The Right Time by Susan X Meagher Page A

show ID.” Grimacing, she continued, “That was a mistake. Once I couldn’t buy my own, I had to beg, borrow, or steal.”
    A fierce glower had transformed her face, making her look like the kind of person who could kill to get her fix. But that only lasted for a second. The facade was crumbling as soon as it was constructed.
    “You don’t meet the nicest people while standing outside of a tourist bar at three a.m., but most of them are happy to get a sixteen-year-old girl lit if you offer them something they can’t refuse.”
    Hennessy wanted to get up and take her in her arms. To soothe away the pain, the shame that suffused her features. But Townsend didn’t cry. Her voice didn’t even falter. It was rock-steady.
    “I’m not sure why that was the trigger, but sinking that low ramped everything up. By the end of the summer, I’d hooked up with some local guys who kept me supplied. My mother didn’t notice I was shit-faced every single fucking day, but she finally paid attention when I gulped down a handful of pills one of the guys had stolen from a house he was supposed to be watching.” She paused. “You’ve really gotta be careful what sort of trash you let into your house.” After shaking her head, like she had to get herself back on track, she said, “Anyway, I didn’t know what kinda pills they were, but it turned out they were toxic when you took them with a shitload of vodka.” She’d been rolling along, like she was telling a story about a stranger. But slowly her voice grew quiet, and Hennessy saw every other person in the room lean forward to catch every word.
    “We were on the beach, and my friends…” A short, bitter laugh came out as she tossed her head to force the hair from her face. Quietly, she repeated the word. “Friends.” After another cleansing breath, she continued, “I was alone. I guess I was lucky that some people were out walking and they saw that the tide was about to take me out. I guess I dodged two bullets that night. I could have drowned or ODd.” She shrugged, looking even younger and more fragile while matter-of-factly revealing these horrible details.
    “I was in a coma for three or four days. They thought I might need a liver transplant but…” Slowly, tears leaked from her eyes. “I don’t want to die,” she said, gasping for breath as she fell into her chair. Hennessy wrapped her in a hug while trying to maintain even a wisp of emotional distance. Even though she was doing her best to comfort Townsend, she’d never craved reassurance so deeply. To have some trustworthy adult convince her this would all work out. That Townsend would just get better and better and would break through the chains that locked her into her destructive patterns. But there wasn’t a soul who could do that. Not a damned soul.
     

     
    Hennessy didn’t say much on the drive home. Townsend had really let it out and that had to make a person feel very raw. But she was sending out a strong signal that she was finished with being vulnerable, now slumped down in her seat, looking just like she had the first days of camp.
    Hennessy kept sneaking glances, searching for signs of life, finding none. But Hennessy had to at least compliment her for letting it out. “What you said tonight took a lot of courage. That was a big, big first step.”
    “Ehh.” Her voice bore the jaded, uninvolved tone it had the day Hennessy met her. She shrugged. “No big deal. Listening to everybody else spill their guts made me jump on for the ride.” A hand waved lazily. “I didn’t care for it.”
    Warning bells rang out so loudly in Hennessy’s head she wanted to pull over, grab Townsend by the shoulders and shake her. But she couldn’t do that. This was Townsend’s battle, and she had to be the one to wage it.
    As soon as they pulled into the parking lot, Townsend said, “I’m gonna head over to the rec bungalow. You coming?”
    “In a few.” As soon as Townsend made the turn, Hennessy