ғᴏᴏᴛsᴛᴇᴘs | ᴋᴍ ✔︎

Pills

"Addiction. It's not you. It's the cage you live in."
- Johann Hari.

"It's been three weeks, you ready to get home?" Kristie asks over FaceTime with Jack and Rachel in the background playing video games.

"I guess," Cody yawns from her perch on the couch.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just tired," Cody mumbles as she looks at the coffee table where her half-empty pill bottle sits next to a glass of water. "And hungry."

"How's the pain?" Jack asks, suddenly interested in the conversation, abandoning Rachel.

"Uh..fine," Cody replies, clearing her throat to break the silence which followed her weakass reply. "Anyway, I'm gonna get some sleep before I pack later. Love you guys!"
Cody hangs up before Jack can reply, even though it was half meant for Kristie, too. She didn't miss the questioning look from her best friend, but she did ignore it. She pops open the pill bottle, taking a small handful of her prescription pills and throwing them in her mouth. She flushes them down with the water in her glass before using her sticks to help her stand and hobble to the kitchen to wash the glass before putting it away.

"Hi baby, I'm home!" Alex yells as she closes the front door. She turns as Cody makes it to the couch, hiding the pill bottle from her mother. "How are you feeling?" She asks her daughter, kissing her on the head before putting her phone on the table.

"I'm good, mom. How's the team?" Cody asks, trying to distract her mother's wandering eyes. She can't help but worry that her mom is looking for the pill bottle.

"They're good. I still feel bad about leaving you here alone." Alex admits, brushing a stray hair out of her daughters face and looking into her eyes.

"Would you rather Jeri was here?" Cody asked, already knowing the answer would be no.

"Good point. Think about what you want for dinner, I'm taking a shower." Alex kissed Cody's head again before retreating to her bathroom.

_________

It had been a month since Kristie had FaceTimed Cody. They had sent texts back and forth but everytime she had attempted to call or FaceTime, Cody would reject the calls. Kristie was a smart girl, she knew something was up and despite Cody being back in Portland and all the pictures posted by the girl, her club and Cody's teammates of the younger girl in PT, she knew all was not well.

And she wasn't the only one.

Jack was also worried for her best friend. Sure, she always worried about Cody but this was different, and even Rachel noticed.

So Kristie set a plan in motion - she had a small meeting with her Dash coach. She would miss the next match for 'family reasons' and catch the next flight to PDX.

She let Jack and Rachel know, but didn't tell Alex or Tobin, she didn't want to worry Cody's parents if she was simply overreacting. She was also worried that they would call Cody to lecture her, interrogate her or let her know that Kristie is on her way.

______


Cody was relaxing on the couch in Tobin's apartment. She was finished with her physical therapy for the day, but was also instructed to continue small exercises at home. They weren't difficult, she could do them sitting down.

She wasn't feeling any pain from trying to get her leg up to her usual standards despite not having healed completely. She didn't care though, she wouldn't admit it but she had relapsed, her leg was the last thing on her mind.

Her mental health took a huge hit when she got injured, and despite the tiny voice in her head telling her not to, she seeked solice in the painkillers prescribed to her. They numbed her physically, and emotionally. Deep down Cody knew that her addiction wasn't the way to deal with her pain, that they were a temporary means to an end. Her end.

She would lose everything if she didn't get her shit together. She knew that. However at the same time the hold her addictions have on her is strong and getting stronger each day. That part of her, the part that wants to give in, doesn't care if she loses her friends, her family. It tells her that they're all too busy to notice she's struggling. It tells her that having a career in soccer is useless, that she'll just get injured again. It tells her that overdosing would be her version of the Great Escape.

She popped five more pills from her bottle, just twenty minutes after taking nine and washed them down with some apple juice. She had settled herself into a comfortable lying position, rejecting the latest of phone calls from Kristie, and closed her eyes when there was a knock on the door.

"Ugh, c'mon," Cody groaned as she stood from the couch, and grabbed her crutch. She smiled that she was down to only one stick now, and tried to get to the door as fast as possible with her injury. "Alright, alright, chill the fuck out!" Cody yells as the unknown visitor begins knocking with more urgency.

In a horrible mood, Cody finally arrives at the door, and throws it open prepared to yell at the unwelcome guest when she sets sets her eyes on the person, the air being stolen from her lungs.

"Hi. You gonna let me in?" Kristie asks, her tone taking Cody by surprised, leaving her with an awful feeling in her stomach, and it's not because of the pills she was popping.