White Lies ✓

14 - Narcotic's Anonymous

"Wait," he interrupted. "You're not coming in with me?"

"I didn't think it was my place. I brought a book, the meeting's only a few hours. I'll be fine."

He looked at you, then the church, then back at you. "Okay," he nodded, psyching himself up. "I've got this, I've got this. See you in an hour?"

"I'm not going anywhere."

He climbed out of the car and slammed the door shut. You watching him hesitate for a moment by the steps before rushing into the building. With Spencer gone, you were left to your own devices. You spent a few minutes scrolling through your Spotify before choosing The Smiths. As This Charming Mandrifted from the speakers, you leaned into the backseat and grabbed your purse. Your battered copy of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo sat on top of the multitude of strange things you kept in your purse. You pulled it out and opened to the fifth chapter, and kept reading. You were quickly deep in the story again, and two hours passed before you knew it. Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed the crowd of people leaving the church. Spencer was towards the back, talking to a small woman. He waved goodbye to her after a moment and walked back to the car. He stood at the door and wiped his sleeve across his face before opening the door and climbing inside. His eyes were the tiniest bit red, you could tell he'd been crying.

"How'd it go?" You asked carefully, trying to watch his expression as you maneuvered around the now busy parking lot.

"It was... different," he said, searching for the right words.

"You made a friend though, right?" You asked, referencing the woman from before.

"Yeah, that was Jen. She runs the meetings."

You nodded. "That's cool." You were careful not to push him. "Do you want to get lunch?"

"I'd like to go home if you don't mind. That was emotionally draining."

"Sure thing."

Spencer leaned his head back on the seat and closed his eyes. For the first time since you'd moved to Virginia, the little crease constantly occupying the space between Spencer's eyebrows was gone. He seemed calm, finally. Like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. You knew logically that this was far from the end. One meeting wasn't going to "fix" Spencer, and you had to make sure you were absolutely positive you had the emotional capacity to be there for him. Knowing him, you assumed he'd reject the idea of a rehab clinic, leaving you to become his nurse, and the apartment to become his hospital. You glanced over at him once more, taking in the smooth planes of his relaxed face. You had the sudden urge to reach out, to brush back the small curl that had escaped from behind his ear. The apartment came into view ahead of you, you pulled into the parking lot and stopped the car. Spencer stepped out and waited for you on the curb.

"Thanks for that," he said quietly as he unlocked the main door.

"Of course, Spencer." You paused by the staircase as he started his way up. "I'm here if you need me."

He nodded with a slight smile as he walked up to the apartment. You turned down the hall and into your own home. You picked up the remnants of last night's dinner, scooping the takeout containers back into the plastic bag they came in, and tossed it in the trash. Your apartment needed so major cleaning, and sadly for you, the rest of today would be uneventful. Starting in the bedroom, you tossed the dirty clothes into your hamper and stripped the bed, loading them up into the washing machine. The counters in your bathroom needed to be wiped down and the kitchen needed sweeping, so you got to work, cleaning for hours until you were finally done. You collapsed on the couch and flicked on the TV, starting a random episode of New Girl as you drifted in and out of consciousness. After a few episodes, you'd fully woken up. Something strange had pulled you out of sleep, but you couldn't quite figure out what. Then, you heard it again, strange noise coming from the apartment above you. A set of footprints leaving the apartment, slamming the door, and running down the stairs and out of the apartment.