Reaper's Touch

Lucas: Happy

"A best friend is someone who makes you laugh even when you think you'll never smile again."
– Unknown

The only thing that kept Lucas off dope during the months before Gus arrived was the fact that he didn't know where to get any. The city was huge and intimidating. He vaguely knew there were neighborhoods he shouldn't even get close to, whole streets owned by gangs who'd shoot him on sight for being a white outsider. Only known addicts were given safe passage through those neighborhoods to get their drugs. If he wanted any, he needed an "in".

Depressed and lonely, Lucas often thought about asking some of the dozens of homeless people he passed each day about where to score drugs, but he was too afraid. They might take him to get dope but then steal his cash before they got there. Or if they did get there, they might stab him and steal the dope. He knew no one. He could trust no one. All he could do was go to work, go to NA, walk around and hope Nora called him.

It was Saturday, Lucas's favorite day of the week because he got to sleep in and forget life. But this morning, there was a knock on the apartment door. Marcus was out so there was no one but him to answer it. He ignored the knocking, getting more and more irritated as it kept going, increasing in intensity. Finally he threw the covers off and went to check it.

"You can STOP knocking now!" he yelled as he turned the deadbolt and yanked the door open.

Gus was standing there with a huge grin on his face. "Surprise, motherfucker!" he shouted.

"Gus!" Lucas gasped.

They clasped hands and embraced.

"What the hell are you doing here? Did you run off?" Lucas asked. He was so shocked he wondered if he was hallucinating.

"Hell no! Jeff brought me like I told you months ago!"

"Yeah but I didn't know when! And you never said anything when we talked on the phone last week!"

Gus shrugged. "Wanted it to be a surprise."

Lucas couldn't stop grinning. Even in the few months they hadn't seen each other, Gus looked a million times better. He'd gained some weight, there was life in his eyes and his appearance wasn't so gaunt and shocking.

"You look good, man," Lucas said.

"Been clean for six months now," Gus said. "The cravings still come but not like before. I don't lose my mind as much."

"I'm clean too, but barely. I think Nora wants to break up with me, and I can't even fucking think about it without craving dope. I just can't lose her."

"Why she wanna break up?"

"I left without telling her. Just left a note. I thought she'd understand. Thought she'd read between the lines and know it had to do with my stepfather, but I guess she doesn't know me as well as I thought. And maybe I don't know her as well as I thought either. She shut down completely. Won't answer my texts, calls, nothing. Silent treatment."

"She'll come around. You guys are inseparable," Gus said.

"That's what I used to think," Lucas said sadly.

"Alright, I didn't come out here to hang with a lil' whiny-ass bitch. I'm takin' you to lunch and then Jeff's shop. Jeff's lettin' me work there as an apprentice. We're gonna have fun whether you like it or not."

"Just knowing you're here now is a million steps up from where I was," Lucas said.

They had to ride the L-train to get to Jeff's tattoo shop. On the way, Gus told Lucas all about his life in Chicago so far.