Recovery [ON HOLD]

Chapter Twenty: Remember Rue?

POV from Ben

I let her sleep in our room. I tucked her in and put a glass of water by the bed for her when she woke up. I walked out, my heart heavy and closed the door behind me. I skipped down the stairs and leaned against the banister, my mouth quivering slightly. James stood up and let his hands fall to his sides. 

"I'm so-" 

I cut him off by holding up a hand and sat down on the couch, my teeth pulling at my lip piercings. I swirled the metal around with my tongue and slowly looked up at the others. Cam and Sam were standing next to each other, hands in their pockets, eyes on the ground. Danny was holding the metal box, spinning it in between his fingers, his eyes avoiding me. James sat down next to me, but didn't say anything. 

"A-are the pills bad?" I whispered, my eyes reaching up at Danny. Danny popped open the metal and looked the capsules over, his mouth a thin line. 

"No. She's be up and about soon." His eyes flickered a little bit. "Where did she even get these?" 

I scratched the back of my neck and shrugged. 

"I don't know." 

Cam cleared his throat and I glanced up at the noise, confused. "I ah...when I ran after her, she came out of an alley with a small bag. I thought nothing of it, but she hid it in her purse." He looked down at his fingers, his mouth twitching. "I think she was on something else. She was all happy and shit." 

"She's been cutting again." I sighed, holding my head in my hands. I felt my eyes pool with tears. "And from the looks of things, she's been doing it for a while now." 

"Ben-" coughed James. "I'm so sorry." 

"This isn't your fault." I swallowed hard and looked up at Cam. "Are you sure she put something in her bag?" 

"Positive." Cam told me. I sighed heavily through my nose and stood up to go back up the small flight of stairs, but wobbled a bit on my two feet. 

"I'll get it, mate." Danny told me, handing me the silver box. I gritted my teeth, but nodded my thanks. I gripped the box and sat back down. I felt James' arm go around me, but I didn't stop him from comforting me. 

I heard a small shuffle and soon Danny was walking down the stairs holding a little black bag. It looked quite heavy. He placed it in front of me, a small frown on his lips. 

I reached for the bag and took a deep breath as I opened it. Holy. Fucking. Shit. 

Heroin. Heroin. There were medical shots waiting to be used and a small jelly jar with liquid heroin in it. Jordyn. 

I cursed loudly and dropped the bag on the coffee table. I got to my feet and walked to Sam. 

"Give me the ring." I demanded. 

"Ben-you're not thinking straight-" Sam started, but I shoved him against the wall. 

"Give me the fucking ring, Samuel, or I swear to fucking God-"

Sam dug around in his pockets and pulled out a small velvet box. I gripped it in my fist and walked out the door. 

"Call me when she wakes up." I growled before slamming the door behind me. 

I drove for what seemed like hours, but I know that only a few minutes had passed. I pulled up to a lake and fumbled in my pockets as I yanked out the box. Slamming the door behind me, I stumbled to the edge of the lake and drew my arm back to hurdle the god forsaken piece of metal and I swung. 

My phone rang, jolting me out of my thoughts and I dropped my arm down. Realizing that I never heard the splash of water, I looked down at my hand and saw the velvet box still wedged in between my fingers. I gritted my teeth and answered my phone. 

"Is she awake?" I snapped, the box going back into my pocket. 

"...Ben?" asked an unfamiliar voice. I swallowed hard and pulled back, looking at the caller ID. There was an unknown number. Sighing loudly, I replied. 

"Who is this?" 

"Jaxin." breathed the boy's voice. "You know...from the signing?" 

I was silent. Who was Jaxin? 

"Rue's brother." 

The memory flooded back into my mind. I swallowed back bile and tried to smile. "Oh! Hey, Jaxin. How are you?" Suddenly remembering that I told him to call me if Rue did something stupid, I became worried. "How's Rue?" 

Jaxin was silent for a moment, the only thing I could hear was his breathing on the other line. "R-Rue...she...she took her life a week and a half ago. I was calling because I was hoping that you could make it to her funeral." 

I almost dropped my phone. 

"Oh my God, I am so sorry-" I whispered. Jaxin let out a shaky laugh. 

"Don't pity me, Ben. I'm fine. She's in a better place. I know it. I was just wondering if I should count you in for the service?" 

"Of course." I told him. 

"Great. Are you bringing Jordyn?" Jaxin asked, his voice shaking still. "Rue would have really wanted her to be there." 

My stomach twisted when he mentioned Jordyn's name. I bit at my lips and looked away from the lake which I was seriously thinking about drowning myself in. "Yeah. She'll be there." 

"Great. Thanks again, Ben." Jaxin was relieved. I smiled and sighed. 

"Of course, man. I'm sorry for your loss." 

"I'll text you the details." Jaxin promised. We said goodbye and then hung up. Shortly after, I got two texts. One from Jaxin, details for the funeral, and one from Danny, saying Jordyn woke up. 

I swallowed hard and got back in my car. 

I drove back in silence, my mind set on one thing. 

I felt the velvet box move a little against my leg and grimaced. What was I going to do? 

I walked into the house, ignoring the others and went to our room. Jordyn sat in the middle of the bed, her mouth in a frown and she was rubbing her head. 

"Ben-what's-" She whispered, but I glared at her. 

"Pack your fucking bags. We're going to a funeral."