Intoxication

~Prologue~

Kasey ran as fast as she could. Her bare feet pounded against the asphalt road. The cocaine adrenaline rush powered through her veins only making her strokes faster. Small sweat beads formed on her forehead, but she couldn't wipe it off. So, she kept her pressured run persistent. Kasey's dilated pupils desperately searched for a place to hide. A sanctuary where she could escape. No debt or guilt. No one trying to get a hold of her. She just wanted her mind to be free of worries.

Then she remembered why she was running in the first place when she heard muffled foot steps.

At that moment, Kasey's heart raced. He couldn't catch her. Not tonight at least. She still trying to gather her thoughts. Where would she find the money? She needed time. The constant flow of brainwork distracted her from the true reason she was running. Quickly, Kasey's attention turned to the forest where she could use the abundance of trees to her advantage. So her troubled scuttle continued onto the dirt covered in the occasional branches. The loose twigs crackled under her small feet, only making a small sound. Eventually, she heard her pursuer's heavy footsteps in the distance.

All Kasey was thinking was for this man to spare her life. She would get the money soon. She just needed to get herself together. In retrospect, drugs probably weren't what she needed right now. She turned to the drugs for the mental support she needed.

Three years ago, Kasey lost her father and siblings to a fire. Her mother went to jail for igniting the flame. She was only 16 and left with no one to raise her. Being the only survivor, all she could think about was why she didn't die also. Why would God spare her life and leave her with the misery. The mental strife became to much by the age of 18 so she began drinking. Drinking led to hanging out with the wrong crew and that led to bad habits. By 19, she was a full-fledged attic who was deeply in debt. She needed to escape from the mind crippling ingredients in her addiction. Kasey was the victim of dependence on an emotional filler. She used drugs because it took the edge off. It's what she needed for her anxiety.

But her reflection was interrupted by a fall caused by her daze from pill-popping earlier. She abruptly scrambled to her feet without a second thought. Pulling a stray piece of black hair of hair out of her face, Kasey continued her awkward run that now included a limp. The footsteps just kept getting closer as her running speed declined. What would she do if she was caught? Would he hurt her? But he couldn't because there was an even bigger picture beyond the chaos and drunkeness. He wasn't after her for the money. Yet, the reason he was after her still was why Kasey had to run. She had to run from this euphoria she got with him. She left because what they had was messing with her mind. Their sheer attraction was weakening her mental strength. The affection they felt for each other conflicted with Kasey's fierce independence. So it wasn't him as a person she was running from, she was running from the feeling he gave her. It wasn't one she had ever felt before so naturally she was scared. Kasey darted because she didn't want to grow close with another person and have them yanked out of her life like her family was. She didn't want to develop a fondness with a another human being because she never wants to be hurt like that again. To Kasey this affair wasn't just a serendipity she had stumbled upon, it was some kind of emotional trap. She wasn't running from him because there was a strong flame between the two. She was running from the flame in fear it would burn her world down... again. Kasey was running from love.~