𝐉𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐊𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄 [ 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬 ] ✘

Wanted Man-Angel-Thing [Pt. 1]

"Would you like to share with the group today? Either of you?" the counselor asked, his eyes drifting to the two of us huddled in the corner.

I bit my lip, keeping my head down as my cousin, Kaia, answered for the both of us.

"Not much to say, you know. Just...one day at a time. Every day's a gift. Like the kitten poster says, "Hang in there baby."

I snorted at her choice of words as the man continued to pry.

"And the... uh, the incident...are you ready to discuss that?"

At this, Kaia and I both tensed up as she replied shortly, "No."

"Look...you two overdosed. Both of you were found unconscious in an abandoned tenement with enough prescription amphetamine in your systems to kill a small rhino. Not to mention the stolen pills the police found in your bag, Kaia,"

"We didn't steal them. We bought them," I bit out, defending my cousin.

"Yeah, from a dealer," he countered.

Kaia shrugged, "I don't know, I like to think of him as a small businessman just trying to make it in Trump's America,"

"The court sent you both here to get better, but if you don't wanna talk about this, then we can't–"

"I am talking about it. See? Lips? Moving?"

He changed subjects, "Let's talk about your scars,"

"Pass,"

"Kaia-"

"Look, I know you're just trying to do your job or whatever, but please stop. You don't know anything about her - or me," I piped up, irritated at him berating my cousin.

"I know you both need help," he shot back.

Kaia shook her head, "I don't. We– we don't... we don't belong here. We're not addicts,"

"We've all been exactly where you are, Kaia. Denying the truth of our situation,"

Kaia was riled up at this point and frankly, so was I.

"I hate doing this to myself, putting that junk in my body, but it's the only thing that keeps me awake!" Kaia shouted at the man as she crushed the small Styrofoam cup in her hand, "It's the only thing that... that keeps me from... from the bad place,"

The counselor was finally silent for a moment before nodding his head, "Yes, we've all... we all have our bad places, don't we? The stuff were running from, the things that we try to blot out with drugs or drink. But we have to face it eventually, don't we?"

I shared a knowing look with my cousin. We didn't look entirely similar, Kaia and I. Kaia was of full-blooded Native American descent, of a proud tribal lineage. And as for me? I was the biracial child of her aunt and a brief tryst with a white boyfriend at the time who her parents hadn't approved of. For that, Kaia and I both felt like outsiders - her for being a person of color in a small white community and for my own biracial background.

But the truth of the "bad place" was much darker than demons living in your head. No, this was a far worse place - a real place - that Kaia and I both dreamwalked to. It had only happened the once for me but for Kaia? For Kaia, it was every moment her eyes were closed. That's why we both began taking the pills - to keep her out of that place and, once she was shoved into a 12-step plan, so that I could be by her side.

As the session ended, everyone else dispersed but as a simple "hey" met my ears, my eyes locked on a pair of baby blue eyes that took my breath away.

"I'm Jack," the boy introduced himself and I began to smile despite myself.