Love is a Losing Game

Chapter 3

Chapter three - The find

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Eighteen smooth-sailing months after, Laurence made a devastating discovery...

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The soulmates were getting closer and closer to the point that they were basically living together. Laurence was asked if she wanted to live with him and without hesitation, she accepted. Having romantic evenings and cosy cuddles while watching films, everything went perfectly. Most of the time, at least. They would walk together to work and sometimes drive to places at the weekend. They went to the most beautiful places: little villages near lakes, beaches and all sorts of different landmarks. They had the best of times together and were considering getting a pet. Each wanted a different pet so they never made a final decision.

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It was Saturday morning when she was waiting for him to get into the car. Something fell out from under the driver's seat. First, Laurence was confused and went to pick it up. What she expected to see was a pen or some papers, little did she know what she was getting herself into when she saw it...

To her surprise, she was holding a small plastic bag. The seal was closed and the inside was a little foggy. Opening the bag cautiously, Laurence was confused and curious to find out what this was and why her true love had hidden it.

A face of shock, disappointment, and anger appeared on her face. Speechless. The contents of the miniature bag consisted of ten needles, cotton balls, and a small bottle of isopropyl alcohol. Each was sealed similarly to swab sticks; paperback and plastic peel-off layer front.

Getting into the driver's seat, Duncan's face became disappointed and regretful. Next to him, Laurence was sat with the bag opened and a needle in her hand. Tears began to tumble down her face as she struggled to express her feelings.
"How could- how could you do this?"

"Laurence..."

"You can try to explain, you can tell me your excuses but it won't change the fact that you have been hiding this from me for- for I don't even know how long" whispered a whimpering voice.

"How long? How long have you been using heroin?!" Exploding into a million pieces, her heart sank into her chest. Her tears flowed like a waterfall.

"One of my work colleagues took me to a part-"

"I asked how long, Duncan!"

"A year" 

Face filled with regret. Eyes weeping disappointment. Hands shaking. Such embarrassment had never faced Duncan before. He didn't know how to deal with it so he sat in his car and cried.

Words weren't good enough to express the feelings engulfing her so she got out of the car and forcefully threw the bag and needle into the bin. She slammed the lid and went inside. Duncan knew he messed up. Knowing she wouldn't be in his life if he carried on, the addict made it his goal to stop, to get her back.

Now inside the house, Laurence began packing. No idea where she would go, the crying woman left the house and walked. and walked. and walked. She eventually called an uber and went to her best friend, Rachel's apartment.

When her best friend of 5 years opened the door, she was surprised to see Laurence, crying and with her suitcase. She invited her in and listened to the heartbroken. Not wanting to influence Laurence's decision on her soul mate too much, Rachel didn't say too much. She was kind enough to offer Laurence to stay with her until the addict figured something out and she said yes. Laurence's phone was blowing up with missed calls and text messages from the one person she didn't want to talk to.

Duncan had gone back into the house and got rid of any other heroin in his possession. He called his dealer that he wouldn't be buying any more and he was quitting it all. calling the colleague that had taken him to the party and introduced him to the drugs that he was quitting, seemed like a smart idea too. He wanted nothing to do with this anymore; all he wanted was to be with her. His one and only.

Finally rid of it all, he was calling and calling her but each time, he was sent straight to voicemail. Leaving a message each time, he always said he loved her, there was no more heroin and he was sorry. That was the main part, Duncan was sorry for his actions and people said he was sorry he got caught but he didn't want to believe it.  Wanting so bad for her to hear that,  calling and texting for hours was the least he could do. Laurence knew that he was sorry but she couldn't let him think that she was ok with it because she wasn't. No matter how many times he called, it always went the same way; She would want to answer to hear his sweet voice and tell him she loves him and it'll be ok. She couldn't, she sent it to voice mail and listened to his tears of regret.  every time.

A few hours later, Duncan knew he had to stop. Facing his feelings was the better option. He decided that letting out his true emotions over the course of a few days and when he was stable, then he could talk to his woman. The regretful man didn't want Laurence to think he abandoned her so each morning and night, he would text good morning and good night. The messages always had an 'X' on the end, always.

Receiving these texts was the only thing Laurence wanted. She waited every morning and every night to make sure he was still there. Still in love and still alive. 

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One day, he was done crying and wanted her back. He called; to his surprise, it was answered. Not thinking about what she did, she was happy, for the first time in weeks. 

"Laurence... You answered!"

"Duncan?"

"I don't know if you listened to my voice messages or read the texts but-"

"I know, I shouldn't have left... I shouldn't have ignored you."

"Stop blaming yourself. I get it, ok? It was my fault that I let it get to this." Sulked the addict. "I shouldn't have trusted Rowan in the first place. I should have known not to go to that party, not with him." 

Silence. Both thinking, they both blurted out the words that would change it all again. 

"I love you..." 

"But, this can't happen again" Laurence added.

Smiles radiated through the call, the hearts had been restored. It was made clear that if Duncan did anything like this again, it would be the last time she would have anything to do with him; it was made clear that it wasn't ok but she would come back in the next couple of days. Understandingly, Duncan asked for help detoxing. Not sure at first, she hesitated but knew it was the right thing to do. If she wanted him to be clean, she had to help. 

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For the next few weeks, Duncan was constantly sick and had a throbbing migraine. Laurence helped him through it all; they helped each other. 

At least that was what Laurence thought...

Word count: 1213

(A/N)  This chapter is a bit better than the last. Comment any suggestions about this chapter or future chapters/storylines. Thanks for reading and supporting me.  NF