Lure of the Monster

Noah

I plucked a bottle from the cooler and paused to dig my fake I.D. out of my wallet. The man at the counter hardly ever asked to see it. He normally just looked at me over his glasses, mumbled something, and rung up my purchase. It was less effort for both of us if he just sold it to me. We both knew that I'd get it one way or another. At least he still made money this way.

"Beckham?" a familiar voice said.

I mentally cursed, dropping my wallet. A hand reached out and picked it up, holding it out to me.

"Thanks," I muttered as I yanked it out of his hand.

When I looked at him, he rubbed the back of his neck. His eyes went from the bottle to mine before he stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"How have you been?"

"Fine," I replied, glancing around to see if there was a way to escape, but there wasn't if I wanted the booze.

"I haven't seen you around. I thought that maybe you'd moved," he said. I shrugged, looking everywhere but at him. "I mean, I heard the rumors about you, but you know how hard it is to believe those."

"Right," I muttered.

"They were true, though, weren't they?"

I finally looked at him. There wasn't pity or faked concern on his face. "Yeah. They were."

"Damn," he muttered, rocking back on his heels. "That...That's rough."

"Yep."

"And I take it that you're not dealing well, then?" he asked, nodding towards the bottle in my hand.

I scoffed. "Of course I am. I'm still here, aren't I?"

"I'm glad you are," he replied softly.

I stared at him. "Did you actually want something, Noah? Other than to criticize me?"

A hint of a smile spread on his face. "I'm not criticizing you, Beckham. I was just actually wondering if I could join you in your pity party."

"It's not a pity party," I protested.

"Isn't it?" he asked, arching an eyebrow at me.

I rolled my eyes, turning away from him. "You have a car? Because I don't."

"Do I have a car?" he asked with a laugh. "You know I do."

"Damn rich kid," I mumbled as I put the bottle on the counter and slid my I.D. across the counter.

"Yeah, damn rich kid," he said as he leaned against the counter next to me. "You got money for that?"

"Yeah, I took some from my aunt a couple of days ago," I told him as I tossed a twenty on the counter. The man handed me back my change and my purchase in a brown bag.

I followed Noah out of the gas station and around the side to his car. He unlocked it and I climbed in, putting the bottle on the floor between my feet. I glanced over at Noah as he put the car in gear and pulled out of the lot, heading to the park on the waterfront.

"What are you doing in this part of town anyways?" I asked as he merged onto the highway.

"What do you mean? I always hang out in the shitty part of town," he replied, flashing me a smile.

I rolled my eyes and looked away. "Liar."

He pulled off the highway and maneuvered through the traffic to the park. "I was looking for you. Checking in. I hadn't heard from you for a while and I wanted to make sure you were okay."

I took a deep breath, staring out the window as he drove through the empty park and parked in a spot that looked out over the water. It would be so easy to say the words aloud. To say that I was not okay. But I couldn't make myself do that again. I'd done it at the center. Mostly because I was trying to do anything that would get me out of there, but I had done it. And I knew that I was not okay. I just wasn't willing to tell anyone that I wasn't nor was I willing to admit that I needed help.