Fragments Of Love Series Part 1 : Toxic Love [ SandRay - Only Friends ]

Poison

One phone call was enough to throw Ray's everyday life completely off balance. One phone call and Black was gone.

“I have to see him in the hospital, Ray. I hope you understand me. You know the background." Ray had nodded, of course he knew the history between Todd and Black. Friends, rivals, enemies. Almost like something out of a bad action movie.

And now Ray was sitting there alone in the motel room, not knowing what to do next. What was he supposed to do without Black, without his substitute? Ray swallowed hard. He needed Black, he needed him to help him get over the fact that Black wasn't there. Ray put on his black denim jacket, walked to the door as if remote-controlled, left the motel, went to his car. And without knowing exactly how he got there, he parked in front of the Yolo a short time later.

It was as if he wasn't one hundred percent there, as if he was trapped in a dream, a nightmare - derealization, as Longtae had called this state. Ray looked around, hoping to recognize a familiar face in the crowd of people. But the crowd blurred before his eyes. He made his way to the bar, where a pair of dark, worried eyes noticed him - Yo.

"Ray, what are you doing here alone?" Her voice didn't quite get through to him. But somehow he managed to make out her question.

"I don't know," he mumbled. Yes, what was he doing here? What was he hoping for?

"He's not here." Yo looked at Ray with an expression he couldn't fully interpret.

"Who's not here?" Ray asked. Did Yo know more about him than he did?
"Sand. He's not here today." Yo set a glass of water down for him. "Mew and Top are sitting up front, if you're looking for them." Yo pointed to one of the couches in front of the stage. Ray shook his head.

"I wasn't looking for anyone." That was the truth, he had, to be honest, no idea what he was looking for, who he was looking for, or why he had gone to Yolo of all places.

"You want to talk about it?" Yo had leaned on the counter, tilting her head and looking at Ray with a soft smile on her lips. Ray shook his head. What was he supposed to talk about? About the fact that he needed Black, that he needed to satisfy his addiction?

“I think I should go. Have a good one Yo,” Ray paid for his water and made his way to his car. He didn't know what to do with himself. The facades of the houses passed by his window, he must have been driving around in his car for an hour, headless, without a destination and yet always going in circles.

He stopped at the side of the road, brushing his hair back. And at that moment, he knew exactly where he was going. He took a deep breath and drove off. A short time later, he stopped his car in a parking lot in front of a small store. He hesitated but eventually got out of his car and entered the store, a liquor store. The smell of the store alone almost made Ray go crazy, it had been a long time since he had last entered a store of this kind. The bottles, illuminated by the dim light, seemed to be calling to him. "Choose me. No, me. Let me poison you." With his finger, Ray stroked the cold glass of the bottles, the paper of the labels. One bottle in particular seemed to have taken his fancy. He weighed it carefully in his hands, looking at the brown liquid inside. Honey whiskey, one of his favorite varieties. He thought back to the last time he had drunk it.

“How did your mother pass?" Sand had reached for the bottle and poured himself some of the whiskey.

"She drank herself to death."

Ray would probably never forget the look on Sand's face. At the time he hadn't understood why Sand had looked at him like that, almost as if he had seen a ghost. All color had drained from Sand's face, his hand was shaking, he had stopped filling Ray's glass. It was a brief moment, just a moment Sand had hesitated. It was over faster than it came, but that moment had burned itself deep into Ray's memory. Ray swallowed, stroked the bottle with his thumb. He closed his eyes briefly, hesitated, but made his way to the till, paid for the alcohol and got into his car.