I was in total shock. One, Amanda had never said anything about Kevin being in a band, and two, I couldn’t believe someone so big and full of muscles like Tony was so young. Looks were deceiving.

“I guess he plays okay.” Kevin joked from the front seat as he looked through the rearview mirror.

Amanda and Kevin laughed when Tony, or Tiny, flipped them off. They looked nice together. Both were blond and pretty. As a matter of fact, Kevin looked nothing like how I’d picture a guy in a band. His clothes were too clean, his face shaved, with no piercings or tattoos that I could see. That being said, I could see what Amanda saw in him. He had a cocky attitude that reminded me of the new boy at church. It was more appealing than I’d admit.

Tiny shook his head at their laughter and tossed something out the window. I wanted to scream “litterbug” at him, but something told me he wouldn’t appreciate me preaching at him. I didn’t want to do anything to upset the giant.

I turned my attention away from Tiny.

“Who’s Finn?” I asked.

Amanda turned in her seat again. “He’s the singer in Kevin’s band, Ordinary Malice. Kevin and him have been friends since middle school. He’s sexy as hell.”

“Hey!” Kevin said loudly. “What the hell?”

“He’s nowhere near as sexy as you are, baby.” She leaned over and kissed him.

He took his eyes off of the road and kissed her back. From my vantage point, I could see their tongues mingling together, and my stomach rolled again. A passing car honked at us when we veered out of our lane. I was on the verge of a mini heart attack when she released him and he focused on driving again.

I didn’t ask any more questions. I didn’t need to. I’d already had enough of being out and was silently praying they’d take me home already.

Fifteen minutes later, we pulled into the driveway of a brick house. It wasn’t in the best neighborhood either. The yard was nice, but the house itself was old. It stood out against all the other houses that had junk in their yards and dogs hooked to chains, barking their heads off.

All three opened their doors and started to get out.

“Wait, where are we?” I asked in a panic.

Amanda turned back toward me and smiled.

“Come on, it’ll be fun. I promise. This is Finn’s house. They’re going to play some tonight. They’re good. Sometimes they even play at local bars that’ll let them in.”

She jumped out the car and shut the door behind her. I wanted to scream for her to come back right that second and take me home, but she was already disappearing into the garage. I’d thought we’d just drive around a bit, enjoy being free, and then they’d take me straight back home—an hour tops. I had no idea they had plans. Amanda didn’t tell me on purpose because she knew I would’ve backed out.

I had two choices. I could go inside and fade into a corner until I could persuade Amanda to get the boys to take me home. I was already regretting this and all I wanted was to be safe in my bed. Or I could sit in the car and wait for them to come back, but in a neighborhood like this one, I was probably safer inside the garage with the sex-crazed teenagers and their wild rock instruments.

Deciding that either way I didn’t want to be alone, I got out of the car and slowly made my way to the garage. The dogs in the yards around me were going nuts trying to get loose and eat me alive. I stopped beside an older sports car with a tire missing. There was a concrete block in its place and oil leaked from underneath it and ran down the driveway.

I stepped away from the car and closer to the garage. That’s when music started playing inside. It was loud; the sharp guitar cut at my ears and bass vibrated my knees. The garage door rumbled with the drums, and the sounds of female laughter was drowned out once the singer started to sing in his deep voice.

A strange smell floated out of the garage and all around me. I coughed a little and used my hand to wave it away as I stepped into the deafening, smoke-filled space. People were piled up on an old leather couch, watching the band play. I spotted Amanda from across the room, sitting on the couch, staring at Kevin with stars in her eyes.

The group she sat with passed around what looked like a small unfiltered cigarette. The smoke that flowed from it smelled awful. They were obviously doing drugs. I felt a little sick to my stomach when I saw Amanda take a drag. She was a childhood friend—my only friend. How could I not know that she was so involved in this kind of lifestyle?

I took in the room around me at people I’d never seen before—people that didn’t see me. And then my eyes collided with someone familiar. It was the new boy at church, the troublemaker who’d painted the side of the building. He stared back at me as he sang into the microphone. His dark, raspy voice filled the garage, and since he was looking at me, it was as if he was singing to me.