Sophie, my little girl, made some really stupid decisions. And I mean some that were rivaling mine, which is saying something. So when my sister brought my daughter home, passed out, yeah I’m worried and want to know what happened! Her friend, Maria, sat down and explained it all to us though. Multiple times too, just to make sure she wasn’t lying. Just because she was my favorite friend of hers doesn’t mean I trust her fully.

Apparently despite me nailing her window down, Sophie went out last night! How did she even get those nails out without a hammer?! That girl is too determined for her own good, I swear… Anyway, apparently one of her other friends, Cadence, made her drink some suspicious drinks and half their group got drunk. Bella saw them, brought Sophie home, and Maria came with because she was worried about Sophie and wanted to explain what had really happened.

I went to Sophie’s room (which I unlocked after a few minutes of messing around) and placed my daughter on her bed. Kevin stayed there with her while I came back out to Bella and Maria. I sent Ben to bed, because he didn’t need to be up for all of this and he had school tomorrow, which I still wanted him to attend. I had already called his teachers to have them make sure he didn’t go to the bathroom too often and that he ate his lunch with them. The precautions were already well taken.

“Diane,” Bella asked when I sat down in the living room. She had her legs crossed and hands folded in that way she does whenever she wants a serious talk. “Has Sophie done anything like this before?”

“Well… something like it,” I said, hugging my sides. I was still a bit rattled from seeing my daughter like that. “Just the other night, we found out that she snuck out and took Ben with her.”

“Has she ever gotten drunk before though?” she asked. We both looked at Maria, who shook her head.

“Cadence does a lot, but Sophs never did before.”

“Where did you even get the alcohol from?” Bella asked.

“Well… behind the drugstore there’s these kids, and they’ve got-”

“Are they still there?” my sister interrupted. 

“I think so.”

“I’ll be right back.”

Bella asked for a second to step away, and she went out of the room. I could hear her calling someone, and in a few minutes she came back into the room looking very proud of herself. I’m guessing those kids were about to be put out of business.

“Ok, I took care of that,” she smiled, satisfied. 

“Maria, do your parents know you’re here?” I asked gently. She gave a guilty look.

“I don’t think anyone’s parents know we go out.”

“Oh…”

Bella and I glanced at each other. For all anyone knew, my sister basically might’ve kidnapped a child. I really hoped her mother didn’t check in the middle of the night and call the police or something.

“Can you like, call your mom?” I asked, thinking about the police knocking on my door in the morning.

“Um…” She very much didn’t want to make that phone call. I don’t blame her though. I wouldn’t want to either. “Give me a few minutes.”

Maria walked into the kitchen and took out her phone. She stared back at us both looking at her as she cleared her throat and dialed a number. Her face was just pure anxiety, probably from both the thought of her mother and Sophie.

“Hey, Mom…” she nervously laughed. “So… funny story actually…”

“What kinda parent do you think she’ll be like?” I whispered to Bella.

“How would I know?”

“Who’s the therapist here?”

“Why would I know about her parents just because of that?”

“I don’t know, I’m just worried.”

“No Mom, I’m at Sophie’s house,” Maria said, still nerve-wracked. “While I’m here, can I sleepover?”