[NOT THAT THE STORY HASN'T HAD MATURE CONTENT, BUT THIS CHAPTER HAS SOME HEAVIER THEMES]
~2012
Her parents were going on tour with the band again, which gave Sophie free reign for a little while. Of course, she needed supervision since they would be gone for so long, so her older sister Phoenix came to stay with her.
Phoenix was only eight years older than Sophie, but she'd been all over the map. She was a singer, an actress, a celebrity, and a socialite, which earned her a lot of press. Sophie was raised in a famous household and knew how it felt, but felt like, in some ways, Phoenix had transcended fame. She was a controversy.
Of course, she was always a good role model for her little sister, who knew better than to buy into her 'wild child' facade. That was, until she brought Lacey and Patrick over.
"I'll be back, I'm gonna go pick up the food," Phoenix said, getting up off her bed. "Soph, you gonna be okay with these two?" The fifteen year-old nodded and went back to her phone.
They were all congregated in Phoenix's childhood bedroom, Patrick and Lacey on the floor, and Sophie swirling in Phoenix's desk chair.
Patrick looked at Lacey with a smirk and the brunette shook her head. Sophie didn't know Patrick well. He was older than a lot of Phoenix's friends. Lacey, on the other hand, had been friends with Phoenix for years. She knew she'd be safe with her around.
"Hey, little girl," Patrick said, ignoring Lacey's eye roll. Sophie looked up at him, and cocked her head to one side. "Yes?"
"I saw those pills in your cabinet earlier."
Sophie's eyes went wide and her blood went cold. "What the hell were you doing in my bathroom?!" Then Lacey chimed in, "yeah, what the hell, man. Don't go through her sh!t like that."
Patrick ignored both comments and looked Sophie up and down. "How many things are you on, anyway? I saw Xanax, Lithium, like a sh!t ton of uppers. What the hell is going on in that pretty little head of yours?"
Sophie swallowed hard. Nobody, except for her family and psychiatrist, knew that she was on those pills. "Oh yeah, and I also saw some over-the-counters. You've got weight loss pills next to a bottle of mouth wash, babe. What's goin' on there?"
The teenage girl felt tears stinging her eyes. She was trying so hard to hold them back that her eyelids burned with a fury. "Lay off, Patrick. You're being a dick," Lacey said, staring daggers at him.
"Oh, shut up, Lace. I'm just tryin' to help her out." He turned his focus back to Sophie, who looked about ready to snap. "Does mommy know that her sweet girl is a devil in disguise?"
"My parents know what medications I take, okay?" It was only partially true.
"Yeah, but are they working? Why don't you try something, a teeny bit more effective," he said, producing a little bag of white powder from his pocket.
Sophie stared at it for a moment, her jaw hanging open. It was the ultimate forbidden fruit. "No, Patrick, put that away! Phoenix doesn't even do that, man. Besides, Sophie's only fifteen!"
"So? I started when I was fifteen. What's the big deal?"
"The big deal? You know this sh!t almost killed their mom in the seventies."
The both looked to Sophie, who was still mesmerized by the baggie. Her mom had always told them that it was the worst thing in the world. It could really destroy them. She was fully aware of that, too. But it was so close, and so powerful. It could make her feel good, which would make her parents worry less. In a way, the vice that almost prevented their family from even existing, could bring peace and renewal.
