Because of You

One

As he heard the sirens wailing in the not so distant background, Asher ran through the different alleyways that were woven in between the city buildings, praying to a god he didn't believe in that he wouldn't get caught.

He knew it was a bad idea from the start. Since when were drugs ever a good idea? He didn't care though. He was looking for thrill. Something to get him high off adrenaline. And that's what he got everytime.

Even if his heart was pounding out of his chest and his lungs felt like they'd been ripped apart, Asher still loved it. He loved the danger in it all. How he could get caught and his life could be ruined forever...unless it wasn't. Unless he got away and had the chance to do it all over again.

He wasn't sure when it would stop. Maybe when he was caught, he supposed.

He had to find a place to hide. He had to stay low for awhile now. The police were very close to catching him and they were starting to figure out his patterns. Ones that he could never seem to break.

He didn't know anybody, though. Not in this city at least. Chicago is big but the only people he was even somewhat friends with were his dealing buddies. They wouldn't want to take him in. He couldn't ask either, he couldn't seem weak.

When he couldn't take it anymore, his lungs feeling as of they were about to collapse, Asher stopped. He hunched over with his hands on his knees and tried to slow down his breathing. It took awhile but he finally calmed down.

His eyes jolted around, making sure no one was watching him. He couldn't hear the sirens anymore so he hoped that meant the cops lost his trail. It was dark out, he could barely see anything at all. The extent of his knowledge was that he was in the nicer side of town where all the college kids lived. Some of his best buyers lived on that side.

Asher walked down the streets, his hood pulled over his disheveled hair, hiding his identity as best as it possibly could. He practically lived in that hoodie.

As he continued on though, he felt his head becoming dizzy and nausea creeping its way into his body. He hadn't realized how long it'd been since he took something and now he was starting to feel the crash.

Asher was addicted to narcotics. He loved the high euphoric feeling they gave him but the crash was terrible. With all the running he did and the fact that the drug was starting to wear off, Asher was feeling extremely sluggish and drowsy. He forced himself to stay awake, though. He refused to be some druggy who couldn't control themselves.

Narcotics weren't the only drugs he enjoyed taking, they were just what he considered his essentials. The ones he needed to survive.

After a half an hour of wandering around, not having any idea where he wanted to go, he made it to the apartment complexes that the more financially secure college kids lived in. The rich kids, for lack of better words.

He had no one to go to, a dead phone, and four dollars on him. What the hell was he supposed to do? He was not about to sink so low as to sleeping on a park bench. Something that was illegal anyway.

He looked around, trying to think of any possible solution to his current predicament but nothing came to mind. Until eyes fell on the window of a small drug store that looked worn down and poorly taken care of. Behind the glass he saw a toy superhero collection of some sort.