“Mom, you don’t understand!” Kelly screamed.
      “Kelly, honey, calm down,” her mom said.
      “No, I will not calm down! You can’t possibly know what I go through day in and day out. Her face felt hot, and her cheeks were sticky when she wiped at her eyes.
      “I’m only trying to protect you because I love you. I don’t want to see you hurt.”
      “Too late; the damage has been done. I’ll never be accepted, and it’s all your fault!” Kelly stormed down the hall towards her room. She turned around and glared at her mother. “I hate you. This party meant everything to me. I finally received a chance to be accepted and you’re trying to protect me from everything you want me to have. Just ask yourself how you could love me.”
     Kelly slammed her door, shutting out not only her mother, but everything that was wrong with her life. She glanced at her watch: 5:30. The party started at 7:30.
      “Hmm...two hours to change and sneak out.” She didn’t care if she was caught. It was about time she took hold of her own life.

At the Party


     The music was thumping and Kelly had never been so excited in her life.
     “Hey, Summers!” The familiar voice shouted at Kelly from her right.
     She turned towards the sound, and when she saw Devon, she nearly fainted. Devon is talking me! To me! She smiled. “Hey, Devon.”
     “Are you having fun yet?”
     Kelly nodded, afraid to speak; afraid to mess her chance up.
     “Do you want anything to drink?”
     “Uh, sure, thanks,” Kelly spoke nervously, choosing her moves carefully.
     The two of them walked towards the kitchen, which was stuffed full of people. Most of them were holding beers or coolers. Kelly gulped at the sight. Drinking wasn’t her thing, but when Devon grabbed a beer, she asked for one too. “It’s now or never,Kelly! Everyone needs acceptance now and then,” she mumbled to herself. She held the can her hand, not wanting to open it, and hoping no one would notice. Unfortunately, Devon did.
     “Are you going to drink it, or just use it as a decoration?” Devon joked.
     Kelly faked a smile. This isn’t right. Don’t do it, Kelly! her conscience screamed. Just say you’re uncomforted by this. She pushed down her growing fear and took a sip. Trying to hide her gagging at the stale taste of the carbonated liquid, she swallowed and gave her head a little mental shake. The two of them headed towards the dance floor, moving to the music.

     Later that night, Kelly was onto her fourth cooler-which was after two beers. She and Devon had been inseparable all night, and he offered to give her a ride home. “Devon!” Kelly called through a crowd of people. He had left to grab his car keys. However, he had been gone for almost twenty minutes. When he came back, he had another cooler in his hand. Kelly and Devon slipped out the door; his arm around her waist.
     As soon as they were in the car, Devon changed. His body was more relaxed, but the more relaxed he was, the more tense Kelly became. He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “What d’you say you and I head into the back for a while,” he slurred. His breath reeked of alcohol, and despite herself being drunk, she was nauseous.
     “Devon, I-I’m not really c-comfortable w-with that,” Kelly stuttered.
     His eyes became slits, and his lips pursed while his forehead creased. He started the car and pulled out of his parking space. Tread marks trailed behind the speeding vehicle as Devon took a hard right.
     “Devon, slow down!” Kelly squealed.
     “We’ll be fine. I’m not as thunk as you drink and I don’t have much blood in my alcohol.”
     “Then why are you messing up your words?” Kelly frantically searched for a way to get out of the car.
     “Calm down, baby,” Devon started, turning his head towards Kelly, “the streets are empty.”
     “Watch the road!” Kelly shouted.
     Devon was still looking at Kelly. “I’ve done this before and nothing has ever-” His words were cut off by the crunch of metal and the deafening sound of the windshield shattering. Time seemed to slow as Kelly’s seatbelt snapped and she was catapulted through the hole where the windshield was. Her head hit the trunk of a wide oak tree with a sickening thunk.
     Devon’s face smashed the steering wheel and was suddenly whipped back hard enough to break his neck. Blood and glass littered the pavement. Devon’s breath came slowly and painfully as he forced his mind to stay awake.
     Kelly’s tiny body was bent across the hood of the car at odd angles. Blood ran from a lesion on the top of her head, and flowed freely from her mouth, nose and ears. Sirens wailed in the distance, the lights as small as fire-flies in Devon’s blood-filled eyes. The voices calling out orders were like an echo crawling and stretching its way toward his ears.
     Devon’s body caved to the taunting black, it finally pulling him into its deadly grasp. His body became cooler as the blood stopped pumping through is veins, and his lungs ceased taking in air. Silence was nowhere to be found as paramedics rushed to save the young man’s life. They all knew it was too late for the girl and could only wait for the coroner to arrive.

     At four o’clock in the morning, a knock sounded at the Summers’ residence. Kelly’s mother leaped up from her seat at the kitchen table. Worry clouded her already worn face. Opening the door, she wondered who would come this early in the morning. In all the world she hoped it was Kelly home from the party. She hadn’t been able to sleep since she found Kelly’s room empty when she went to check on her.
     “Ms. Summers?” a husky voice questioned. The man standing before her was tall with warm green eyes, and salt ‘n pepper hair. His muscular build was in huge contrast to his line-etched face.
     She nodded and swallowed, not quite able to find her voice.
     “I’m Officer Stransen. There’s something I need to tell you. May I come in?”
     Her mothering instincts kicked in and everything clicked together. She choked back a sob as she let the officer into her home.
     “You may want to sit down.” He paused and waited for Ms. Summers to take a seat before he himself sat down. “There was an accident. Your daughter Kelly and a young boy, Devon Pierson, were involved.”
     She couldn’t hold it anymore. Tears flooded down her cheeks, blurring her vision so the officer in front of her was fuzzy. “She’s not okay, is she? What happened to her?!” Her voice rose in a shrill whisper.

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