Before I Forget

Beehive

At least this day can't get any worse!

Sky was feeling absolutely rotten by the time she came home from school. It was just one of those days when everything that could go wrong had gone wrong.

It had started with Dad at the breakfast table. He wanted to talk about Cody, making Sky lose her appetite so that she couldn't even finish her Nutella toast. She had known it had been a mistake to ask if Cody wanted to stay for dinner after the "movie night". Of course, Cody had said yes, and of course, both Dad and Lisa had absolutely loved him, which had led to the conversation at the breakfast table the next morning, and Dad saying That boy looks at you like he's in love with you. Be careful there.

Sky had brushed that off as ridiculous - but it kept bugging her all day. She didn't want Dad to think she had something going on with Cody. They were just friends - which she told Dad too. Friends who cared about each other, who had so much fun together, who had amazing chemistry and mind-blowing sex—

That last part Sky didn't mention to Dad. He was old, he wouldn't understand this friends-with-benefits thing, and it was none of his business anyway. Besides, he still believed in love - unlike Sky. Dad was a romantic, and Sky didn't want to ruin his illusions.

That conversation with Dad left her feeling weird and annoyed, setting the mood for this whole fucking day.

In the school, Sky had to work in pairs with Hawk again. And again she had to take pills to get through that damn English class. This seating chart was really ruining her English studies, but there was no way to admit that to Ms. Hardinge and ask for a new one.

Sky avoided talking to any teacher as much as possible - she didn't want them to notice she was high half the time nowadays.

But even Hawk wasn't the worst part of this day.

The SLUT! on the door of her locker had been wiped away, thanks to the janitor, but someone had already replaced it with BITCH! Sky suspected Kyler since those two words sure seemed to be the peak of his vocabulary.

Besides, that's what he called her when he "accidentally" bumped into her on the stairs and she fell, scraping her knee and her palms pretty badly. Her books and papers went flying all over the staircase, which made her the laughingstock for everyone who saw what happened.

Of course, Kyler picked the moment when Sky was alone. But maybe it was for the best because she sure didn't want to draw anyone else into this mess. Cody had been through enough already, Sky couldn't ask him to defend her and put him through another beating. The mere thought was enough to pierce her chest like an arrow. Sam probably would have helped, and the rest of the Miyagi-Do's, but Sam was still struggling with her trauma after what Tory had done to her, and Sky knew the last thing Sam needed was another fight, another chance for her to get hurt.

Besides, it wasn't like she needed anyone's help, or deserved it. She could handle this. She just needed to go home, to get some more pills. And then, maybe, she could make herself go to see Sensei Lawrence's new dojo—

Not that she really wanted to do that. What was the point? She could never compete again, the doctors had specifically told her not to, as any impact on the head might have serious consequences. And for that same reason, she had to stay away from fights... even if it meant not letting anyone know that Kyler was harassing her.

But it was impossible to tell Miguel no. He was so damn excited about this new dojo, it was all he talked about all day, and in the end, Sky agreed that fine, she would come and see what all the fuss was about.

It was enough to make Miggy smile like the sun. It's gonna be so much fun! He said. Just like the old times!

And Sky didn't have the heart to tell him that nothing would be like the old times, because Hawk was gone, and with him, her heart, and what was left of her was nothing but a lying junkie, who wouldn't be able to do anything but just sit and watch how others trained.

I should have just told him no. There's no fucking point in going.

Sky let out a frustrated sigh, walked in through the front door, kicked off her shoes, and let her backpack fall to the floor. Her mind felt like a beehive, her thoughts were fast and stinging, they formed a venomous buzz that gave her no peace. She was fucking exhausted, and wanted nothing more than just pop a pill or two into her mouth, lay down on her bed, and close her eyes. Even if it was only for half an hour - but shit she needed a moment to just breathe after this Hell of a day.

"Dad, I'm home," She called, making her way to the kitchen. She yanked open the fridge, grabbed a lemon soda, and opened the can.

Dad's reply came from his office. "Come here, we need to talk."

Sky sighed and rolled her eyes. If this was about Cody or the fact that she still hadn't cleaned her room, she really didn't want to hear it.

"In a minute. I need to take care of something—" she called back, took a sip of the soda, and walked to the stairs. There was no way she could take Dad's lecture without getting her fix first. The thought of the pill bottle Cody had brought her yesterday, filled her thoughts now completely. She couldn't wait for the blissful silence.

Dad said something with a tense tone, but Sky wasn't listening and thus didn't reply. She climbed the stairs as fast as her bad leg allowed, went to her room, stepped over the piles of dirty clothes and trash, and her hands trembling slightly, pulled open the drawer of her desk where she kept the pills.

She blinked a couple of times and her hands froze as she kept staring at the contents of the drawer.

What the fuck—?

The old, empty bottle was there, the one she had finished the day before, it was right where she had left it, but—

A cold fear gripped Sky's heart.

The new bottle was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly there was not enough air in the room. Sky rummaged through the drawer, throwing hairbrushes and beauty supplies to the floor, but nothing. The bottle was gone as if it had never existed at all.

No, no no no, shit! Where the fuck did I put it?

Sky rushed to her nightstand, yanked the drawer open, and poured it upside down onto the floor, kneeling next to the pile of tissues, earplugs, sleeping masks, lip balms, and stuff, her fingers trembling as she went through them.

Did Cody take it? He wanted me to stop—

But no, she had had the bottle this morning when she had slipped a couple of pills into the pocket of her backpack for the school day, and Cody hadn't been here since yesterday—

"Sky—" came Dad's voice from the door, but Sky didn't even look up.

"Not now, Dad!" she snapped. "I'm busy!"

"Listen to me—"

"Dad, please! I've lost something—!"

She got up from the floor, realizing she had last used the pill bottle in her bathroom, this morning. Maybe she had left it there—

"Looking for this?" said Dad, his voice thin and cold as ice, and Sky froze on her feet as she turned to look.

Dad stood in the doorway, and in his long fingers, he held the bottle of OxyContin.

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Whoops, someone is in trouble? 😬😬😬

What now? What's Sky's Dad going to do about this? 👀

Super mega thanks to everyone who is still reading this. ❤️🙏🏻😭 I love you guys.