Sage's Eyes (30 page)

Maybe,
Sage, you should find out before you go any further with him?

“Something very wrong is going to happen in there,” I said.

He looked at the house. “So? It won't happen to you,” he said. He smiled, and I looked at him. He was so confident.

“What do you know?” I asked him. I was ready to ask him how he knew as well, but he shrugged.

“I know you and I are going to look out for each other,” he said. “That's all that matters. C'mon,” he urged, and we headed down the walkway toward the front door.

I felt like I was stepping through a fog when Summer opened the door to Jason's house and we entered. He expected the door would be unlocked. He didn't press the buzzer or knock. We paused in the wide entryway. No one came rushing out to greet us, but Summer behaved as though he had been here before. He moved us quickly down the short hallway and turned to the right. Just like at Ginny's home, the music flooded every room and hallway, but unlike Ginny's party, Jason's gathering was small. There were only ten of us. Ginny, Darlene, Mia and Kay sat with Todd, Jason, Ward, and Skip in the living room.

No one was dancing. Bottles of bourbon and vodka with an ice bucket and glasses were on the large, black marble oval table. I didn't see any food, not even chips or peanuts. Surprisingly, no one was smoking anything, but everyone had a drink in his or her hand. Jason sat on the corner of the large circular tan leather sectional sofa and had his fractured wrist resting on a
pillow on a small table in front of him. He had his other arm around Kay, who was leaning on him. The others sat together on the remaining portion of the sofa. They all looked very relaxed, almost bored, which I thought was strange. None of my girlfriends said anything.

“Sorry we got started ahead of you,” Jason said. “Make whatever you like,” he added, nodding and waving at the bottles on the center table. “We're ordering in, Chinese. The menu's on the table, too. No one was sure what you drank, Summer. I thought you once mentioned drinking vodka. There's also rum and gin at the bar, and tequila. Choose your poison.”

“Thanks,” Summer said.

I squeezed his hand tightly and stayed back.

“Oh. If you want a soft drink, Sage, there's an opened carbonated lemonade on the bar,” Jason added with a wider smile. “We all know you have to be extra careful tonight.”

I started toward it, but Summer still held my hand quite firmly and didn't move, anchoring me to the spot. “So this is it?” he said, gesturing at the bottles and glasses on the table. “Nothing happier and stronger than alcohol?”

“No one had anything for tonight. You?”

“Sure,” Summer said, which surprised me. “I always come prepared. It's good manners.”

All of them finally smiled. He let go of my hand and stepped forward to kneel at the table. Everyone leaned over to watch him take a small, flat white box
out of his right pants pocket and put it on the table. He looked up at them, turned to me, winked, and then opened the box to reveal a dozen small pink pills.

“These are the latest and the best,” he said.

“What is it?” Ward asked.

“Some people call them Smiles for obvious reasons,” Summer replied.

“I've heard of those,” Jason said. “My cousin in Chicago told me about them. Where'd you get them? They're not easy to get. They're illegal to manufacture, sell, or possess.”

“I have a trusted source,” Summer said. “These live up to their reputation. I can testify from actually experiencing them, more than once. They give you a great kick. I can guarantee that they'll get the party kick-started.”

“Did he tell you about this? Are you going to take one?” Ginny asked me.

“Sure I told her, and sure she is,” Summer said, answering for me. He plucked one out of the box and held it out for me.

I looked at it in his palm and then at him and saw him wink again. He was up to something. Maybe the pills were nothing, but he wanted to see how they would react if they thought they were something special. It would be a good joke on them, and from the way they were acting toward me and the fact that they hadn't told me they weren't going to meet me at the mall first, I was happy to see a joke pulled on them.

Trusting him, I took the pill out of his palm.

“Well, that's a surprise,” Darlene said. “Must be your influence, Summer. I would never think Sage would do any drug, happy or not.”

“Oh, you'd be surprised. Everyone has secrets,” he replied. He picked up the box and offered a pill to everyone. Everyone took one.

“Can you take it with alcohol?” Mia asked.

“Sure,” Summer said. “You won't want much more vodka or whiskey after, anyway.”

“You'd better take it with your soft drink, Sage,” Ginny said, taking hers. “We don't want anything weird to happen to you since your parents don't know you're here.”

“Very thoughtful and considerate,” Summer said. He took one of the pills and poured himself a little vodka. “Bottoms up,” he said, and everyone joined him.

Then he walked me to the bar. Even if what he gave them was a joke, it still made me nervous to participate.

“I don't want to take this,” I told him, sotto voce.

“Don't,” he whispered. “Don't drink any of that lemonade, either,” he warned. “Pretend to. It's bad stuff.”

I looked at the lemonade. There was no way to tell by its color. How did he know what was in it? I wondered. Obviously, they had been planning to have fun at my expense and had spiked it with something. With our backs to them, I did just as he said. I poured some in the glass, brought it toward my mouth, and put it back on the counter. He took my hand again and
fingered the pill he had given me. Then he put it in his pocket.

“You don't need this now,” he said. I was surprised he didn't whisper.

We turned to look at the others.

Only a minute or so had passed since he had given them the pills, but they all had the same stupid smile.

“No wonder you called them Smiles,” I told him, loudly enough for them all to hear, but none of them reacted. They held their smiles and stared at us. “They look like they're hypnotized,” I said, more loudly. Again, no one reacted.

