Sinking Ships

Chapter Thirteen

“Fallon,” Kelsey whines, plopping on the couch beside me. Her eyes are wide and there’s bags underneath them. “I don’t know what to do.” She rubs her forehead with her palm before slumping over her knees.

            “Kelsey, no,” I say sternly, avoiding her gaze. “You can’t keep doing this. You said you’d stop.”

            “You know what it’s like.” She sits back up, catching my eye. Hers are rimmed with fresh tears. “It’s like a gnawing hunger. I can’t ignore it. I need my fix!”

            Despite the fact that Kelsey tricked me into getting drunk over a week ago, I’ve let it slide. In fact, I’ve let a lot of things slide. I know I shouldn’t, but it’s hard when you want to hold onto the person you’re in love with. Especially after they’ve fallen out of your grasp once before.

            “Do you really want to bring this kind of thing into the house? Have it be around Tyson?” I think back to when he found my stash and I shudder, the thought of what could have happened scaring the shit out of me.

            “No!” She says, jumping to her feet. She turns to me, her face growing more upset by the second. “I won’t do it in the house. Please Fallon.” She sinks onto her knees in front of me and starts begging. “You know how it is. You know!”

            She places her clasped hands on my knees and I watch as she tries to hide the fact that they’re twitching. One of the side effects of meth.

            “You are not doing crystal,” I snap and her head falls onto my knee in defeat.

            “Fallon,” she cries. “I can’t deal with this.”

            I don’t know how long I sit with her leaning on me, begging, until I finally give in. Not to the meth though, but to something that will help numb the craving.

            “If I get you something else, will you stop whining?” I sigh. Her head snaps up and a grin spreads across her lips.

            She nods her head up and down before wrapping me in a hug. “Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Fallon!” She continues to hug me as I climb to my feet. “I love you so much, Fallon!”

            She feels my body tense and let’s go of me. We haven’t crossed this bridge yet, and right now, while she’s in withdrawal, I don’t really want to.

            “I’ll go…watch Tyson,” she says awkwardly. She starts to walk away but I grab her arm, stopping her.

            “No, I don’t want him here. I’ll give him to my neighbour.”

           

            Two hours later, Kelsey’s sitting on my bathroom floor, strung out of her mind. The door’s closed and the window is open, letting the smoke blow out the air. I lean against the counter, trying not to give into the temptation.