not lying.

"You have to believe me."

But none of them would listen.

They'd already pronounced me guilty.

Yvette ran off crying, and Mom chased after her.

I stood alone in the living room, shaking from head to toe.

It hurt. I stood there, the only thought in my head being that they didn't believe me.

My parents were supposed to take me to move-in day. In the end, only the driver did.