After school, Taylor invited me to her place.  Her parents both worked, so she usually spent the afternoons alone, apart from her pesky younger brother.  We got junk food out of the cabinet and plopped down in front of the TV to watch garbage.

Her apartment was much smaller than mine.  I know in New York City, the rent can be pretty ridiculous.  Still, it was clean and the building didn't seem dangerous at all.  We ate Pringle chips and gossiped about the girls on the reality show we were watching.  Her phone was dinging constantly and her thumbs were flying over the keyboard.

"One of my friends from my old school is having a pool party Friday," she told me.  "Her parents are out of town and her older sister is in college.  They're probably going to have alcohol."

"Cool, sounds fun," I said.  I had been to parties with alcohol before.  I liked the way I felt when I drank.  I stopped being so uptight and got silly and fun.

"I'm going to tell my mom it's a sleepover," she said, setting her phone down and crunching another chip.  "Wanna go?"

"Of course!" I answered, thrilled to be asked.  I had made one friend, but was really desperate to make others.  Most of the other kids at the party were probably like-minded.  I was pretty sure Lin wouldn't let me go if he knew it was a co-ed pool party with alcohol, so I'd have to pass it off as something else.

That night, at dinner, I posed the question.  "I'm thinking about going to this sleepover Friday night," I told them as I examined my broccoli.

"Oh yeah?" Lin asked.  "Where is it?"

I knew I would get a million questions, so I had thought it all out ahead of time.  "One of Taylor's friends.  She lives in Washington Heights too."

"And how many people will be there?"

I shrugged and took a bite.  "Ten or so probably."

"And her parents will be there?"

"Of course," I said.

"Well, I'd like to chat to her mom or dad on the phone before hand," he told me.  "Since I've never met them before."

"Why?"

"I'd like to make sure my daughter will be in good hands," he said.

"Well, I was kind of living in the ghetto for 13 years, but whatever," I pointed out.  I had plenty of street smarts.  I dropped the conversation for now because I wasn't sure how to get around him talking to this friend's parents.  Obviously they wouldn't know about it, and that would be the end of my grand plan.

The next day at school I told Taylor about my dilemma.

"Just sneak out," she told me.  "You've got a fire escape right?"

"Yeah, but my dad put a sensor on my window after I ran away," I muttered, kicking myself now.  That was so stupid.  She winced and continued to think.

"Couldn't you go out through another window?  Like, one of your brothers'?"

Somehow I hadn't thought of that.  That would be my ticket out.

I didn't bring up the sleepover the rest of the week, and Lin just seemed to forget about it.  When Friday night rolled around, I excused myself to go to bed a little after 9:00.  Sebastian and Francisco were already in bed.  I turned my lights down low and got ready, then listened for the sounds of Lin and Vanessa's activities.  They were in the living room watching a movie.  The sound was at a pretty decent level, so I don't think they'd hear my walking down the hall, or if they did they'd assume I was going to the bathroom.

I pushed open Francisco's door because I figured he had the lesser chance of waking up.  I shut the door as gently as I could and tiptoed to the window.  As quietly as I could, I lifted it up, then crawled out.  I wasn't sure how these windows worked on the outside, so I left it open a little bit so I could get back in.

The party was close by, so I just walked.  I texted Taylor when I'd arrived at the building and she met me downstairs and took me up to the roof.  This friend was apparently loaded, because the roof was amazing.  The pool was huge and there was also a hot tub, a bar, and snacks.  I stripped off my regular clothes, feeling confident in my new bikini.

The evening was a blast.  I met lots of new people, including a few cute boys.  We exchanged digits.  I really didn't like beer, but there was a fruity cocktail mix that tasted like juice.  One of the guys kept bringing me glasses and I accepted, getting gigglier and sillier.

Apparently some party pooper called the cops, because a little after midnight there were five of them that came up the stairs.  One of them blocked off the exit as one of the other ones went to the music and turned it off.  "Everyone out!" He ordered to the people in the pool.

