A hand touches my shoulder, and when I look up, everyone is looking at me. Esther is smiling. “I’m so glad you’re here, Logan.”

I nod my head in return. “Me too.”

17

Sierra

When I walk into the annual country club gala, I nearly vomit. What was normally a bougie cocktail party has suddenly become some sort of benefit. Tyler’s face, mounted on a canvas taller than me, greets me as I walk in. He is smiling in his teal polo shirt on a yacht with his dad. The sound of his voice growling in my ear comes shuddering back in my memory. Sweat beads on my forehead. I can still feel his tight grip on my arm and his alcohol-laced breath on the skin of my neck.

My parents parade me around the party like they always do. They talk to their friends about me like I’m not even there, remarking on how beautiful I am, how grown up I’ve gotten, and how my dad should lock me up before I’m corrupted. Normally, I can at least manage a small smile and the bare minimum of cordiality, but my mother starts to notice how cold and lifeless I’m acting.

After about an hour of showing me off like I’m some sort of AKC Pomeranian, she pulls me aside and snaps in a low whisper.

“What are you on?” Her nails bite into the flesh of my arm.

My face twists into confusion. “What?”

“You seem to have misplaced your manners. I can only assume you’re high as a kite right now, so you better sober up and start acting like a polite young lady.”

“I’m not on anything,” I snarl.

“Then what in God’s name is wrong with you?”

Just then, a glass starts clinking as the people at the front of the room gather everyone’s attention. A tan-skinned man who couldn’t be older than twenty-five stands next to a blonde with big fake tits under her satin dress.

“Normally, this evening is about coming together to celebrate another great week on Wickett. But tonight, we decided to make our focus a little different.”

They both bow their heads and paste a fake expression of remorse on their features.

“We’ve lost one of our own children to a tragic illness that seems nearly unstoppable.

Tyler Henry had his whole life ahead of him when his drug addiction claimed his life and shattered our community.”

The room is somber and silent as they watch a slideshow of Tyler play in the background. My hands shake, so I clench my fists and bite down to stop myself from interjecting.

“His parents couldn’t be with us tonight, but we’d like to make this announcement. Until now, Wickett was our home, our community, but this year it feels as if our community is sick, stricken with disease that we can’t cure. That is why we’ve partnered with the local police force to instate a new initiative on Wickett that will eradicate the spread of drugs and crime in our precious town.”