Hey, just wanted to say that there is a mention of something in this chapter that is stereotypically bad. I also consider it to be bad. HOWEVER If you don't find it bad, then I'm not trying to attack your opinions. It's just for the sake of chapter.

"I got a ukulele for my birthday, but I haven't figured out how to play it yet," Mary told John that Friday morning. The elder brother raised his eyebrows.

"Your birthday was April 27th," John said. "You've had seven months to figure it out." Mary shrugged.

"I wanted to wait until you could get me started," Mary said. She turned to Alex. "Could you go up and grab my uke from my room? Just look around. It should be in my closet," she told him. "I don't wanna get up." Alex made brief eye contact with John and nodded.

"Yeah, sure," Alex said, getting up. "I'll be right back." He stood up and walked up the stairs into Mary's room. He took a deep breath and looked around for where to start. He only had so long before he had to go back downstairs, so it didn't seem suspicious. First he checked her nightstand, thinking that maybe all of the Laurens children kept their secret posessions in drawers. It was to no avail, however, because all that was in there was a few books and a package of gum.

Next Alexander checked in the closet, where she had said the ukulele was. It was indeed there, and he took it out and put it on her bed, so it was ready for when he had to go downstairs. He looked around in all of the nooks and crannies of her relatively small closet, but once again was unable to dig up anything. Feeling slightly disappointed for not finding anything juicy, but relieved that so far Mary was clean. But now it was time for the last place he could think of, without having to rustle through her undergarments.

Under the bed.

Alex got onto his knees and pulled the covers up from off the floor. He grimaced at what he saw. It was a package of cigarettes and a lighter. He looked a little father over to the right and saw a - half empty - bottle of vodka. He grabbed the package of cigarettes and the ukulele and headed downstairs. The second he reached the living room, he gave John a look. John was able to read it in a second and cringed. Mary didn't notice

"Well that sure took you a while," Mary said, giggling a little bit. "Was it not in my closet?" Alex shook his head.

"No," he lied. "It was under your bed." Mary's face fell as Alex reached into his back pocket and grabbed the cigarettes out. He tossed them to her, along with the lighter. She looked more or less devastated, while John rubbed his face. "I didn't have enough room in my hands for the Vegas water." Mary cringed even more than she already had been after the last sentence. She looked down for a couple minutes, nobody knowing what to say.

The silence uncomfortably hung in the air. James was asleep in his room, and Henry Jr. had left after dinner that Thursday. Martha, her husband, and John's parents all went baby shopping together. That meant that the only ones involved were this trio. Nobody said anything until Mary cleared her throat and opened her mouth. You could already tell she was trying not to cry.

"It started when a friend of mine offered me a cigarette. She was the bad friend I had, and she always teased me about being good. I just... didn't wanna admit I had never smoked before. So I took it and acted unphased by it. She kept giving them to me though, and pretty soon I was figuring out ways I could get them for myself. I knew it wasn't healthy, but it was this awful, craving need for them. After that, I was at her house one time with a couple of other friends and they were drinking beer. She offered me one, and I decided there was no harm in one beer, so I accepted. I didn't like the flavor at first, but I got used to it quickly, and pretty soon I just wanted more of it. I ended up drinking the most out of anybody that night, and I really liked the feeling of being drunk. I started, just like the cigs, figuring out ways to get more of it. Pretty soon I started liking the burn of the stronger stuff, and now here we are." By the time Mary finished she was sobbing, and John was trying to comfort her. 

"You probably hate me. I'm so sorry. I can't believe I disappointed you. I'm so sorry," Mary repeated a few of the same phrases over and over again. John tried to get her to quiet down, and patiently waited for her to calm down. She turned to face him, barely able to bring her eyes to his.

"We need to tell Mom and Dad, okay?" John asked. She nodded slowly, wincing at the thought of them finding out. "And please don't hold this against Alex. I put him up to it." Mary nodded again, seeming more willing to this task. "You're okay, you got that? I'm not upset, I'm not judging. I just want you safe. Alright?" Mary nodded once more, and slowly started crying again. She leaned into John's chest, and began weeping again. John mouthed a silent 'thank you' to Alex, who nodded at his boyfriend. And the three of them stayed in that room until everybody else got home.

Can we just talk about how I kinda accidentally made James the 'And Peggy' of the Laurens family? I just realized this