"I've been through ten high schools. I don't even remember which is which at this point. And there's no point in planting any roots, making any friends, even trying in class, 'cause you're gone as soon as you've arrived. My dad literally keeps two suitcases packed in the den, so it's really only a matter of time.
I don't learn names, I don't bother with faces. All I can count on is this... this concrete oasis. Because it seems that every time I'm about to despair, I find a freaking 7-11. Every single store is the same, from Vegas to Boston, the same linoleum aisles and shelves and doors. I'll kneel and pray at the wall, my altar of slushies, because nothing makes me stop feeling, except for that sweet frozen rush."
He paused and took a long sip of his cherry slushie. "Just freeze your brain. Suck on the straw, get lost in the pain, because happiness comes when everything numbs. Who needs heroin, weed, or cocaine?" He held out the cup. "Care for a hit?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Does your mom know you eat all this crap?"
"Not anymore! When mom was alive, we almost lived like a normal family. Dad, mom, and son. But now it's just me and my dad, and we're a lot less formal. I grew up. I learned to cook pasta, to pay rent, I learned that the world doesn't owe you a goddamn cent." He looked up. "You're planning your future, Veronica. You'll go to some first-rate college, an Ivy League, and end up marrying a lawyer, but the sky's gonna hurt when it falls. You've gotta be ready. You need to start building some walls. Be more like me."
"More like you? You mean I should freeze my brain with slushies?"
"Yeah. Swim in the ice, get lost in the pain. Shut your eyes, vanish, and just revel in the blankness. The numbness. Shatter your skill, fight the pain with more pain. Forget who you are, take a load off. Forget that in six weeks, you'll be back on the road. When you think you're better off dead, don't stick a needle into your arm. Just freeze your brain. Try it."
YOU ARE READING
Sing To Me Instead
Historia CortaA collection of thirty shorts - my NaNoWriMo project for 2021. All of these are based off of songs that I really love, so give them a listen while you read. There will be angst, awkwardness, and hopefully funny and cute scenes. There will also be...