Some of the people there were over 21, so they were just told to leave.  The kids who were over 18 got a citation for underaged drinking, and those of us who were under 18, they were calling our parents.  Shit.

When it was finally my turn, the cop asked for my parents' number.  I thought about telling him my mom was in jail, but I imagine that might lead to me going to juvie, so I reluctantly pulled up Vanessa's number.  She might be more forgiving.

"Vanessa Nadal?" The officer asked from his phone.

"Yes, this is Officer Jenkins with the NYPD.  I have Nora Thomas here.  We just busted a party and she was caught with alcohol.  Can you come pick her up?"

She must have responded affirmatively because he thanked her and hung up.  I don't know why I was hoping Vanessa would show up, but I wasn't surprised to see Lin walk through the doors, dressed in sweatpants and a hoodie.  He didn't look happy to be woken up.  An officer stopped him and he checked in with them, then led him over to me.  I was cowering wrapped up in a towel, my head still spinning from the alcohol.  He stood in front of me and sighed, hands in his pockets.  I wondered if he was actually surprised.

"Is this the sleepover you asked me about earlier in the week?" He asked me, but I didn't answer.  He thanked the officer, then gripped my upper arm to help me stand up.  I stumbled, so he kept his hand on my arm to steady me.  "Let's go."

We walked slowly, me not feeling very confident on my feet.  My flip flops popped against my heels as we walked silently back home.  When we finally reached home, I braced myself to get yelled at.  He let my arm go and rubbed both his hands over his face.

"Nora, I don't even know where to start," he admitted.

"Then don't," I told him.  "Save it."

"You're thirteen and you're already sneaking out and going to parties with alcohol?" He went on anyway, his voice raising slightly.  "Nora, I'm trying to trust you but when you pull shit like this, I can't."

"And you think I trust you?" I spat back, even though I kind of did.  He'd never done me wrong, but he had been absent for thirteen years of my life.  "You think you can just show up and start ordering me around?"

"This is about your safety, Nora," he was almost yelling now.  "Being out in the middle of the night in New York City, getting drinks handed to you by strangers.  Do you know how easily they could have spiked your drink?"

Vanessa walked in then, her arms crossed over her chest, dressed in a robe.  She walked over to Lin and rubbed his chest a little to calm him down.  "Sweetheart, she's home safe now.  Let's talk in the morning," she said gently.

"I'm not done with her yet," he told Vanessa.  "We haven't even gotten to the fact that you left Francisco's window open so you could get back in!  Anyone could have pushed his window open and who knows what could have happened."

I rolled my eyes.  "Oh please.  It's not like he's the Lindbergh baby."

"He's my son!" Lin shouted, and instinctively I cowered down and turned my back to him, ready for the blow.  My mother had hit me countless times, and some of her boyfriends had as well.  That's what people did in my neighborhood when they got angry.

Vanessa rushed over to me, kneeling down next to me as I trembled.

"Nora, calm down," she told me, rubbing my back gently.  "No one's going to hit you."

I choked out a sob and nodded my head, trying to get my body to believe it.

"I'm going to bed," Lin told us, walking away.  Vanessa sighed and led me to go sit on a chair.

"Nora, I need you to know that we might get angry with you, but we would never punish you physically," she said gently as she continued to rub my back.  "Lin's just mad."

We just sat there for a few minutes as I continued to calm down and she rubbed my back.

"Come on, let's get you changed and into bed," she told me.  I nodded and she helped me up.  We went to my room and she pulled out a pair of clean underwear and some pajamas.  "Hang your wet swimsuit on the bathtub when you're done, okay?"

I nodded and she left.  I wasn't sure why she was being so nice to me.  I'd worried them and I'd put their baby in danger by leaving his window open.  After I'd changed and brushed my teeth, I slipped into bed, my head spinning.