Scream with Me

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Maryanne was shaken after she left Jensen. She didn’t trust him; it felt as if any moment it was all going to come crashing down. She knew she wasn’t strong enough to handle it. Just like she couldn’t handle what happened all those years ago. She closed her eyes tight and willed the memories away.

She stumbled across her room and made sure the lock was on before moving to her closet where she kept a shoebox containing her supplies. It was past her four hour limit and she started to feel the sickness of withdraw.  Luckily she also had her own bathroom closed off from her parents. She really only saw them at dinner parties and church where they forced her to be apart of the unit. There were trying too hard to be the perfect family to ever notice something was wrong with her.

It didn’t always have to be heroin, she favored a lot of other drugs too but this one took the edge off longer, it helped her survive. She cut it using some lemon juice then placed her lighter under the spoon and watched with unexplainable joy as it bubbled.

Her father had diabetes so it wasn’t hard to get clean needles. He would have her pick up his prescriptions and she’d take one of the bags before she gaze it to him, again never suspected a thing. She pulled the orange cap off the syringe and filled it halfway.

Her forearm had busies all over it but she always managed to find a vein, she never used the same one twice in a row and that helped stop them from collapsing. She masterfully placed it at the crook of her elbow and pushed the plunger. It was instant relief when the warm liquid raced through her body. She sat there on the bathtub ledge for a moment as the effects took a hold. She liked getting high at home during the night because she didn’t have to pretend anymore for all the people around her.

She shoved everything in her box, placed it under the bed then laid down.

In this fog induced state the past didn’t exist, they couldn’t hurt her anymore.

 IIII

Jensen stumbled out of his room that morning to find a surprise in the kitchen; his mom was awake. “Shouldn’t you be snoring a few more hours?”

“I raised you, I know how to go without sleep.” She joked as she smiled at him.

“I know I was a horrible baby and now a horrible teenager.” He recapped while pulling on his jacket.

“You’re not a horrible son, I’m sick of you putting yourself down. What is this?” she was holding a piece of paper as she sat at the counter.

“Um I don’t know, someone I pissed off?” it wasn’t unusual for teachers and other parents to send his mother notes.

“No, it’s a money order.”

“Oh! Yeah that’s for you.” he had left that for her last night. “Apparently Miles didn’t give me overtime last week and that’s what he owed me. It’s cheaper to sign it over to you then cash it.” it was about a hundred bucks.

“I don’t want you giving me this much money.” She already hated when he gave her most of his check every week.

“Mom, what the hell am I going to use it on?” he came over and sat with her.

“I don’t know, fun things, find a nice girl to go out with…”

“I don’t like nice girls.” He teased, a grin twisting at the corner of his mouth. “I don’t need it mom. You use it or we throw it out and I know it’s against your religion to throw money out.” He said with a shrug. He wanted to express to his mother how grateful he was, without her he’d in the streets or probably more screwed up considering how his father raised him. His mother had been a constant rock and a few bucks weren’t going to replay that.

“I love you.”

“No mushy stuff this early please. Before I go, this dinner at Aunt Carol’s I can skip it right?” he was hopeful.

“It’s been awhile since we’ve all gotten together.”

“I have to work.”

“I’m sure Miles will let you go early.”

He groaned. “Do I have to?” he hated how childish that sounded, he was eighteen for crying out loud but his mother still called most of the shots since he was living under her roof.

“She arranged the dinner to be late so we can go, I can’t say no. You know my sister can be very persuasive.” She said with an awkward shrug.

Jensen saw right through that. “You mean a pain in the ass? She’s forcing you and you’re forcing me?”

“You got it.”  He kissed her cheek and left to the bus stop before he had to walk the ten miles to school. He rode the school bus in the front alone while all the wannabe cool kids piled up in the back. He pulled on some headphones and drifted off to another world while the school bus did its job.

When he got there he decided to talk to his cousin in public not caring what the jocks thought today. Maryanne was there at his side, smiling at whatever Kim was going on about. Kim was dating Trevor, star of their basketball team.

“Lose your way?” the jock asked.

Jensen smirked. “Ah these politics never get old.”

“You know walking around like a freak you’re asking for it. I mean what self respecting man walks around in women’s eyeliner? Way to be a fag.” Trevor argued.

“Hey!” It was Maryanne who reacted while Nate shook his head in disbelief over his so called friend. “Don’t be such a fucking jerk.”

Trevor didn’t like her outburst. “Whatever.” He grabbed Kim and walked away.

Meanwhile Jensen was staring at Maryanne again seeing a different person. “Why did you do that?” while he liked to keep to himself he wasn’t blind and knew a few things about the other kids at this school. Maryanne wasn’t the type to curse or get loud, everyone called her sugary sweet.

“I don’t like that word.” She said tightly.

“Ok then.” He looked at Nate and saw he wasn’t too thrilled either. “I spoke to my mom this morning and apparently she’s being forced into this dinner thing too. Is someone dying and it’s going to be announced?”

“I don’t think so…” he gave it some thought then his eyes went wide. “Oh I know now.” he cringed.

“What is it? Tell me or I will pound on you.” they both knew while Nate was the athletic one Jensen was stronger.

“I hate you. There’s a new family on the block….a single dad.”

“She’s trying to set my mom up?” he laughed. “She’s going to love this.”

“You can’t tell her.”

“I won’t, the laughs will be worth it. No wonder you mom is being all nice and having the dinner late.” He glanced at Maryanne who was just standing there behind Nate listening. “Why don’t you tag along? You can be our excuse to ditch our parents.” He said to her.

Her eyes narrowed, adding more fire to the anger she already had toward him. She opened her mouth but Nate spoke. “If you don’t have anything else to do?”

She sighed not wanting to tell him no. “I’ll think about it.”