Lana's phone vibrated inside her pocket. She fumbled with her purse before dropping it on the bed and then grabbing her cell.

There was a text message from Tony: "r u coming soon?"

Lana sighed. She stared at the bag on her bed for a moment before texting back: "yeah, on my way."

Really, really deep inside, a part of her knew it was wrong. After all, she had gone through DARE. And even though the vodka wasn't for her, she couldn't ignore the part of her that knew it still wasn't right.

But honestly, Lana didn't care. She had never been a bad girl, never really gotten into trouble. Or at least, not at school or anything. She mostly just kept her mouth shut. But at home she was not exactly the perfect daughter. She never held her tongue. She never cushioned her thoughts around her parents. She told them exactly what she thought.

Lana was quite proud of her defiance.

And for the most part, she didn't care that Tony was using her. Since she'd started dating him, she'd gone from total nobody to the "in" crowd. She was popular. And so, for her, it all balanced out.

She picked up her purse again, and examined the bottle inside. It didn't really fit. The bag bulged, and the top of the bottle stuck out. But it was either her purse or her backpack, and Lana wanted to look nice when she saw Tony. He might have friends with him, and a backpack would look so tacky.

Lana slipped the strap around her shoulder. Her parents were still at work, so it really didn't matter that the vodka was too big for her bag. She'd done this at least half a dozen times, and no one had seen her before.

She stepped quietly down the stairs, but when she came to the living room, she received a shock: her mom was home, sitting on the sofa, reading. She looked up when Lana came in.

"Hi, hon."

Lana tried to ignore her heart's sudden pounding. She had to remain calm, had to act like nothing was up. "Um, hi. Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"I got home early. Slow day. How was school?"

"Good. Not much happened. Got a B on the big science test." Lana could feel the blush on her face. She tried to subtly walk sideways, so her purse was out of her mother's view. When that didn't work, she casually slipped the strap from her shoulder and held the bag in front of her.

"That's good news. Maybe that'll raise your grade. Now, aren't you glad I made you stay home and study?"

"Mm hm. Um, I have to go. I'm meeting some friends at the mall." Her hands were slippery with sweat. Just a few more steps, she was almost to the door…

"Alright. Be back before ten, it's a school night."

Lana had made it to the door. She released the bag with one hand to turn the doorknob.

But her other hand's grip was too loose. The bag slipped from her fingers.

And fell.

For a moment, before it hit the floor, there was complete silence. And then, as loud as anything she had ever heard, glass shattered.

Her mother stood. "What was that? Are you alright?"

Lana's breathing was quick, shallow, chaotic. "Oh! Yeah, yeah, I'm okay. Um, it's okay, I'll get it—"

But she was too slow. Her mother was already there. And Lana saw her face change as she registered the broken glass, the liquid spreading across the tile.

"Lana Arwen Lazar." Her mother's voice was deadly calm. "Is—was—that vodka?"

Lana thought fast. Had to come up with something, some excuse. Something. Right now. "It's not mine." Lana cursed herself. Could she have said anything any more idiotic?

Her mother raised her eyebrows. "Oh really? Then why was it in your purse?"

"I..it's for Tony. It's the first time. He's been…having problems. Like, issues. He's started drinking."

"How do I know that, Lana? How do I believe you're telling the truth? You've been a lot of trouble, lately. I can't trust you anymore."

That had ignited Lana's temper. From then on it had been an hour of yelling and screaming. Neither of them had relented, but Lana managed to convince her mother that the vodka was for Tony.

"Go up to your room. Now!" Her mother said finally, cutting off Lana. "When your father gets home, we'll discuss your punishment. And it's going to be severe." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "You know, young lady, lately you've been more trouble than you're worth."

Lana felt her heart shatter, just like the vodka bottle. She pressed her lips together and spitted a word at her mother that she had never used before. Then she ran up the stairs, not caring about the tears that streamed down her face.

More trouble than she was worth.

Not yet, Lana thought. She hasn't seen anything yet.

She slammed the bedroom door behind her.