If Red Means No, Invert The Color

Chapter 3

Kieran's POV

        My mother returned to work after 15 minutes of eating a quick lunch and giving me a 5 minute lecture about not to stay out for long because she would be back at 6 to drive us to see Katy. The thought of my sister laying in a nursing home bed, nearly lifeless, made me feel sick to my stomach. I reached over to my bedside table and pulled out a small metal box; its exterior was cool to the touch, its contents on the other hand, were quite the opposite. I sat up, the blood rushing to my head, causing me to stumble slightly in leaning against the wall to open the container. Inside, was a small purple grinder, a pack of rolling papers, a lighter, and a half a gram of pot in a small plastic bag. I lifted the bag to my nose after opening it, smelling its expensive content; it was still fresh.

        I lean onto my right side to crack open my bedroom window, and then sit back up again, peeling off a piece of rolling paper from its package. I had bought this about two weeks ago from my neighbor, I had quickly discovered it wasn't laced when we smoked half of the gram together, I still had yet to learn his name. Growing up, I used to always say I would never do drugs, never smoke cigarettes, nothing. But, time does a lot to a person; at least I don't smoke crack like my mother. I lay out the paper in the container, emptying the leftover remains of what was in my grinder onto the paper and began to grind the rest of the gram up, before putting about half of it into the paper as well, then putting the rest back into the baggie. I take out my pocket knife, using the edge to tightly pack the drugs together inside of the paper before rolling it, using my knife at the same time to ensure it stayed packed tightly. I run my tongue along side the joint, sealing it with my saliva, the taste of grape now resonated on my tongue.

         Brining the tip of the joint to my lips with my right hand, using my right hand to light it, puffing on it carefully until it was lit, setting my lighter aside and sighing heavily, leaning back against my headboard. I close my eyes, bringing the joint to my lips again, and taking a long hard drag, inhaling it slowly into my lungs before exhaling. My senses soon started tingling after a few hits, my brain going fuzzy and my body seemed weightless; all feelings of pain in my foot floating away, almost as if my whole body was just floating on air. I kept my eyes closed, only occasionally opening them to ash my joint. I could swear I could feel my brain moving in my skull, and all my anxiety, stress, and pain from the day slowly melted away with every hit I took.

I was at peace.