Zoe's life is turned upside down when a devastating house fire leaves her and her family homeless. Forced to move into a tiny one-bedroom apartment that is barely big enough for one person, let alone four, Zoe is certain that things couldn't possibl...
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My mom was going to kill me, I thought as the cop took down my details. He was very amiable as he filled out the citation, admonishing me gently on the dangers of underage drinking.
I was free to leave as soon as Mom got here. God, that phone call to her had been a nightmare. She'd been confused at first, then slightly panicked, and finally terse and angry. She'd hung up, saying she'd be here in fifteen minutes. Time was almost up, and I couldn't help the trepidation forming inside of me.
I'd never gotten into trouble like this before. Sure, I'd gone to parties, but I'd never gotten drunk, and I'd been home at a decent hour. Mom had trusted me. That was blown all to hell now.
Still, I thought, as I took the ticket from the cop, I was one of the lucky ones. There were dozens of arrests being made; some were people who'd tried to make a run for it when they saw the cops, others had been caught in possession of drugs. Somebody had overdosed in a bedroom upstairs, and paramedics had carried them out in a stretcher. It was awful, and I hoped that, whoever it was, they were okay.
Aiden was amongst those found in possession. I watched in grim satisfaction as he was handcuffed and led away. I hadn't seen Kane again, and wondered if he'd made it out okay. There were a number of people who had made a successful run for it out the back door and into the woods, and of course, there were those who were over twenty-one and didn't get into any trouble at all. Bella, the jock, and I, were among the few who were under 18, and waiting for a parent pick-up. Everyone else was being processed, ticketed, and allowed to leave. Or getting arrested.
I stared down at the citation, a little scared about what it could mean. A fine to pay, for sure, and I was gutted about it due to our strained finances, but were there other consequences? Would this be on my record?
I sat down on the couch, feeling a little weak at the knees. Bella was still on the phone to her mom, and judging by the pained expression on her face, what she was saying wasn't going over too well.
"I forgot my ID at home," some guy was saying desperately to a cop nearby. "I'm twenty-one, I swear."
"You can bring your ID to the magistrate and get your case dismissed. Until then-" The police officer handed over the ticket.
The guy took the ticket, shoulders slumping in defeat, as Bella came and sat by me. She pocketed her phone, looking wretched.
"I'm so sorry, Zoe. You never wanted to come tonight. I just had to insist on it."
"It's not your fault, you couldn't have known," I said, and I meant it. She'd just been trying to cheer me up, and take my mind off of things. There was no way that I could hold this against her.
"Zoe!"
I glanced up to see Mom storming into the house, fury stamped all over her face. A sleepy-looking Alice and Asher clung close to her side. Asher seemed to perk right up at the sight of all the police officers, his eyes going wide and darting round all over the place. He knew that his dad had been a cop, and he wanted to be just like him when he grew up.
