2. Who Am I Working For?

7. Wanderer

Jasmine.

I blinked a few times before fully opening my eyes. The unfamiliarity of the place caused me to scrunch up my face as I swept my hair from in front of my face, lifting up from my resting place. My eyes bounced around in hope of some type of memory from the night before but nothing seemed to be clear. Everything was all a blur in my mind and I was growing frustrated from it all. At the sound of the door opening alarmed me but I was soon calmed at the sight of Donovan. I exhaled a deep breath while shaking my head.

"How-how did I get here?" I asked in confusion.

Donovan pursed his lips while walking over to the bed, taking a seat on the edge of the bed in silence. I noticed that he never once looked at me which encouraged my nerves to grow worse. I could feel my blood pressure rising from the anticipation of knowing what's going on. He was never the one to hold secrets from me.

"Jas, I found you wandering the streets last night..." He trailed while turning his body to face me. "I also found two grams of coke on you..."

I bit the inside of my bottom lip while letting out a sigh through my nose, sniffling a bit at the feeling of something running down the lining of my nose. My eyes widened as blood dripped onto my wrist which sent me into a mild panic.

"I don't even need your answer anymore. The blood coming from your nose explains it all. Jas, why are you fucking with this shit?"

I shrugged my shoulders while lifting the sheet up to my nose, tilting my head back to keep the blood from spilling out.

"It helps with the stress..." I answered.

"Stress? What stress? You're living your dream-"

"That stress! That exactly. It's a lot of pressure and nobody understands it. Yes, I know it's deadly. Yes, I know what all it can do, but right now, I don't care," I snapped while rolling my eyes.

"Wait until August gets here."

I snapped my neck up in his direction with a scowl on my face. "You called Aug? Are you fucking kidding right now?"

"Do not talk to me in that tone. I- Girl, you- Oooh. Those three fools have turned you into a monster."

Rolling my eyes, I pushed the blanket from on top of me as I scooted to the edge of the bed, placing my feet on the wooden floor. It's too early in the morning for one of these interventions but I'm down to listen to whatever they have to say. I'm just scared of how August will take all of this. That's kind of why I flipped out on Donovan but then again, I've been a lot more angry lately.

"Don, I'm sorry about the tone I used," I said lowly while walking past him, to his bathroom.

"Apology not accepted."

I sighed while shaking my head before shutting the door behind me once I entered. I leaned my head against it, sighing once again. I wasn't myself but this drug is something new and exciting to me. Walking over to the sink, I reached my hand out to touch the mirror, my reflection. My face was pale, my eyes were red and my hair was growing thin. I wasn't myself. I'm not myself.

"Jas?"

That voice sounded way too familiar which is the reason for my quickening heart rate and the sweat growing in my palms. The sun rays beaming on the side of my face encouraged me to look in its direction, in search of a window. A silent sigh of relief left my lips once I saw it. In a matter of minutes, I was inhaling the fresh air from outside as I sprinted down the road. I couldn't bring myself to face August. I just couldn't do it. I sound so selfish right now but I need to figure things out on my own. I'm tired of being treated like a child who needs their hand held for everything. My decisions right now aren't the brightest but I'm experimenting right now. I don't care right now either.

I coughed uncontrollably as I stopped by a corner store to catch my breath. The realization hit me when I saw their advertising poster in the glass window.

"Why aren't I with them?" I mumbled to myself.