Overdose (BXB) Completed/Editing

Chapter 37 - In Between

Overdose - Chapter 37

-Alex-

"Do you want me to stay? I don't have to be at work for two hours-"

"No, Dad. I'll take the bus home, thank you." I hop out of his car and swing my bag over my shoulder. The air has gotten cooler, the trees are starting to lose their vibrant green leaves, and pinecones have claimed the sidewalks as theirs. I've always loved the transition to fall, there's beauty in the death of summer. "You promise to text me and stay safe?" He asks, staring into my eyes. To him, that's supposed to intimidate me. It doesn't.

"I will."

"Alex, I hate to keep hammering this on you, but your liver cannot endure any more alcohol or hard-"

"Yep, I know, dad. Thanks," I close the door and quickly walk away from the car. I've heard that same lecture every day since I started leaving the house again. I don't go anywhere important like school or work; I just roam the city in search of nothing. Maybe not nothing, but I'm not exactly sure what I'm after. Purpose.

The medication for my seizures and my failing liver have been efficient enough to keep me satiated. No alcohol and no drugs that were not prescribed to you. Text when you're leaving the house and when you're on your way home. Location must always stay on. Don't leave town. That last rule is my dad's unsubtle way of telling me to stay away from Jackson. By now, I'm sure he's already gone back to school. And to think, if I had gone through with my plan that night, we'd both be rotting away in wooden boxes --his more luxurious than mine-- and our parents would be mourning. Or maybe, I would have been rotting away in a cell for life.

Instead, I gave myself brain damage and allowed him to legally keep me away from him. How the stale cookie that is my life crumbles.

I've been thinking about it for a while but today I've finally decided to look for a job. My medical bills won't pay themselves and I can't leave my dad to do it alone. My mom has graciously offered to pay half, but the other half is still way too much for my dad to do alone. He was against it and even told me that I shouldn't be stressing over them, but my conscience hasn't let me rest.

I'm not exactly sure what job I'm looking for, but I guess it comes down to who will hire me. I have one job experience and that didn't last long. I'm hoping for a miracle.

I adjust my bag and make my way through the town center. Looking into the windows of shops that I've never seen before, I guess that's what happens when you haven't stepped out of your house for four months. Most of them are closed but I guess that makes sense, it's only eight in the morning. A head injury gave me the unwanted gift of not being able to sleep past six. I wake up with terrible migraines and though I try, I can never go back to sleep.

"Oh my god, Alex? Alex?" A familiar high-pitched voice says from behind me, and I turn around. Before I can finish the turn, I am engulfed in a hug that steals the air out of my lungs and makes me stumble. The smell of warm vanilla shampoo invades my nose and I tap her shoulder, asking to be freed from her hold. "Jesus, you have no idea how happy I am to see you right now! How are you?" She steps back and examines my body as if I'm not real.

"Fine, thank you," I answer, trying to not sound so monotone. Her eyes stop at the side of my forehead where I now have the scar to remind me that I am not a good shot. Her smile turns into a frown, and she hugs me again, this time, gentler.

"I'm so happy you're here."

"Thank you, Taylor. I'm sorry I became a stranger...again," I say remembering that she offered me my job back but given the circumstances, I couldn't take the position. She gives me a 'Are you serious?' look, "Alex, I don't care about that. I thought you were going to die." She stares at me with teary eyes. She traded the yellow-dipped hair for bright orange. It makes her green eyes look vibrant. "I'm sorry."