Friends Forever by Danielle Steel Read Free Book Online Page A

the information about the rehab. “A lot of parents would turn their back on you and let you go to jail. And it might do you a world of good, if they did,” he said sternly. “What I’m about to do, I’m going to do for them, more than I am for you. And you’d better make good use of it, or you will wind up in jail. I’m sentencing you to six months at this rehabilitation facility in Arizona, which sounds like a country club to me. You’d better stay there for the entire six months. If you leave one day early, I’m sending you to jail. And I’m giving you two years’ probation. If you break the law at any time during those two years, you’re going to jail. Is that understood?” Kevin nodded, barely able to conceal his anger. Six months in rehab sounded like a nightmare to him, and all thanks to his parents, for whom he felt no gratitude at that exact moment. He was screwed. The judge said he had twenty-four hours to turn himself in to the facility in Arizona, and he wanted proof that he’d been admitted. He asked Kevin if he had anything to say for himself, and he didn’t. Mike spoke up in a hoarse voice instead and thanked the judge for his compassion.
    “Good luck with your boy,” he said gently, as tears swam in Mike’s eyes, and ran down Connie’s cheeks. It had been an agonizing and terrifying two weeks.
    The drive back to San Francisco was as silent as the trip down. Mike had his secretary make reservations on a flight to Arizona at seven A.M . the next day. He was flying Kevin there himself, to be sure he got there and didn’t run away.
    Kevin went straight to his room when he got home, and openly smoked a joint in his bedroom. They could smell it but didn’t go in. The nightmare was almost over, and he’d be in rehab the next day, as long as he didn’t walk out while facing the rigors of the program, or forget that if he did, he would wind up in jail.
    Once Kevin went upstairs, and she and Mike changed out of their court clothes, Connie went to pick up Sean at Billy’s. They had just come home from baseball practice. When she drove up, Sean looked at his mother with worried eyes. His brother acted like a jerk sometimes, but he loved him anyway. He was his brother after all, and Sean didn’t want him to go to jail.
    “Did he go to jail?” Sean asked in a voice filled with panic, and his mother shook her head. She looked exhausted and beaten.
    “No, they’re sending him to rehab in Arizona for six months, and he got two years’ probation, so he’d better behave. If he leaves the rehab or screws up again, he’ll go to jail.” It was good news, but didn’t feel like it to her yet. She was only too aware of the risks, and she had no idea to what degree Kevin would cooperate or for how long. They would be going down for family weekends, to engage in therapy sessions with him, and Sean might even have to go too. Kevin was putting them all through the wringer. It was the worst thing he’d done so far, and it wasn’t over yet.
    “He’ll be okay, Mom,” Sean said to reassure her, but he didn’t fully believe it himself.
    While Connie was talking to Sean and Billy, Marilyn came outside to ask what had happened, and Connie told her with a tone of immense relief. He had gotten rehab, not jail. Marilyn could see how strained and exhausted Connie was, and put her arms around her friend and gave her a hug. Connie looked as rocky as she felt. Billy stood there silently watching them, he didn’t know what to say. He gave Sean a friendly slap on the back and a shove before he left, which was his way of saying how sorry he was. Sean looked up at him with a grin. And Izzie called Sean at home that night, to ask him what had happened.
    “So is he going to jail?”
    “No. Not this time anyway. But if he screws up again, he probably will. I don’t know what’s wrong with him, he’s always been a pain in the ass,” Sean said, sounding tired himself. He had worried about his brother all day, and