Anathema

Chapter Two... Read My Mind

1 day later

Kali was still reeling from her emotional downward she spiral and had took the day off yesterday, no communication with friends, Ken, or nobody; just sitting in her room wallowing in her own misery and drinking.

Kali Jones, 23 years old, attends Chicago State University, studying to be a social worker; what a beautiful girl with a promising future. No matter how smart, how bright, how beautiful she was, she was willing to throw it all away for a bottle.

Alcoholism ran in her family - her father was an Alcoholic, her grandma was an alcoholic and so was her cousin. She would describe herself as a functioning alcoholic. But truthfully she was teetering on the edge of collapse.

"I'm doing better than most so my problem isn't as bad as you're making it seem," she tells her mother, her words laced with a mix of defiance and denial. Not much can be said back since she is the first person from her family to go to college and will soon be graduating with her master's next week.

If you google search the word Paradox, a beautiful picture of Kali would pop up, smiling showing all 42 teeth.

Smart enough to achieve academic success, yet dumb enough to sabotage her own well-being.

She's careful not to let her addiction completely consume her, but she can't resist the allure of numbing her emotions with alcohol.

On days when she doesn't have work or school, she often spends her time drinking away her life, with Lunazul as her trusted companion. Her best friend Von was the reason most of her assignments were completed on time, keeping her from completely falling apart.

He knew about her addiction, and so did her ex-roommate turned close friend Valerie. They can only do so much though, after a while, you tell yourself, she's grown she can handle herself.

Kali makes dumb decisions while she's drunk, including answering the phone for her disrespectful boyfriend. The two had been together since her sophomore year of college, so it's been about 3 years for them. She loved him, loves him and he loves her. The two planned their future and talked about kids even marriage, she is the perfect girlfriend - supportive, loving, and dedicated. But no matter how hard she tried it was never enough for Ken.

Ken's a disrespectful dude, point blank period. He's nonchalant, doesn't care about anyone but himself, a full-blown narcissist. His efforts chipped away at her self-esteem little by little, fueling her addiction.

And Kali, Kali a sensitive, extremely dramatic alcoholic, with deep-seated trust issues. A match made in heaven or hell.

Ken and Kali were doing good - as good as they can do. Ken went a full 24 hours without communication to Kali. "He could be dead or anything, I looked him up, he's not in jail Valerie. What did I do?" She cried to Valerie.

She went to his social media and he was active. Posting on his story, watching hers while also watching her calls and texts. She was felt devastated, her mind racing with self-doubt. What did I do? Know what fuck him! I don't need him. While checking her phone every 3 minutes for a text or call.

They had talked while she was drunk but she still can fathom, why did he ghost me for that long?

Kali rose out of bed and the time was 10 am. She lived in an apartment complex about 15 minutes away from her University. And when she wasn't at school she worked an apprenticeship at a Mental Health institution where she furthered her knowledge of therapy and the psychological effects it has on people. She had done so well she was offered a full-time job after she graduated.

Mental health was important to her. She knew how important it was to other people, especially with a Schizophrenic mother.

She majored in social work and minored in psychology. Her close friend Valerie, had graduated 2 years ago with a Health Science degree. Ken had dropped out in their sophomore year and Von never attended college.