The Escort

35 - Stop him

Once the men were out, Michael emerged from the cubicle and washed his hands, looking at himself in the wall to wall mirror of the elegant mensroom.
He looked good, he looked expensive, he could totally blend in with those stuck up, fashion world dickheads.

He softly cleansed his nostrils with his pinky to avoid any unpleasant residues and cleared his throat adjusting his jacket. He had to find Saul.

The crowd was starting to settle in their seats and that annoying music they always played before an event was bothering his ears. He glanced across the room and immediately spotted Janet in her bright white suit and matching headband that kept her cute box braids in place. She was a stunner.

Then he looked to the back and identified the backstage area entrance. He resolutely started walking towards it, turning on his phone.

***
"This flight is taking forever, Bill. Are you sure we're gonna get there in time?" Laura couldn't stop squirming in her seat, both from the incipient pain she was feeling because of the analgesics wearing off and the fear of Michael doing something that could tragically seal his fate forever.

"I know him, I know him like he's my own son. He ain't gon make a move until he's 200 percent certain that he's goin in for the kill, he's smart. Even when he's on that junk, he's sharper than everybody else."

The young woman turned to him with an inquisitive frown. "What junk? What's he on? I knew he looked weird."

Bill let out a long sigh and turned to look out the window, wondering if he had made a mistake bringing it up. But if his friend was in this situation, it was because of the love he held for this girl sitting next to him. This sudden, obsessive, profound, and selfless love that made him clearly lose his mind.

"Michael wasn't always a righteous, sober businessman. When he graduated high school, his relationship with his father had gotten so bad, that he rebelled and started hangin out with the wrong crowd, the hood rats.
At first, it was just weed... From dusk till dawn he'd smoke, all the damn time. We got so used to see him high like that, that if u didn't know him you would've thought he was sober."

Laura stared at him, maybe he was overreacting... Unfortunately, it had always been quite common for teenagers and young adults to develop a liking for marijuana at some point in their lives.

"By the time he turned 20, he started trying some other shit. Heavier shit. It started like a 'weekend' thing, you know... Whenever he went out to party with his homies, but soon enough he got hooked on it."

"On what? Coke?" She timidly asked and Bray nodded with a terribly sad expression. Her eyes widened but she respectfully continued to listen to the man.

"He started losing himself, mugging people for quick cash so he could buy more and more. He was scrawny and always on edge, irascible, and violent. I remember one time I had to practically knock him out to force him to get some medical care." Bill teared up at that memory, but quickly rubbed his hand down his face and gathered himself.

"Those were awful times, but I didn't give up on him. I didn't give up. He was too precious to me and I knew he had so many capabilities and he was special. Out of his siblings, he was meant to be the greatest. So I took him in to live with me, cause despite Katie's beggin', Joseph wouldn't have him. It was tough, tough love. The second I saw he was improving, I signed him up for rehab."

Laura lowered her eyes to her hands, feeling strange. She didn't think any less of Michael now that she knew more about his troubled past, but maybe this helped her understand why he was so eager to help someone who was in a dark, dangerous place. In a different way, he had been there too, and he was still alive and thriving in life thanks to those that hadn't given up on him, like Bill.