Rock Bottom (Sequel to How it Happened is Irrelevant)

15

Craig's POV:

When I entered the hospital room that Kevin was staying in, I was immediately greeted by Robert grabbing me and shaking me hard. "Where's TJ?!?!" He demanded. 

"That asshole can do whatever he wants. I don't care anymore," I shook my head. 

He shook me harder. "Where. Is. Thomas. Joseph. Bell?!?!?"

"Wh- What the hell is going on? What difference does it make where he is?"

"Craig, we've been trying to get ahold of him for the last half an hour. We knew that you left him alone. He told us," Kevin explained. He looked awful. His face was tinted yellow from being sick so many times. He showed me his phone. Robert let go of be so I could read the messages. 

Craig left me. 
I don't blame him.
I got rid of the drugs, hope
you'll be proud of me now.
Tell Craig I love him
when you see him. I can never tell 
him myself

What're you gonna do??
TJ!!
Don't you dare hurt yourself!
What's going on?
Answer me!
Where are you?!

I handed the phone back and ran my fingers through my hair. "Do you think he-?"

"DON'T FUCKING SAY IT!!" Robert snapped. "Don't you dare fucking say it!" Kevin only nodded. What are the horrors that I've just unleashed? Robert began to pace and bite his nails. "We could send a search party. We have the money. We could find Max and ask if he knows-"

"No," I said. "I know exactly where he'll be."

"Then go and find him. Now."

"But Kevin-"

"Kevin will be here when you get back. TJ won't."

I looked at Kevin. "I'll be fine," He assured me. "You need to fix him. And no band-aids this time, understand? Because so help me god, if you come back and he's still broken, I will make us go dry for the rest of our careers. And both of you will go through therapy, together."

I nodded. "Yes, alright."

TJ's POV:

I lit a cigarette to give me some light for a moment. I'd found a stash of money I'd kept locked away for a while, and I knew exactly what I was going to spend it all on. "There, that's one thousand," I said to myself. That was a thousand dollars cash. I pulled my shirt closer to me while I walked through the night, careful not to be seen or recognized. I was in a shady alley where everyone did this anyways. 

I found a guy handing a real thin girl something, which she took from him just before falling over. I approached him and handed him all of the cash. He raised an eyebrow. "What can I do you for?"

"If you can teach me how to shoot up, and give me heroin, you get to keep all of that money."

He handed me a spoon, which he poured powder into. "You light it up 'til it melts." He took out a lighter and held the flame to the spoon, watching as the powder turned to a liquid. Once the whole thing was a golden liquid, he put the lighter away. "Then you put it into this," He held up a syringe with a needle already in it. He handed me surgical tape. "Tie that around your arm." I just held it awkwardly. "Tie it around your arm," He repeated impatiently. I did as he said, lifting my sleeve and then wrapping the tape around my arm several times. "Then you put this," He put a finger on my inner elbow, "into the vein right there. Think you can handle that?" I nodded, taking the needle from him and doing as he said. I pushed the plunger down until the whole syringe was empty.

The feeling was instant. It was like the whole world just melted away. The guy handed me a bag of the powder. "That's your money's worth," He told me. 

I heard someone calling my name. I stuffed the powder into my pocket and got out of there. "TJ!" The person called again. 

I went to run away from them, but found myself incapable. I'd no idea who it was, or why they wanted to talk to me, and frankly, I didn't care. The person grabbed my arm. "I knew I'd find you here." Craig rolled up my sleeve. "Brilliant. So getting rid of the drugs was only so you could go and get stronger ones."

"What're you talking about?" I asked. "I'm giving up the drugs," I told him.

"Right, so I'm not gonna find powder in your pocket, right?" He pulled the bag out. "Wow. I'm disappointed in you."

"Just like my mother," I mumbled.

"Wh- That's not true. I care about you. You have to know that."

"Yeah, I don't know that Craig. You know, you never showed me any affection. And you never loved me. So just leave me alone." I tried to get away but his grip only tightened. 

"I did so... I do so." 

"Then why did you do it? Why did you hide me like some foreign disease? Why did you never kiss me first? Why did you never hug me first? Why did you never tell me you loved me first? I bore you like a new tattoo, and that was all the payment I ever got." I twisted out of his grip, and then fell to the ground. To be fair, I could just pass out right about now. I'd told the truth, but I was so high I was underground. 

What? I closed my eyes, watching as even darkness couldn't consume me. For my new strength was running through my veins like a race horse. I was betting on it's victory. It was clearly better than I ever was.