The Scottsville Vampire Invasion

Chapter 41

Chapter 41

I can't believe the mayor didn't fire me.  I've never dodged a bullet as close as that before.  I didn't think it would be possible to get a second chance, but now that I have one, I'm going to make the most of it. 

I reach into my pants pocket for a pill and feel it between my fingers.  I'm not going to be able to score these from Nicole's brother anymore, so I might as well use them up.  No, I'm not going to do that.  I'm not going to do it ever again. 

I go to the other end of the office and into the men's room, lock the door and stand over the toilet.  I pull out my pills and hold them in my palm.  I should save these, slowdown in taking them and wean myself off.  Instead of taking two at a time, I'll take one and break the other one in half.  After a few days, I'll just take one at a time.

I put them back into my pocket.  How long have I told myself that I'm going to do this?  Months?  Years?  No matter what I do, if I'm around these things, I can't stop myself.  I need to accept that.  I just need to get rid of them and get this over with. 

I put my hand back in my pocket, pull the drugs out, and look down into the toilet.  I'll drop these in and flush, and they'll be gone.  I go to open my hand, but I can't.  It feels like it's stuck shut.

There is a knock on the door.  "Clark?"

"Yeah, Josh."

"Just wanted to make sure that you're okay."

"Yeah, I'm fine.  Just give me a second."

I look down at the fist that's holding the pills.  Just do it.  Just drop them.  Just open your hand.  They'll fall in, and this will all be over.  This is the hardest part.  Once I commit myself to this, it will be easy.

I force my hand open and the drugs fall into the toilet.  I stand over it and look at them floating in the water.  As soon as I drop them, I regret it.  I can still reach down and scoop them out.  No, I have to do this.  I push the lever and watch the pills gather around and swim off. 

I walk over to the faucet, splash some water onto my face and look in the mirror.  I did it.  I finally got rid of those things.  I feel a swell of pride rise in me.  I didn't think I'd ever have the courage or fortitude, but I did.  After all this time, I was finally able to dump those things.

What is going to happen now?  I haven't gone through a single day without those pills for years.  The longest I've lasted is a few hours.   I'm going to ride it out and give these up.  I'm going to quit these pills, solve these murders, and I'm going to fix my family starting right now.

I walk out of the bathroom, swing by Nikki's desk, and call her into my office.  She sits down across from me and lowers her head.  When she looks up, she has tears in her eyes.

"Nikki, this is my fault.  As your boss, I shouldn't have let it happen, but I did, and I'm sorry that you got caught up in all of this."