The Mirror

4

Josh

Please let me stay, I have nowhere else to go. The city streets are a dangerous place. Strange men can take you. They can chain you in a dark basement, drug you until your mind is numb  Nobody can hear your cries for help, all hope is lost. They treat you like a dog, eventually you believe you are one.

The windows broken, get out, get out. Into the cold I go, better die in the cold than in the hands of those men. So cold so cold. I lay in a cold hallway until arms carry me to warmth. So scared, so scared. Please don't hurt me.

Warm blankets so comforting, food never tasted so good. Warm bath, clean clothes. Tears begin to fall. I am safe, I am loved, my hope is restored.

If it wasn't for the broken window I would've never gotten out of that basement. They taunted and chained me to a wall, just barely keeping me alive. If it I hadn't picked that apartment hallway to lay in Angelo never would've found me. At the time it was just him, Chris and Kuza and TJ, then Ryan, then Ricky and Matt then Devin and finally Vinny. We're all broken somehow but together some of the pieces were put back.

Much progress especially mine was shattered when TJ was put in a coma due to an overdose. We thought he was doing better with his addiction. I'd been helping him, we'd gotten close, you could say we were dating although it was never brought up. I'm the one who found him laying in the grass outside the apartment building. The medics took him away. We thought he would die, instead his body shut down and was put on life support.

It's terrifying to know any minute you could get a phone call saying your best friend has died. Now that he's gone I went back to being numb, my light went out when he did. The guys say it's not my fault, but it is,  if only I'd watched out for him more, there's so much I could've done differently.

I felt so alone, everyone had someone to latch onto but I float around. Angelo was most comforting but Chris needed constant attention which he can give him. Vinny was sweet but timid, Devin put all his attention on him. Kuza didn't talk much and Matt was a bit off, I like him but something about him scared me. Ryan was infatuated with Ricky. I liked Ricky, in a friendly way. There was something that wasn't all there with him but when I talked  I had his full attention. He was actually very smart, I've learned alot from him. Him and TJ were also very close, we spent countless hours in the hospital just talking to his lifeless body. We liked to think he heard us.

Might as well get out of the house instead of wallowing in self pity.

The woods were pretty with sun shinning through the branches. TJ would've loved it.

Ricky

Sweat ran down my face, my chest felt like it was going to cave in. The room spun like I was on some crazy trip. The way to the door felt like it took an hour. I cling to the wall in the hallway. There's no way I'm going any further.

Like the pathetic mess I am I slide down the wall.

"Ricky." I look up through my hair. "Are you ok?" I shook my head. He lifts me up laying us in his bed. I crawl ontop of him, his hands hold my waist. Images still flashed through my mind but the comfort made it bearable.

Blood, so much blood