Coming of Age: The Journey of a Teenaged Drug Dealer

CHAPTER TWENTY - THE LAST TRUE ROMANCE

On the following weekend after the block party riot, Cindy's parents went to Twisp for a romantic get-away at their family's lot. There they had a cabin and several RVs where the family would water raft, ride ATVs, and go on hikes, most of it while intoxicated. Normally, Cindy's immediate and extended family would go out to the spot together, but this time was just for her mom and dad. Cindy suspected it was for intimacy which it most certainly was. Her father had been working what felt like night and day at the fire station and her mother was not faring much better at her job. Cindy could tell the grind was getting to them by their always exhausted faces and excessive intake of caffeine. Frank and her bruise from Dalton's party probably didn't help things, but time was moving forward. Cindy felt better leaving things in the past, ignoring or avoiding any inklings from conversations steering towards the topic of her assaults.

Initially, Cindy's parents asked her if she wanted to go to Twisp with them. The invite felt like a begrudging gesture instead of a genuine one.

"You're more than welcome to come of course," her mother told her earlier that week. "It's just me and your dad, but we'd love to have you."

Cindy suspected they only asked because they worried about her mental state, which felt insulting. From Cindy's own understanding, she couldn't conclude why her parents were still concerned for her. Her behavior didn't suggest any cries for help. For the last few weeks, she just wanted to stay on top of her homework. If anyone needed help, her friends certainly could use some. Being a burden herself was not something she would stand for.

"No," she said, trying not to sound too offended. "It's okay. I'll be fine at home. You two should go enjoy yourselves."

So her parents went to Twisp alone, much to everyone's satisfaction.

Without any parental supervision, the time seemed like a perfect opportunity to try something new. After some convincing, Cindy was going to do mushrooms with Ryan for the first time while her parents were away. She was not much of a weed smoker and only got high on occasions. Like Ashley, alcohol was much more fun for her. Cannabis seemed to just make her feel tired and spacey. Mushrooms, on the other hand, seemed exciting, even if it provoked nervousness. There was not much she knew about them other than they made the user see things.

About an hour after school on Friday, Cindy and Ryan sat on her bed with an ounce of mushrooms between them. The sheer volume of the psychedelics in front of her felt overwhelming.

"Why so many?" She asked, looking at the sheet of dried fungi.

"It's a hero's dose," he responded. "As they call it. I got them all for free."

She studied the mushrooms carefully. They were shriveled and mostly brown. There were odd blue spots on them that made them look otherworldly like they were some alien's food. They certainly did not look like anything Cindy had seen before. Her expectations on what they would look like were very off.

"For some reason, I thought they'd look like the mushrooms from Mario Kart." She said.

"Honestly, that's what most people expect."

"I'm not going to die am I?" The words were meant to come out jokingly, but suggested concern. She would be lying to herself if there wasn't some hesitancy.

"Of course not," Ryan said assuredly. "You think I'd be doing these with you if they killed people?"

Then she thought about what Ashley brought up earlier that week. "Ashley told me about how some kid shot his dad and himself while he was on them."

"If I stab myself with a fork, is the fork bad or is it just me?" He asked without missing a beat. In the past, a disturbing topic like the one his girlfriend brought up would give Ryan some pause, but the last year had made such things lose their impact. This whole year's been disturbing.