Expect the Unexpected

Anthony: Chapter 14

Anthony: Chapter 14

**This chapter contains sexual content. I'll put stars before and after each scene to warn you guys. **

 

            I stare out of the taxicab window as we speed past all of the trees and rural farmland. I'm on my way back home, and I couldn't be happier to be leaving that rehab center. The facilitators treated us like prisoners. They were constantly ransacking our personal belongings and frisking us. I felt so violated. The sheets on my bed smelled like geriatric soap and oppression, and my roommate was a nut job. He was a heroin addict, and he relapsed twice during the month that we roomed together. It's safe to say that he won't be leaving rehab anytime soon. I miss Shea like crazy, and I miss my mom a lot too. I shift in my seat as the cab driver merges onto the highway towards Philadelphia. I'm really uncomfortable; I haven't had any physical contact in over a month, and I also really need a haircut. My hair is tickling my forehead and my neck, and the curls are really unruly. Unfortunately, I'm growing restless, and the therapist at the rehab center said that addicts should try to avoid restlessness at all costs. He encouraged us to find an anchor- an object or an idea that could calm us down and make us feel at peace. I immediately pull Shea's letter from my pocket, and I begin to read it for the billionth time.

           

Dear Anthony,

            I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you, so I forgive you. Please don't break my heart again. It's still healing from the last time you did it. I love you.

                                    Love,

                                                Shea

I smile to myself as I fold Shea's letter back up and slip it into my pocket. Shea still loves me, so I know that she'll give me a chance to win her back. One chance is all I need.

            I wake up with a start as the cab driver pulls up to my house. My body is drenched in a cold sweat, but luckily the pangs of withdrawal haven't set in yet. I can spot the twins peering at me from the living room window; they look like they're about to burst from excitement. The cab driver pops the trunk, and lifts my suitcases onto the pavement. I pay him, and give him a hefty tip and then I wave to him as he speeds off. I'm nervous, and I'm procrastinating. My mother called me last night to tell me that she'd be in court when I got home, and that Shea would be waiting for me with the kids. I cautiously walk up to the front door, and I open it slowly. Andrea, Andrew, Ansel and Annmarie all bombard me as I step into the foyer. They kiss me, and hug me, and they present me with drawings that they made for me while I was gone. Annmarie giggles and clings to my leg, and I suddenly realize that my baby sister is walking. It hits me like a ton of bricks; I've missed my baby sister's first steps. I've basically raised Annmarie as if she was my own child because my mother's never really been that interested in her, yet I missed her first steps. And now, not only is she walking, but she's running and jumping too! I can feel tears gathering behind my eyeballs; rehab has turned me into an emotional wreck.

            "I missed you guys." I choke as I gather them into a ginormous group hug. They all giggle and Andrew, Andrea and Ansel squirm out of my grasp and run back into the living room to finish watching their program. No matter how fucked up I am, life goes on. My siblings will grow without me, Shea will fall in love with someone new, and life will go on because the world doesn't revolve around me. I feel a sudden tug on my pants, and I look down to see Annmarie smiling up at me. Almost all of her baby teeth have come in, and she has a beautiful smile. I scoop her up in my arms, and she pulls my long, shaggy hair and kisses me on the cheek.