Chasing Butterflies

Suspect

Jae rolled on the couch in agonizing pain. That girl kicked pretty damn hard. He heard the door slam shut, no doubt Izzy had bolted. Jae silently cursed that crazy bitch for kneeing him in the balls and slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. He snatched his phone from the coffee table and scrolled through his contacts before pressing on an unnamed number that he knew to call only in emergencies.

"What?" The voice growled as soon as the line clicked.
"I have an update on your girl."
"Talk," he demanded.
"She came by Cassie's place, had a few pills, and ran out."
"This doesn't sound like very important information to me," Jae could tell he was getting pissed.
"She was still wearing his jacket," Jae added quickly.
"Cassie was drunk off her ass and asked her if she had been spending time with them. Izzy was very quick to deny it. And a little too nervous to be telling the truth," Jae informed.
"Damn it," Youngkyun growled on the line. "They take my money and my girl and then rub it in my face. I need to end this. I want their asses on a silver platter and I want my money."

***

The week was far from over. It was only Wednesday and the familiar itch on the crook of Izzy's arm had returned with a vigor; it was the biggest sign of her withdrawals. She sat quietly on the couch. Her morning shift at the cafe had ended a few hours ago and she'd come straight home just as the boys had told her to. She hadn't informed them that she'd gone to Cassie's place or told them what Jae had done but they were protective of her nonetheless. Really they weren't acting any differently than they always did, but in her irritable state of withdrawal Izzy found their phone calls and constant concern for her well-being more annoying than endearing. At the moment Jungkook's arm was slung over her shoulder and the TV was tuned to some strange survival show but Izzy paid it no attention, her mind was busy conjuring up images of little white pills. Her foot tapped out an erratic beat on the wooden floor. She was restless, the cramp in her stomach kept a permanent grimace on her face, and she hadn't slept more than six hours in the past two nights.

"I'm hungry," she blurted out, startling the boys who were resting throughout the room. "I'm gonna go pick up some food, anyone want anything?"

"Just get the usual orders," Jin told her while Jimin began to stand from his seat.

"I'll come with you."

"No!" Izzy spoke too quickly, freezing wide-eyed when she saw the confusion on Jimin's face.
"I-I just um," she sputtered for some sort of excuse to feed him.
"I just want to be alone for a bit." He didn't move.

"Alright," he sunk slowly back into his seat, unblinking eyes never leaving Izzy.
"Come back soon."

Izzy nodded rapidly, grabbed her wallet off the kitchen counter, and rushed out the door. Her feet carried her through the grimy city streets, she walked in the direction of the boys' favorite takeout restaurant. But she had no intention of stopping there, at least not yet. She had other priorities. The city was overrun with drugs so finding a seller shouldn't be too difficult. She could've just gone back to Cassie's apartment and gotten her fix for free. But there was no way in hell that Izzy was going to put herself in reach of Jae's slimy hands ever again.

Izzy walked past a dim alley, and halted in her stride when she heard movement behind her. She backed up a few steps and glanced into the narrow space between two tall buildings. One shadowed figure leaned casually on the dirty brick wall as another stumbled away from him. Looks like Izzy found her seller. She walked down the dark alleyway, stumbling slightly over discarded beer cans. The shadowed figure that was leaning against the wall had a hood covering his face. Stopping a few feet away, Izzy cleared her throat to get his attention. The guy barely moved. Only the slightest twitch of his head told her that he was listening.