The Twisted Chain || A Disney Fanfic [discontinued]

4. the arrest

"Ivy, living in a town like Magnolia, we don't get to see much action, and you know it. Nothing comes around here except heat waves and confused tourists looking for Disneyworld. So you need to take any opportunity that comes your way. Anything that you're offered, just take it."

My friend Ashley had said that to me once, on a hot night in March, to which I responded, "Even if I'm offered cocaine?"

We were fourteen, the age at which you become lonely and confused and the soul becomes too big for the body that it's been contained in, and on that night, we made a pact- we swore that, no matter how old we got, we would do everything together. And for the next two years, that pact held strong. We had our first taste of alcohol together, we got our into our first relationships within the same week...

...and, at sixteen, we got arrested together.

It was the most frightening moment of my life- well, my life thus far, that is. We were pushed into a police car, just us and one of our other friends, and we were driven to the local police station. They led us down the hall, past unfazed secretaries and greasy thugs, and into an isolated room in the back of the building. And there I sat, thinking about the beautiful Ashley Smith, an untamable girl on the cusp of womanhood, facing the future with a core made of stardust and a mind free of fear.

But when I looked over at Ashley, I realized, for the very first time, that she wasn't as fearless as I had once believed. Her cheeks were pale as the snow I had never seen, and her hair, silky and sandy-blonde, hung lifelessly around her tiny face.

God, what the hell did you get yourself into?

I thought the worst. I thought that we would be taken to Juvenile Hall, but that seemed dumb- who goes to prison for using a fake ID? Everyone has one of those, right?

"Hey." Our friend Maria tapped me on the shoulder. "Everything's gonna be alright. Okay?" Her eyes, akin to emeralds, burned with optimism, but the wavers in her voice hinted at an oncoming breakdown.

"It isn't fair," I heard Ashley mumble. Her voice was hoarse with exhaustion. "Keaton's still at the club. He got past the bouncer easy. How did that happen? His ID is just as phony as ours."

At the sound of boyfriend's name, my heart throbbed, spitting acid across my chest. I used to view Keaton as my prince, the boy who would dance barefoot with me at clubs and kiss me roughly in the back of his uncle's truck. Recently, though, the name had begun to turn sour, due to pointless arguments and a laundry list of things that I couldn't stand about him.

Why was I still with him? Because a life without him was unimaginable. What would I do without a reason to get out of bed in the morning?

"We're gonna turn him in, right?" Ashley asked.

Maria's brows crinkled. "Don't be serious. He's our friend. We wouldn't do that to him."

"It's the right thing to do, though. Didn't you say the other night that people should always do the right thing, regardless of the consequences?"

"That was before I was put in a situation where there were consequences for doing the right thing."

In search of a decision, the girls turned to me, noticing that I'd been abnormally quiet. "Ivy?" Ashley asked. "Ivy, what do you think?"

I shook my head- I don't want to talk. They got the message, abandoning the topic and focusing on their shoes.

The door at the other end of the room gave a chilling creak, allowing a police officer to enter the room. I was surprised at how young he looked, clean shaven with a full head of hair, dressed in your average, run-of-the-mill blue uniform. A stack of manila envelopes was wedged in the crook of his elbow.