1

"Officer, he's been taking prescription sedatives to sleep lately. Testing for alcohol isn't enough."

The state trooper was about to put the breathalyzer away when Mom spoke up. He immediately turned back to Dad.

My father, Daniel, whipped around, a vein bulging at his temple. "I've never touched your pills! Emily can't breathe, and you pick now to lie?"

Oliver lunged and grabbed Mom's sleeve. "Mom, he passed the alcohol test! Let Dad take her to the hospital first."

The trooper motioned for Dad to turn off the engine and step out for further sobriety testing.

The moment the door opened, snowy night air rushed into the back seat. I was curled against my seat belt, my mouth hanging open so long that my jaw ached. But every breath brought in only a thin trickle of air, and my chest jerked with each shallow gasp.

Oliver was 17 and only had a learner's permit, so he couldn't drive alone. If they kept Dad there, all I could do was wait.

I grabbed the seat belt. My fingers slipped twice before I managed to push myself upright. "Officer... my dad didn't take anything. I swallowed something I shouldn't have. I really... can't breathe..."

The last few words dissolved into dry heaves. I lurched toward the edge of the seat, my shoulders jerking nonstop, but my stomach was already empty. Nothing came up.

The trooper took one look at my purple lips and radioed for an ambulance. Dispatch came back almost immediately. There'd been a multicar pileup on the highway nearby, and every available ambulance was already at the scene.

The officer turned back to Mom. "Ma'am, I'm asking you one last time. Did the driver take any medication that could impair his driving?"

I looked up, barely able to speak. "Mom, please. Just let me get to the hospital. After that... you can use me to teach Oliver whatever lesson you want."

Mom pressed her lips together. After a few seconds, she finally waved a hand. "Fine. He didn't take anything. I just thought you should check for more than alcohol."

Dad immediately turned to open the car door.

Just as I started to relax, before the trooper could even step aside, Mom added slowly, "But he couldn't sleep last night, and there are definitely two pills missing from the bottle by my bed. If he took them without telling me, that's on him."

Dad froze, his hand still on the door handle. His grip tightened.

The trooper motioned him back to the side of the road.

"Mom!" Oliver's eyes went red. "How long are you going to drag this out?"

Mom didn't look at Dad. She just tapped my trembling arm. "You always say one little pill can't hurt, right? Well, look at your sister now. This is what happens when you think one pill is no big deal."

Dad was so angry that his voice cracked. "She's your daughter! She's not some prop you can use to teach Oliver a lesson!"

Mom's mouth twisted. "She didn't take that much. Emily has always been healthy. She'll throw up a few times, and her legs will feel weak for a while. That's all. The worse she feels, the better he'll remember."

Just then, a silver SUV slowed beside the checkpoint, rolled a few yards past us, then suddenly backed up.

Matthew Hayes, our longtime next-door neighbor, jumped out. He'd just come from his daughter's hockey practice, snow still clinging to his jacket. The second he spotted Dad and me, he rushed over without even closing his car door.

"What's going on?"

Dad pointed straight at the back seat. "Something's wrong with Emily, and they won't let me drive her!"

Matthew took one look at me and yanked open his back door. "I'll take her!"

Dad practically shoved Oliver toward him. "Hurry! Carry your sister over!"

My brother lifted me out of the back seat. I pressed my cheek against his cold jacket as Matthew swept the clutter from his back seat into the footwell.

But Oliver had taken only two steps when Mom suddenly stepped in front of him.

She slapped her palm flat against the car door.

"She's not getting in his car."