A Life On The Edge

Healing

SEXUAL CONTENT ! READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED : JK! Enjoy reading the moment you've all been waiting for!

"What's with Ricky and Erica?" I asked weighing the bags of cocaine. Jason and I were prepping. It was already 4 and within the next hour our sellers would be coming back for more product. We did this every Thursday. I would spend half the day trimming, and combing through weed with Bella while Jose made cocaine in the shack. I did a whole bunch of shit. But the easiest and most fun part was bagging and weighting.

"Um, they used to date. Ricky treated her like shit. Didn't do anything nice for her. All he wanted was sex."

"Sounds to me like he wanted a fuck buddy and she got too attached." I mumbled.

"Pretty much." He scoffed. "But that's what I love about Erica. She feels. She's passionate."

"You two are in love?" I asked.

"We're dating. Have been for a while. I'm in love with her. She's says she loves me back but I don't think she's over Ricky."

"Is that why she hates me?"

"Exactly." He nodded.

"That's not very fair." I mumbled.

"I hope you and Ricky stay together. Maybe Erica can get over him and we can move on in our relationship."

"You're a really good boyfriend to her." I said. "You're like the sweetest guy I know." He smiled.

"Thank you. I wish she could see that." He mumbled.

"She will."

"I think once Erica gets over this Ricky stuff, she'll really like you." He said. "I really like you." I smiled at how his eyes shifted around the room. He was kind of awkward. Everything about him was shifty and nervous. He's not used to being around people, I can tell. He spends most of his time in the grow room with his plants.

"Thank you." I smiled. "I like you too."

"Yeah?" he blushed.

"Yeah...how did you meet Chris?" I asked.

"Um...I was homeless. I was sleeping in the tunnel on Third Avenue. He found me and gave me a place to stay."

"What about your parents?" I asked.

"My parents were homeless too. When my mom died my dad left and it was just me." He bit his lip. He hadn't looked up at me once. No wonder he wasn't good with people, most of his life people weren't good to him. I had Beth and a few kids at the orphanage to socialize me. He didn't. "If you ever need anything you know...don't be afraid to ask me." I looked up at him surprised. "I'll help you with anything. You...you remind me of a puppy?" he chuckled. "I'll protect you."

I smiled at the sweet memory of my friend. I had fallen asleep in Eli's sweatshirt. I opened my eyes, tired and sore from crying all night. I locked eyes with Lyle's chocolate brown ones. He laid there watching me. There was a sort of look in his eyes that I recognized, it was too familiar. A look of confusion, longing, and helplessness. We stared at each other for a while. I could feel the buzz of the words we both wanted to say floating around us. The silence said more than we ever could. He reached out and wiped away a stray tear from my cheek.

"I've never seen the snow." I said. He gave me a confused look but chuckled.

"What?"

"I've lived in Arizona my entire life." I smiled. "It's hot here. All the time." He laughed. "I've never seen the snow."