Sober

Rough Start: Chapter 1

  Addiction.  A monster that feeds and takes. The more you give into it, the stronger it gets. You'll find yourself saying "Just another sip.", "One more pill.", "Another needle in my arm.", or "Just another hit." This is what addiction does. Addiction is a dangerous killer. But for 24 year old Archie Westmack, addiction was a whole different story.

"Hello everybody, nice to see you all again." Said Olivia.

 "We have a new member of the community today!" she announced and gestured to Archie.

Archie sat there, twiddling his thumbs and biting his nails. Olivia cleared her throat, "Mr. Westmack."

 Archie snapped out of his zone and looked up. His face looked raggedy. He had a stubble of a beard, his midnight black hair was a mess, He had a freckle on his right cheek bone, and his eyes where a faded peridot green. His eyes traveled around the room at a fast pace and he was having a hard time focusing. 

"Mr. Westmack!" Olivia raised her voice a bit.

 Archie's eyes looked at her and he mumbled something that sounded like an apology. Olivia signaled for him to stand and introduce himself. 

"Oh right!" Archie shot up but his shirt got caught on the chair.

 The chair fell over and Archie almost lost his balance. He slowly bent down and picked the chair back up. A guy named Steve chuckled and shook his head in disbelief. Archie cleared his throat and pushed his hair back. Archie continued to fiddle with his thumbs and he looked around the room. 

"Um..Hello. M-my name is uh....Wally Anderson." Archie did a soft facepalm. "I mean it's uh...Christopher Walters. Wait no...shit!" 

Olivia pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled deeply. 

"Um....what's my name again..?" Archie chewed on his thumb nail as he looked at Olivia with 'God please help me' eyes.

 Olivia stood up. "This is Archie Westmack. He's here because he uses intense drugs. His aunt brought him here so he can get better." Olivia sat down. 

Archie looked embarrassed, as his cheeks turned a small shade of pink and he continued to bite his thumb nail. Archie slowly sat down and looked around the room. People were staring at him, some chuckling.

 "Man how fucked up is this guy?" said Steve to the person next to him.

 Archie heard him and he looked up at Steve.

 "T-The hell did you say about me?" Steve looked at him.

 "I said. How fucked up are you. You can't even remember your own god damn name!" Steve laughed and so did a couple others in the room. 

"Mr. Overall. That's enough." Said Olivia in a cold stern tone.

 "And who the f-fuck are you to judge me! You're in this shit hole too!" Archie yelled at Steve. 

Steve stood up and cracked his knuckles, "Do you wanna fuckin fight bruv?"

 Archie stood up. "I'll break your goddamn nose asshole!!!" 

Archie ran at Steve taking a swing. Olivia jumped up and ran over to them. She grabbed Archie by the hood of his jacket. And yanked him backwards. But Olivia was too late, Archie had punched Steve in the eye. Steve went down and let out a yell of pain.

 "YOU LITTLE SHIT! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" Screamed Steve. 

Archie's eyes widened as Steve stood up and ran at Archie. Some people in the circle stood up and started chanting, saying

 "Fight Fight Fight Fight!" they were all acting like 3rd graders on the playground. 

Steve had tackled Archie and was on top of him. Punching Archie in the face over and over again. Olivia yelled at them to stop and she yelled for security. Archie's face was in utmost pain. 

He felt himself starting to black out. Two large men ran over and grabbed Steve. Archie's face was bleeding badly and it started swelling. Archie coughed hard and deep. He coughed up specks of blood out and onto his jacket. Archie was trying to breathe, everything was a blur to him now.

 The world felt like it was slowing down and it all faded to black.