THE NIGHT SHIFT

2.15am THE HAUNTING PAST

I hear her words and I imagine what she's feeling in that moment when suddenly my mind flies to 8 years ago.

I still lived in Milford, a small town in Connecticut. I was 15 years old at the time on summer break. It was a scorching summer. I was a totally different person back then. 

That year in particular meant a big change for me. I met a guy named Isaac at a party and we started to hang out, but he wasn't exactly a "nice guy". He was 21 at the time and selling alcohol and drugs to highschoolers, and I was no exception. 

However, he told me to never try one of the pills he sold to my friends, because they were dangerous, and I always listened to him.Since all of these changes in my life were occurring, I didn't pay any attention to my 8 year old brother Aiden. He constantly tried to spend time with me, but I'd always ditch him to go hang out with my friends and smoke weed or get drunk.

One day Isaac, who had become my boyfriend, asked me to keep some fentanyl for him, because his hiding spot wasn't safe anymore. Being as naive as I was, I accepted. I hid them in the same place I always used to hide everything, which was the unused drawer in my brother's room. Nobody ever checked there, not even Aiden.

On that 103° degree day, I got ready to go to a party, I wasn't worried about anything. I was selfish.

When I got back home it was 3 in the morning. I was tired and I had drunk, but I snapped back to reality when I heard the sirens. Two ambulances and a couple police cars were surrounding my house. I was disoriented,and could't make out why my parents were crying.

When we got to the police station I finally got told what had happened.

Aiden found my pills, Isaac's pills. He wanted to impress me or something. He thought that by taking those I would've respected him, and spent time with him.

He died from an overdose that night at 2.15am and I was out partying. He died from an overdose at 8 years old, and it was my fault.