Chapter Four

It had been six months since I had gotten out of the hospital. When I got out, I convinced Dad to have a huge party with the Superstars and Divas. Jeff and his band performed. He made sculptures that were used as decorations. Even though we had gotten bad news, I wanted to celebrate, so we did.

Cassie and I started getting into more trouble. One day we went out, telling our fathers that we were going to lunch and I put purple streaks in Cassie's hair. I started buying her clothes that she liked and she started dressing more punk, less like the good Texas girl we were both supposed to be. Mark didn't like the change in jewelry or clothes, but Cassie wasn't disappearing all night.

I did sometimes. When we were travelling, I would go to the arena with Dad to watch the show, but after his matches, sometimes I would just leave. I was anonymous anyway. Nobody knew who I was. Dad made sure of that. He didn't want the world all over me knowing that I was sick.

Randomly, I would find kids who thought I was like them, just another punk teenager. Sometimes I'd go to parties with them. Raves that lasted all night. While Cassie and I were close, she was eleven and I wasn't going to bring her into something like that. With me, what was the worst that could happen? I could die? It was happening anyway. Cassie on the other hand, had a long life ahead of her and while I was getting her into some habits her father didn't like, I wasn't going to risk her life.

I was in Chicago when I happened to run into a group of those kids. I had left the arena Dad and the others were at early and had been roaming the streets. A group of kids were sneaking down an alley I was in when one of them bumped into me.

"Watch where you're going!" I complained.

"Hey! Maybe you should watch what you're doing," he said. "You're not from around here, are you?"

"What makes you say that?"

"You have a slight drawl. Where you from?"

"Texas."

"What are you doing here?"

"Trying to find something to do. I'm bored out of my mind," I said to him.

"Come with us. I think you'll like where we're going," he said.

"Where's that?"

"Rave. Down in an abandoned building."

"Fine. But tell me your name first at least."

"Marcus. What's your name?"

"Denise. Let's go."

We went to the party and it was awesome. There were strobe lights, glow sticks, blaring music. There were tons of kids my age and a little older… And none of them knew anything about me. It was perfect.

Marcus and his friends kept close to me all night. We danced and laughed. We got to just let loose and have fun. I ignored my cell phone for most of the night. It wasn't until almost dawn when I felt it vibrate and saw that it was Matt Hardy calling that I told Marcus I needed to pick it up.

"Hello," I shouted into the line.

"Denise? Where the hell are you? Your father has all of us out looking for you," Matt said.

"I made some new friends! I'm fine. I'll be at the hotel in a little bit."

"Denise, tell me where you are now!"

"No! You're a party pooper, Matt! I'll see you later, Matt. Bye!"

He was yelling something on the other line when I hung up on him. I went back over to Marcus and my new friends.

"So what was that about?" Marcus asked into my ear.

"A family friend. Apparently, my dad has them out looking for me."

Just then, my phone started ringing again. I looked down and saw this time it was Jeff. I told Marcus I had to pick it up and went to answer it.

"Jeff! Hey! What's up?"

"Denise, did you just call Matt a party pooper and hang up on him?"

"Well he is."

"Where are you?"

"Why? Do you wanna come party? I'm sure you'd be very popular here at the rave."

"You're at a rave, Denise? Have you taken anything?"

"No. I'm fine! Come have fun, Jeff!"

Jeff got me to tell him where I was. Marcus didn't believe me when I told him that Matt and Jeff Hardy were coming to pick me up so him and his friends waited outside with me. When the Hardy brothers got out of the car, they were pissed and they zeroed in on Marcus.

"What did you give her, you little shit?" Matt yelled, slamming Marcus into the wall.

"Nothing. I didn't give her anything," Marcus said.

"You're a liar," Jeff said, after he put me into the car. "She's drunk and possibly stoned."

"You'd know," Marcus' friend Toby commented under his breath.

Jeff grabbed him by his shirt.

"What did you just say, punk?" Jeff asked him.

"Nothing, Sir," Toby said.

"Now what did you give her?" Jeff demanded.

In the end, Marcus and his friends admitted to spiking my drinks. Jeff and Matt brought me back to Dad and he put me to bed. When I woke up, I had a monster headache. He gave me my meds, but wouldn't give me anything for the headache.

"You ran off again, Denise."

"I was bored. It was just a party."

"You were drunk when you were brought back here by the Hardy brothers earlier."

"I didn't do that on purpose, Dad. Those guys spiked my drinks. I had told them no."

"Why would you drink anything you didn't get for yourself?"

"I wanted to just be a teenager, Dad. Not a terminal heart patient. I didn't want to think for the night."

"Denise…"

"Seriously. I just went out looking to forget everything last night and they did that. Other than getting drunk, I had a lot of fun at the party."

"Denise, please don't keep doing this. You're turning fifteen in two months. I'd like you to beat the odds and live to see sixteen, eighteen."

"Dad… I know you want that, but I don't want to play everything safe, hoping I can beat the odds and risk not beating the odds and not having lived my life."

"Denise, you need to slow down. Your heart can't take it. Do you realize you just slept for over twenty four hours?"

I pulled out my cell phone and looked at the date and time. He was right. It was Wednesday afternoon.

"I'll try to slow it down, Dad. But I'm not gonna stop living out of fear."

Dad came and hugged me. We ordered lunch. I wasn't that hungry, which surprised me and worried Dad.