A Whole New Crowd (A Whole New Crowd 1)

When Tray pulled up to my house, I saw the other cars. The curtains were pulled back so I was able to see into the kitchen. It was full of Mandy’s friends. Assuming these were from ‘Tristan’s’ group, from what I overheard, I prepared myself for weirdness and ass-kissing.

“You okay?”

I glanced over. The concern in Tray’s eyes was evident. I nodded. “I just heard some things that I have to deal with.”

“You need help?”

I shook my head. “No. This is on me.” A shriek of laughter came from the house and I looked over again. They were all giggling, moving around the kitchen with drinks in hand. A girl was filling their glasses with more wine.

“Okay. Everyone’s heading to my house tonight to go to Rickets’. Are you coming?”

“Yeah.” Then a plan began to formulate. “Can you pick me up? Everyone’s meeting at your house, right?”

He frowned but nodded. “Sure. When everyone takes off, I’ll just let them know I’m going to swing by and pick you up first.”

“Okay.”

“You didn’t want to get a ride to my house with your sister?” He leaned down so he could get a better view of my house. “Although, they look too drunk to drive anyway.”

There was one girl who looked sober. She was thin with white-blonde hair, and she stood out among the group. She’d been the one pouring wine into the glasses. I was willing to bet she was Tristan. It was obvious she was the leader. She stood with confidence. Her shoulders were straight. Her chin was lifted, and it looked like she was watching over her minions. I hadn’t paid attention to Mandy’s friends earlier, but despite the distance between the house and car, I could tell she was pretty. She had a heart-shaped face, small petite looks, and higher-set cheekbones. I was starting to suspect she was a rival to Jennica and Amber in the looks department. All three girls were beautiful.

As I continued to study Tristan, I said to Tray, “No, they have a sober driver.” I looked to him. “I need Mandy out of the house. I have to look for something when no one else is around. The timing is too good for me to pass up.”

He nodded. “Okay. I’ll send the group ahead without me and I’ll wait outside until you’re ready.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

“I hope everything’s okay?”

I gave him a fleeting smile. “So do I.” I got out of the car and headed in. I had been exposed to a hornet’s nest and I was going to step right on it.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

I understood the drug life. It wasn’t because I took drugs. It was because I had taken care of someone that did. Brian. Standing in front of Mandy’s room, all those memories flooded back. I had taken him to rehab twice. Jace took him the last time, and he had kept clean so far—so far. He might’ve relapsed, but I had no idea. A small knot formed in my throat as I realized that truth. Brian wasn’t my concern any longer. Mandy was.

When I left Tray’s car and went into the house earlier, I played nice. I stood around. I joined in with the fake banter, fake smiles, and fake politeness. The truth was that I wanted to tear upstairs and demand to know if it was true. I held back and when the girls started to leave, I shook my head. No, I didn’t need a ride. Yes, Tray was picking me up. Yes, it was wonderful. Yes, we were together. I had frowned as I said that, but he did kiss me in front of everyone. I knew it meant something, even though there’d been no actual conversation between us.

That could wait. Finding out Mandy’s secret was my priority now, and with that thought, I reached forward and opened her door. It swung open, showing her pink picture frames, her desk, her pink laptop, and her queen size bed with its beige bedspread. She had her own bathroom attached to her bedroom. That was where I headed first. Pushing past the nagging feeling that I was violating her trust, my jaw firmed. My hands clenched.

I began searching.

As I did, the storm of emotion inside of me calmed. The anxiety, the fear, the tension, the need to demand answers—all of that silenced, and as I opened her bathroom cabinets, my hands didn’t shake. I moved with purpose. Each drawer was looked through. Underneath the drawers were explored. On top of her mirrors, then every corner in the room was felt for any loose tiles or framing. I felt inside her Kleenex boxes, on the inside of empty toilet paper rolls. I lifted her garbage, then took the bag out to make sure nothing was hidden beneath it. I ran my fingers over every dip and turn of the toilet, feeling the screws to make sure they weren’t loosened.

Nothing.

The closet was next. Thick hangers were examined to make sure nothing was taped to the opposite side of it. I lifted the closet dowel itself and ran a hand over the end, no opening had been carved into it to hide drugs. Each shoe box. All of it. Every pocket, every inch inside of her clothes, under the soles of her shoes, there was no space unexplored by me.

I felt the door frames and doors themselves, making sure no room was carved out. The knobs were tested to make sure they weren’t loose. I found nothing so I turned to the bedroom.

Brian hid his drugs in a small box under a patch of carpet. I wondered if Mandy would do the same, so I looked at the corners of the room, making sure there was no slack in the carpet. There was none. She couldn’t lift any corner of it. The bed was next. Each blanket and sheet was lifted, then investigated. The pillow case and pillow were too. Then I checked the mattress, still nothing, so I flipped it over. Nothing was taped to the underside of it. I moved that aside and rested it against the wall, then turned and studied the bed frame. Nothing.

After I put it all back and remade her bed, I went to the desk. Nothing. Her dresser was last and I found nothing there.

I sat in the middle of her room. It was all back in place. Each picture frame was adjusted exactly how she left it. She would have no idea how deep her room had been searched by me. Maybe it wasn’t true. Maybe Jennica and Amber were being spiteful and jealous, but even as I thought that, I shook my head. “No, it can’t be.” They weren’t lying to each other. They were telling the truth. I had heard it in their voices. They didn’t think anyone could overhear them. The guys that were between us didn’t care and they knew that. That meant it was true. Mandy had a stash. I knew it.

My phone buzzed in my pocket then, and I looked at it. It was a text from Tray: Outside. Take your time.

I sent a reply to Tray, telling him I’d be out in five minutes. As it sent, I stood. I needed to grab my things, but when I turned for the door, a shadow behind her curtain caught my eye. They were light-colored, thin enough to let some light through, but as I went closer, I saw it. A small box was pushed in the corner. The words ‘PRIVATE’ were on top in pink, glittery letters. A lock was attached to it, but I used a bobby pin I found in the bathroom and popped it open within seconds. Lifting the lid, there were three rows of prescription pills. As I looked through them, I read the labels. Ritalin, Vicodin, Xanax.