Wanderlost Read Free

didn’t earn them by losing her cool. “Listen,” she says. “You no longer have my permission to be in my home. If you don’t leave right now I’m going to have to file a report against you.”
    â€œGuess what, prom princess? You got a problem. I have thepower now. So you’re just gonna have to deal with it.” Whoa again. This guy is not fooling around.
    â€œPlease just leave. I’m asking politely.”
    Footsteps move away from the pantry and I crack the door a centimeter so I can peek out. The officer is now standing in the doorway that opens off the kitchen, peering into the backyard for any hovering partygoers. He turns to Elizabeth again and my sister puts a hand on his arm to guide him toward the front hall.
    Before I can process what’s happening, there’s a sharp clanging of metal, and then a set of handcuffs are out and around my sister’s wrists.
    â€œWhat the hell!” My sister screeches and I cover my mouth. Madison tugs me out of the way so she can spy for herself. She steps back and mouths, “OMG!”
    Is my sister getting arrested? For what ?
    That’s obviously what she’d like to know as well. “Why are you handcuffing me?”
    â€œYou put your hands on me and I felt threatened. You can’t threaten an officer, Miss Sadler.”
    â€œAre you insane? I put one hand on your arm to show you out. It’s not remotely possible that you felt threatened.”
    What do I do? Do I go out there and defend my sister? I had two margaritas a few hours ago, so I should be good, but I don’t know what Madison’s intake has been, and if I expose our hiding place, she could be the proof he’s looking for to arrest Elizabeth on real charges, ones that could stick. Chargesof supplying minors with alcohol. Which she also didn’t do, obviously. This guy must be totally nutso or carrying the monster of all grudges over an unrequited high school crush or something. I move back to the door to peer out, but beyond that I’m paralyzed in place.
    â€œYou’re welcome to plead your case in front of a judge if you have a different opinion of how things went down tonight. For now, you’re coming with me for processing.”
    Elizabeth struggles against him and it’s nearly enough to make me burst through the door. Nearly. Madison and I have a whole conversation with just our eyes as we weigh what to do, but in the end it doesn’t matter. In the span of thirty seconds, the front door closes, two car doors slam, and an engine starts up in the driveway.
    And my sister heads off to jail.

TWO
    Elizabeth has a folded washcloth across her forehead and her eyes closed when I wander into her bedroom the next day. I hesitate near the doorway.
    â€œClose the door behind you, please,” she says, without lifting the cloth.
    I drop a pile of graduation cards addressed to her on her desk and, because she looks so miserable, take a second to straighten them into an orderly pile to match their surroundings.
    â€œYou need anything?” I ask.
    â€œHave you met our mother?” She waves at her nightstand, where a glass of ginger ale with a straw in it sits next to a plate of dry toast and the TV remote. As if my sister’s fighting off a cold and not a criminal record.
    I’m impressed my mother has this level of care in her, despite being awoken at a B and B two hours away to post bail for Elizabeth, not to mention the subsequent hours she spent yelling at me.
    â€œUm, so I just wanted to say again how sorry I am about what happened last night,” I offer my sister. “If it makes you feel better, I’m grounded forever.”
    Elizabeth slides the washcloth off her face and uses her elbows to push up to a sitting position. She leans back against the headboard of her canopy princess bed and lets her head tap against the wood.
    Then she bursts into tears.
    Whoa.
    â€œHey. Hey, it’s gonna be