FAMILY MATTERS Always

Drugs

"He what?!" Laura shouts, sounding completely taken aback by what she's heard about her oldest brother. She never would have thought in a million years that he would have any association with drugs, let alone have them in the house where Judy could access them. She stares at a very uncomfortable Judy sitting behind the steering wheel. Judy glances at the trees in the distance at the park she pulled up at. She takes a deep breath.

"Yeah... crazy, right?" Judy lets out a nervous snicker even though nothing is funny. Laura shakes her head at Judy's saddening confession.

"Judy... I'm so- so sorry," Laura stutters out, feeling like what happened to her sister was somehow her fault. If she would have been paying closer attention to her little sister instead of worrying about whatever crisis she thought she was going through at the time, she's sure she would have realized something was wrong. Maybe then, she would have been able to save her. Tears form in Laura's shocked eyes. Judy grabs Laura's hand and squeezes it.

"It's OK. That was a long time ago. I'm doing much better now. I've been clean for seven years. I have a job, even though it's nothing prestigious. I'm taking community college courses to get my nursing degree. I'm doing OK," Judy assures Laura. Laura gives her sister a half smile.

"I'm so happy to hear that. I wish I could have been there to help you get through this. I wish we would have never lost contact."

"Me, too," Judy agrees, "And even though I didn't have you, I did have someone. Her name is Shannon and she is amazing." Judy reaches for her cell phone and scrolls to her photo gallery. She shows Laura a picture of the young, white woman that works in the diner with her. Laura grins at the image.

"I'm so glad to hear that you had someone. She looks nice."

"She is. When I first got out of rehab, I didn't have anywhere to go. I would stay at whatever shelter would take me for the night. She used to volunteer at one of them; that's how I met her. She got me a job with her at the diner I work at now and she let me stay with her right after that. She gave me hope when I had none." Judy's face lights up in a romantic way at the mention of Shannon. Laura makes a curious face.

"Well, it sounds like she's been a great friend to you."

"She has been- in more ways than you'll ever know."

***

"So... this is where all of the magic happens," Stefan says, stepping inside of Steve's new lab. Steve takes an annoyed breath before looking in his direction. After Stefan suggested they meet in person, Steve invited him down to the university. Steve was so anxious about the unpleasant reunion that he began cleaning everything in sight. All of his equipment is nearly in order by the time Stefan arrives.

"Wow, it's been a while since I've stepped foot in one of your scientific dungeons. I see you're still keeping busy."

"Very," Steve spits out in a nasty tone. Stefan ignores it as he approaches the transformation chamber.

"Would you look'a here. I haven't seen this thing in so long, I forgot what it looked like," Stefan chuckles with nostalgia. "I can't believe this is where I was born. This thing is like my mother."

Steve watches silently as Stefan does a slow lap around the lab. He checks out Steve's cloning device, his Urk pad, and his gravity machine used by NASA. He treats Steve's workspace like an unofficial museum until he finally nears him, "Thanks for meeting with me, Steve."

"What choice did I have? You claimed you had pictures of me and Myra naked. I bet you would love to show those to Laura."

Stefan shakes his head, "I don't know what type of guy you think I am, but I would never do anything like that."

"Oh, bull balls, pretty boy! So why did you take the pictures, then? To keep them for your own sick pleasure?"

"Whoa! Slow your roll, Steve. I never said I took the pictures. I said I had them." Steve looks perplexed by Stefan's words.

"Well, if you didn't take them, then how did you get them, then?"

"They were addressed to me in a yellow envelope inside of my P.O. Box. There was no return address or anything; just pictures of you and my wife laying nude underneath a tree." Stefan produces the envelope from underneath his suit jacket he's been toting across his arm. He slowly hands it to Steve. Steve hesitates to take it. Steve moves backward until his legs brush against a stool. He rests his bottom on it. Stefan sits on a stool across from him.

"I can't do this," Steve whispers more so to himself than Stefan. Stefan nods his head as if he understands.

"I get it. It was hard for me to look at them, too."

"No, you don't get it. I've been spending so much time trying to convince myself that nothing happened between me and Myra that the sight of these images would shatter my psyche." He turns to face Stefan, "I don't remember being naked with Myra, Stefan. I can't recall anything that happened between us that day."

"Wait... what do you mean 'you don't remember being naked with Myra'?"

"I mean just that! One minute, I was confiding in her about my problems with Laura and the next minute, I woke with a throbbing headache and no pants." Stefan looks completely thrown off by Steven's truth. Stefan lays his jacket across the table in front of him.

"You're bullshitting me right now... You have to be."

"I bullshit you not."

"So, what happened, then?"

"She claimed she put Spanish Fly inside of a bottle of wine that we drank, but to be honest, that didn't make any sense to me. It still doesn't. I was so woozy and out of it once I came to. I felt like someone hit me over the head with something." Stefan suddenly stands to pace the floor. Steve watches him closely.

"You're right- that doesn't make any sense. Being a model in Paris, you see a lot of wild shit at runway events and afterparties. I've seen folks drink Spanish Fly like it was an energy drink and I've never seen it have an adverse effect on them like you claim it did on you. Something doesn't add up." Steve slowly stands to his feet.

"So, what are you saying, Stefan?" Stefan pauses to stare at his biological twin. He takes a deep breath before committing to his words.

"With the awful drugging that happened to you and the unexplained pictures that were sent to me, I'd say something very fishy is going on here, and all signs point to Myra."