Unraveled

Help from Friends

I sat in a booth, staring at the plastic Santa in the window. The café wasn't super busy. There were a couple of men drinking coffee and reading the newspaper at the bar. A group of mothers sat with their kids in a booth across from me. Their eyes kept glancing in my direction.

My hands were wrapped around the warm mug of coffee. I didn't like coffee, but the warmth felt good on my cold fingers. I'd been sleeping in a parking garage for the past couple of weeks. Malaki wasn't a fan of how hardcore my addiction had turned in the last two months.

I was pretty sure that Christmas was over and maybe even the New Year. It was closer to Valentine's Day than it was Christmas, I was sure. Why the café still had its decorations up, I didn't understand. Then again, a lot of things didn't make sense anymore.

"Hey," Jase said as he walked up to the table. "You're early."

I shrugged because it wasn't a question. "Where else do I have to be?"

He slid into the chair across from me, ordering a coffee when the waitress came back over. I stared down at my own so I didn't have to look at him. He'd cut his hair—gotten one of those military-style haircuts people were obsessed with now. He'd always worn designer clothes thanks to his rich parents, but now his clothes actually looked designer. From the sweater over a collared shirt to the khaki-colored pants with boots that weren't really boots.

I probably looked pathetic to him. I'd found a heavier coat in a dumpster. The sweatshirt was mine, but it was stained and torn. My boots were held together with tape and were a size too big—much like my jeans. I'd stolen a toboggan from Malaki before I'd left. Or been kicked out. Perspectives mattered.

"You look like college is going well," I said. I took a drink of the coffee, grimacing at the bitter taste, but thankful for the warmth. I finally looked up at him. He didn't try to hide his concern.

"What are you using now?" he asked as he clasped his hands in front of him.

I started to speak, but the waitress came back with his coffee and some sort of bread. My mouth salivated as I looked at it. Without a word, Jase pushed it in my direction and I took a large bite. With food in my mouth, it was harder to answer his questions.

"Shawn?" Jase prompted, arching his eyebrows.

I wiped my hands on my pants and took another drink of the coffee. I couldn't remember the last time I'd eaten or drank anything.

"How's college?"

"You didn't answer my question."

I rolled my head and sat back in the booth, my legs bouncing as I watched a group of teenagers walk past. I wondered how Betsy's diner was doing. Had she finally given up on hiring people who just walked in? Or had she closed because she was tired of dealing with shits?

"Heroin and coke, I'm sure. Pot. What else? LSD? Ecstasy?" Jase asked as he leaned forward. He hadn't touched his coffee. I finished mine and stared at his. He pushed it toward me. "All of the above? None of the above? Is there some fancy super drug out there that all the cool kids are using now."

I gave him a dirty look, casting my eyes to the ceiling and barking out a laugh. "I didn't call you to get a lecture. You don't know shit about me anymore."

"Then why did you call?" Jase asked, tilting his head to the side. "If it's not to catch up, then what? Is it because no one else would answer the phone? Because your dad got kicked out of his congregation and was forced to move to a church halfway across the state? Because your mom has a new family and doesn't give a fuck about you anymore? What, Shawn? What is it that you need?"