Danger // J.N

Chapter 25

Anna's POV.

I walk downstairs with my bag hanging over my shoulder. I wear a baggy college sweatshirt with black leggings. My hair is up in a messy bun.

My dad stands in the kitchen, putting together Addy and Andrew's lunch. He takes two plastic baggies and fills them with pretzels. I walk over and grab a sandwich bag. I grab a handful of pretzels and fill the bag with it.

"Can I have some lunch money?" I ask.

My dad raises an eyebrow. "I gave you twenty dollars yesterday, Savannah."

"I know, but I was really hungry and went overboard," I say.

"Where'd you go for lunch?" He asks.

I gulp and lean against the counter. "Um, subway and that bakery up the street," I say. He nods. "My wallets on the table by the door. You can only take the ten," He says. I nod. "Thank you!"

I turn around and walk over to the front door. I pick up my dads wallet and open it, I search through the multiple dollar bills. I find the ten and take it out. I close his wallet and set it back down.

I look up as Brittaney pulls in the driveway. "Oh, Brittaney's here! Bye!" I yell.

"Bye!" My dad yells back. I open the door and run out.

***

After school, Jace and I sit under the bridge again. I sit up, smoking the blunt again.

"Anna?"

I look at Jace. "Yeah?"

Jace watches me. He squints his eyes. He sighs. "Please promise me you won't become addicted," He says.

I look at him and part my lips. "I can't promise that," I reply.

"What do you mean, Anna? You haven't done this for as long as I have. You can't be addicted this fast."

"No, I can't." I sigh. "I've always been interested in psychology. I've always loved learning about drugs and alcohol, and what made people use them." I say. Jace looks at me.

"Drugs, and alcohol, control you. You can't be in control of them. They're in charge, once they get into you. And they can get you into really bad situations, or maybe good ones. Drugs are like, that kid at school that everyone says stay away from because they're trouble. If you hang out with them, they'll influence you. If you use drugs, they'll influence you. Of course I don't plan to use hard drugs. But for now, I'm being the regular teenager and experimenting life."

Jace looks at me. "Your point?" He raises an eyebrow.

I roll my eyes. "My point is, we'll see what the drugs do to me. If I'm addicted, I'm addicted. Really, I can't control what happens. And you aren't the one who influenced me. I want you to know that. You're the first person I know who is using, but you didn't influence me at all, Jace," I say. Jace nods. He reaches for the blunt. I hand it to him.

I crawl out from under the bridge. I stand up. "Let's go on an adventure," I reach for his hand. He squints his eyes. He crawls out, finishing the blunt. I grab his hand and pull him up the small dirt hill.

I turn to him. "What are you doing?" He asks. I smile. "Let's go on a walk," I say. He nods. I lead him through the forest. We climb over sticks and branches and logs. I find a tree that looks easy to climb. I step on a log, and then step up on the other branch. I grab onto the tree and pull myself up onto it.

"Where'd you learn to climb trees?" He asks. I sit on the large branch, and look over. Jace stands there.

"I love climbing trees!" I say. He laughs. I jump down. My vision gets blurry, and I start losing balance. I look at Jace. "Are you okay?" He asks. I nod.