“Well, it can have that effect,” he said. “You might say it's the only effect.”

“What?” I looked at him, a surprised smile on my face.

Then I looked at them again. Nothing had changed; no one had moved. They seemed frozen in time, no one even blinking.

“What's going on? What's happening to them? What did you give them?”

“I knew they were out to do you harm,” Summer said. “It wasn't the original purpose of this party, but it quickly became their intention. There's enough Ecstasy in that lemonade to set you on fire.” He nodded at the glass on the bar. “You would be in quite a lot of trouble with your parents when your father picked you up later, and from the way you've described them to me, I wouldn't see you for years except at school. Couldn't let that happen,” he added.

I looked at the others again. There was still no sign any
of them had heard anything he said, nor had any of them moved an inch since they had taken the pills Summer had provided.

“What is in that pill, and how come you aren't reacting to it like they are? I saw you take one.”

“Mine was what is referred to as a placebo. It's shaped and colored the same way, but it's just sugar.”

“Where did you get the rest of them?”

“I picked them up in Europe. Don't worry. It won't harm them permanently. In fact, when they wake up, they won't remember anything.”

“When they wake up?”

“Don't they look asleep, even with their eyes open? Did you ever see a more vulnerable group of idiots?”

“What are you going to do, Summer?”

“Well, what do you want to do? They were going to hurt you, Sage!”

“Let's just leave,” I said. “If you're sure they'll be all right.”

“Can't just leave. That's a waste of all my efforts,” he said. “Besides, they'll not have learned anything, and they might just come after you in some way again.”

“I can take care of myself.”

“No offense, but you wouldn't have taken care of yourself too well tonight if I hadn't been with you,” he said.

I looked from the gang to the bar, where the drug-spiked lemonade remained untouched thanks to Summer. I couldn't disagree with him.

“Besides, this is a party. They like to party. So let's let them party.”

He went to the music system and turned up the volume. Then he went to each one of them and whispered something in their ears. I stood back watching. One by one, they rose, moving very slowly, just like someone who was hypnotized, and to my shock and surprise, they all began to undress.

“Summer!” I shouted as the boys began to take off their pants and then their underwear. “What are they doing?”

He smiled. “It's just your typical nudist party,” he said.

Even Jason was struggling to get out of his clothes. I shook my head and backed away. The girls were moving just as quickly to get undressed.

“I can't believe you're getting them all to do this.”

“It's nothing special,” he said. The girls were nearly naked. Neither Darlene nor Mia had been wearing a bra.

“Stop them.”

“They'll stop themselves,” he said. “C'mon. Let's not let them ruin our evening.”

“What?”

He took my hand and started me toward the front door.

“But . . . when will they stop?”

He looked at his watch. “Give them another fifteen minutes. Maybe they'll enjoy one another more,” he said. He opened the front door.

“But are you sure they'll be all right afterward? I mean . . .”

“Depends what you mean. They'll be plenty embarrassed, and they'll
wonder what happened, but no one will be able to explain it.”

“They knew we were here, and you gave them the pills.”

“What pills?” he said, smiling. “They won't remember us even being here.”

“How can you be so sure?”

He held his smile.

“You've done this before?” I asked.

“A few times,” he said, “but never with more glee,” he added, and led me out.

The music was so loud now that we could hear it clearly all the way to his car.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Let's get something to eat. I'm starving. I know a better pizza restaurant than the one you were supposed to go to in the mall,” he said, opening the car door for me. I looked back at the house, and then, as if I had been tapped on the shoulder, I spun around and looked back down the street. Once again, I thought I saw the silhouette of a man in the shadows.

“There's someone there,” I said, nodding in the silhouette's direction. “Watching us.”

“Where?” He looked and shook his head. “Naw, that's not anyone. It's just a small tree.”

I looked again. The silhouette was gone.

Of course, the first thing I thought was that it had been my father.

“Stop worrying so much. I'll be sure to get you back in front of that mall by twelve.” We got into his car.

“When they regain their senses, they'll wonder why we didn't show up, even if you're right an
d they forget we were there, Summer.”

“So what? Simple answer is you and I decided we wanted to be alone for our first date. They'll buy into that. No worries.” He started away.

I looked back at the house. The girls would be devastated, I thought. “Will they all wake up at the same time?”

“Practically. No one will wake up early enough to cover himself or herself up from the others. I can guarantee you that.”

“Really? So where and when did you do this before?”

“What's the difference? Stop worrying about them, Sage. They were out to get you tonight, and I told you, promised you. I'm not going to let you get hurt, now or ever,” he said and drove on.

I wasn't sure whether I should be grateful or upset. Despite what they were planning to do to me, I couldn't help but feel bad for them.

Summer laughed. “I can't wait for the story those girls give you tomorrow, if they decide to tell you anything at all,” he said. “Can you?”

“Yes.”

“Relax,” he said. “You didn't do anything to them. I did, but don't you tell them. Believe me, they wouldn't be this concerned about you.”

“When did you know about all their planning to hurt me tonight?”

“Almost as soon as they concocted the idea,” he said. “I've got amazing hearing.”

He laughed again, and we drove on in silence for a while. Did he have amazing hearing, or was there some other way he had found out? When did he overhear them? He was with me almost every moment of the day.

“C'mon, stop thinking about them,” he said, seeing how deep in thought I was. “We didn't do them any permanent harm.”