Addiction in August | Completed

Chapter 1: Adversity

Adversity

On the outskirts of a monstrous city, a small herd of individuals are gathered around a small grave while a casket is being lowered into the dirt. The sky is bright overhead with stray clusters of snow clinging onto dewy grass. Clouds hang darkly in the distance, being sliced in half by the skyscrapers below them. A murder of crows hovers around the grave curiously, perching themselves on stones around the cemetery here and there. They didn't dare get close, though, probably because of the thick cigarette smoke that followed one of the people around in the crowd.

The person in the crowd that the smoke dangled above is Danny. His brown hair is cropped close to his head and faded on the sides toward a scraggly, patchy beard. His cheekbones are sunken into his pale face with a dark pair of sunglasses above them. They blocked out the minute sunlight and a bruise peppered across the side of his crooked nose. A black t-shirt, with a neck too wide, is on his body that had been clearly muscular and healthy at one point but is not anymore. Instead, old muscle has turned into thin layers of fat that made him look beefy. He's tall, though, so it balanced out.

Danny just so happened to be following me around. Although that meant the smoke permeating from his clothes is intensifying my headache, it also meant people gave us a wide berth. No one came near us as I blew my nose, my eyes red and a chill running down my spine. My fingerless gloves shove the crumpled tissue up into the pocket of my thick coat while I fumble for another one. While wiping at the snot under my nose, I saw my sweet and middle-aged neighbor gaze at me with sympathetic eyes and a smile.

"I'm sorry for your loss, August," Linda said as she approached Danny and I. "Can I get you some tissues? Oh, you have some. Look, if you ever need anything— please, let me know."

Linda is a nice lady; a good neighbor. She always reminded me of the teapot in Beauty and the Beast. Sometimes she made me feel like Chip, the little tea cup. However, most times that I saw her, she was just complaining about something my dad did. I couldn't blame her either, he used to be a real jackass sometimes.

Clearly, Danny realizes I'm about to open my mouth and tell her that I wasn't crying because he claps his hand down onto my shoulder and smiles at Linda as politely as he could muster.

Danny told her, "Auggie is just real choked up about it. Thank you though, Linda."

I sniffled for effect and received another sympathetic smile. Linda nodded her head a few times while she looked between Danny and I, deciding what she wanted to say. I know she hates Danny because half the time she knocked on my door for a complaint, it was about Danny and not my dad. The only real conversation I have had with her was when she lectured me about being too pretty and too good for Danny. She was right.

"Okay," Linda said finally. "Well, see you back at the building, August."

When Linda walks away, I look down at the casket in front of me. My dad's in there, probably looking prim and proper in a suit that he'd be glad he couldn't see. I imagine his face behind my eyes, but stop myself short. If I wanted to see him, I just have to look in the mirror. Some things I got from my mom— like my oozing charm— but looks-wise I got everything from my dad. It was why he made me run track in high school. He said he never got to do it, but we were built for it. He was right.

"What now?" Danny asks as he dug into the pocket of his jeans for his cigarettes.

"I'm going to whip up some purple drank for this cold," I reply seriously. "Nothing like some cough syrup and codeine to put some pep in my step."

"Very funny," he said in a dry, humorless tone.

"Probably going to... go home," I said genuinely with a shrug. "I'm moving out tomorrow."