Playing with Fire by Melody Carlson Page A

pretty violent and raunchy to me. They don't say anything to me, and I ignore them, going straight up to my room, where I flop onto my bed, close my eyes, and try to imagine what a “normal” family might be like.
    And then I start to get that sensation, that buzzing feeling. It's like the room is turning, and that's when I see something blue. As though a camera lens is focusing,the splotch of blue slowly grows clearer, and I see that it's actually Felicity's bangs hanging down over her forehead and obscuring her eyes. She's lying on an old red sofa with one hand limply draped over her mouth, and the other arm seems to be twisted behind her back in a way that looks pretty uncomfortable. Her face is very pale, and she's not moving. And then I see what looks like a hypodermic syringe off to one side, along with a spoon and a candle stub. I'm not exactly sure of the meaning of all these items, but I suspect they're drug related. Then just like that, the vision disappears, and I sit up and look around my room to see that all is normal.
    I go online to do some research. I guess I just need to confirm that what I saw really was drug related. I assume it's meth. But then, after reading some pretty disgusting details, I know for certain. Now what am I supposed to do? Should I warn Felicity? And if I do warn her, how will she react? Will she think I'm a narc? Will she stop talking to me? The only way to figure this out will be to pray for help. If God gave me that vision about Felicity, He must plan on giving me the means to help her. So I get down on my knees, and I really pray for her.
    “Dear heavenly Father, I believe You've shown me that Felicity is in serious danger, and I really do want to help her. I just don't know what to do…where to begin. But You know what to do, and You care about her—so much so that You gave me this vision. Please protect Felicity. Keep her safe until she can get some serious help. And help me to continue befriending her. Help me to win her trust. Show me what to do and how to do it. Please lead me and guide me. I really do want to serve You. I really dowant to love Felicity the way You love her. But I need Your help. Amen.”
    By Wednesday, I think maybe Felicity is beginning to trust me. Without going into all the details, I clue Olivia in to the fact that God has shown me this girl needs help. We even ask her to eat lunch with us, but she declines our invite so she can hang with Jack. I try not to sound negative about Jack, because he's the first one who really reached out to her, and she likes him.
    Later in the day, Garrett seems extra quiet. And in chemistry, he almost completely ignores me. I try to convince myself he's trying to focus on our experiment, but I don't think that's the whole reason.
    “Garrett, are you okay?”
    He looks up, adjusting his safety glasses to see me better, then just shrugs.
    “Are you mad at me?”
    “No.”
    “Well, why so glum, chum?” I give him a cheesy smile.
    “I don't know.”
    “Everything okay at home?”
    “Yeah, I guess.”
    “How's the counseling stuff going?” I ask as I remember that he's still working through some issues, although he's been claiming he doesn't need any more help and really doesn't think he's gay.
    “It's okay.” He makes a face. “I told my counselor I don't need any more sessions, but she says she'll let me know when it's time to quit.”
    “That's probably good.”
    He rolls his eyes, then sort of nods.
    “So are you concerned about your court appearance?” I know that comes up next week.
    “Maybe.”
    Aha. Something about the flicker in his dark eyes tells me I might have hit pay dirt here. “Do you think they're going to prove you guilty?”
    “Not really.”
    “But you're worried?”
    He scowls, then looks back at the experiment. “I need to focus on this, Sam. Unless you want to take over.”
    “No, that's okay. But why don't we talk later.”
    He nods without saying anything.
    Then I remember I have a