Addicted

Chapter Three: History

TRIGGER WARNING -
Talks of self-harm, mental health and drug addiction.
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"I had fun tonight." TK told Carlos, grinning. The couple were walking hand in hand through the park, back to where they had left Carlos' car. They had been to see a movie and have dinner as they had both been really busy with work over the last couple of weeks.
"Me too." Carlos said, returning the smile. TK couldn't stop smiling as they made chit-chat. As they neared the end of the park, TK spotted a familiar face sitting on one of the benches up ahead.
"That's Megan." He told Carlos as he let go of his hand.
"The girl you told me about?" Carlos queried. TK nodded his head.
"She looks pretty upset." Carlos stated as they walked a little closer and noticed that the teen was crying and shaking a little. Knowing he didn't have to explain himself, TK headed over to see if the teen was alright.
"Megan, do you remember me? It's TK..." TK said cautiously, not wanting to startle the teen. The teen wiped her eyes quickly before she looked up at TK.
"Is everything okay?" TK asked, seeing the dishevelled state the teen was in.
"I'm fine." Megan lied, quickly pulling her sleeves down over her wrist when she saw Carlos looking at the marks visible.
"What's wrong?" TK asked, sitting down on the bench.
"Nothing." Megan said looking down.
"Rough night?" TK asked, trying a different tactic. Megan looked at him briefly before she looked back down at the ground and nodded her head.
"Do you want to talk about it?" TK asked gently. Megan shook her head as she fiddled with her sleeve.
"You know I have a sister who's a year younger than you." TK told Megan.
"You do?" Megan asked looking up slightly.
"Yeah. She's just moved to Austin from LA. She's only been here a few weeks. I've just got back from getting her from LA after she went back there by herself. She's a troublemaker like you." TK teased, hoping to gain the teens trust some more. Megan smiled slightly.
"What's her name?" Megan asked quietly.
"Avery."
"What's she like?"
"From what I can tell she's a lot like you. She's smart, but sometimes quiet. She's not got the best school record and her and my dad have been at each other's throats. They're working on their relationship. I think you'd get on with her." TK told the teen. He noticed that Megan kept playing with her sleeve and he could see a few cuts just below where the sleeve had ridden up. TK looked at Carlos. He stood up and walked a few paces away so Megan couldn't hear them.
"I can't leave her like this." TK told his boyfriend.
"What are you going to do?" Carlos asked. TK stayed quiet for a minute.
"She's out of the system so she had no support." TK told Carlos.
"If I can talk to her, I can try and help her." TK added. Carlos agreed.
"Okay, I'm going to take her back to my place. Maybe she'll be up for talking. It might help that Avery's there." TK decided, thinking of how he can help the teen.
"If she agrees, I'll drive you both back." Carlos told him. TK smiled before he walked back over to Megan.
"Do you want to come back to mine? We can talk and I won't leave you. I'm sure Avery would like to meet you." TK asked the teen. Megan thought for a second before she nodded her head.
"Come on." TK said standing up. Megan followed them and together, the three of them headed to Carlos' car.

It wasn't long before they arrived back home and after talking to Carlos, TK led Megan inside. He got Megan settled in the lounge before he went to speak to his dad who was in the kitchen.
"Before you say anything, I didn't have a choice. Ask Carlos. She's got self-harm marks up her arms and she jittery meaning she's itching for a fix. I brought her back here to keep her safe." TK said quietly to his dad, careful not to speak too loudly so the teen couldn't hear from the lounge. Owen sighed and stopped chopping the vegetables he was preparing.
"One night, that's it. I'm happy that you're trying to help her, but be careful TK. Don't push it." Owen told his son seriously, knowing how things could end up.
"That's all I'm trying to do. I was going to speak to Avery and see if she'd talk to Megan. Maybe lend her some clothes for the night." TK added as he looked through the cupboards for the first aid kit he knew they had.
"Good idea." Owen agreed. If he knew anything about teenagers it's that they sometimes find it easier to talk and connect with people their own age. Once he found the kit, TK left it on the counter before he went to speak to Avery who was upstairs in her room.
"Hey." Avery said, sitting up and pulling out her earphones once she noticed her brother standing in the doorway.
"Hey, I have a favour to ask." TK told his sister as he leant against the doorframe.
"Okay..." Avery said not sure what he was going to ask.
"You remember the girl you heard me and dad talking about? Megan?" TK asked, knowing he had briefly spoken to his sister about Megan. Megan nodded her head.
"Well, she's staying the night. She's not in a good place right now and I'm trying to prevent her from OD'ing or self-harming more than she already has." TK explained, not wanting to go into too much detail.
"Okay, I take it you want some clothes or something?" Avery asked her brother cottoning onto what he was saying. TK nodded.
"She can wear these." Avery said grabbing a pair of leggings and a night shirt from one of her drawers.
"Thanks." TK said, taking them.
"I'm sure she'd love to meet you. I think you'll get along." TK told his sister. Avery smiled a little.
"That would be nice." She smiled.
"Oh - tell her she can use any of my stuff in the bathroom." Avery called out to TK as he went to leave.
"Thanks sis." He said over his shoulder and he walked away from her doorway and headed back downstairs.
"Here you go. Avery said you can borrow these and she also said that you can use anything of hers in the bathroom if you wanted to shower." TK told Megan as he re-joined her in the lounge. Megan smiled slightly as she accepted the clothes. She looked hesitant though and TK noticed how she looked at her arms.
"Don't worry. If you shower, I can deal with that afterwards and I'll give you a hoodie to wear." TK reassured the teen, wanting her to know that he already knew about the self-harm and wasn't angry with her.