Soren woke up drowsy as the sunlight came in through the window. He was surprised to see that he was only wearing boxers. He had a faint memory of what happened the night before. He saw drunken boys lying on the floor but he didn't see Diego. It was completely a mess.
"Hey! Wake up" Soren shook the boy who was next to him.
"Mom, let me sleep for another five minutes please" Zen muttered in a sleepy voice.
"Idiot" Soren groaned as he slapped him with a pillow. Gathering his belongings which were scattered all over the room, he got ready and went downstairs to meet Diego.
"Hey" Soren met Diego downstairs and grabbed him by his shoulders.
"Good morning" Diego greeted him but Soren ignored it because he had some questions to ask him.
"What happened last night?" There was a twinge in Soren's voice.
"You had a little fun, that's all" Diego shrugged.
"Did I drink alcohol?" Soren's eyes widened.
"Not only that. You also used cocaine" The smile that remained on Diego's face was harsh. Soren couldn't believe that.
"Really?" Soren raised his eyebrows.
"Yeah" Diego nodded. Soren started hitting the wall next to him. Diego was glad to see the pain he wanted to see in Soren.
"I broke the promise" Soren frowned.
"Don't be a silly man" Diego rubbed his shoulder.
"Now, I have to go" Soren was about to reach the main door.
"Hey, wait" Diego stopped him. "Your aunt told me that she would come here to pick you up. I told her to come to the starting point of the street. You can walk there, can't you?" said Diego.
"Okay, no problem" Soren came back to the living room and sat on the sofa.
"Diego, can you give me a toothbrush? Or Ame will know that I'm drunk because of the smell of alcohol in my mouth" He did not want anyone to know about that because he was already suffering from his mistake. It was able to leave guilt in his heart.
"Here" Diego handed him a toothbrush and he went to the bathroom. While he was brushing his teeth, Soren looked at his reflection in the mirror. He looked horrible. The area under his eyes was dark and his face looked tired. He had a severe headache that weakened his endurance. Above all, his mind was desperately asking for something. He understood it but he wasn't ready to accept it. That was cocaine.
"So, I'm leaving. Goodbye" said Soren who came downstairs.
"Bye, see you around," Diego said dryly and he stared at the path that Soren was walking.
"Dad, why didn't you let me let his family know about this?" Diego asked Dexter as he approached the living room.
"No, we have to wait until he's addicted and destroyed to the point where he cannot recover" Dexter's cruelty was evident within himself.
...Soren's home...
We all heard a knock on the door. Nicolo went and open the door.
"Good morning Mr. Johnes," said Shawn who was standing in front of Nicolo.
"Morning, Shawn. So, come in" Nicolo let him come inside.
"Um, I came because Soren didn't reply to my text messages so I wanted to know what was going on," Shawn said so politely. He always tried to respect Nicolo for no particular reason. "Is he going to college today?" He asked.
"You came at a good time. You can help me with something" I dragged him towards the staircase.
"What can I do?" Shawn shrugged.
"Can you pack Soren's bag with his stuff? I don't know about his timetable. I think you can do it. If we take his books, you two can go to college. I'll drop you two at the college" I explained to him.
"Yeah" He ran upstairs and entered Soren's room. He started packing Soren's books according to the timetable.
"This man is a fucking liar. He said that he hadn't yet begun to study" He thought so, turning over the Chemistry book on Soren's study table and looking at the short notes which had pasted all over the book. Suddenly, he saw a folded white sheet of paper between the pages of the book. He took it and unfolded it.
"Damn! Man," Shawn was surprised to see a pencil art of Diana. It was really beautiful. "He isn't a liar. He hasn't studied...Hikiz" He fold it again and hide it in another book because he had to pack the Chemistry book too.
"What did you hide?" That voice made Shawn's body tingle and that was Sarah.
"Nothing important" Shawn shrugged.
"I can't accept it," Sarah said as she smirked.
"Shawn, come" I shouted from downstairs.
"Thank god! You're the best Ame" Shawn thought so because if I hadn't called, he would have been caught up by Sarah. "Let's go" Shawn grabbed Sarah's hand and ran downstairs since he had no other choice. "But-" Sarah tried to speak but they were stunned by Nicolo's deadly glance. Realizing the meaning of that glance, Shawn immediately let go of Sarah's hand. Nicolo nodded at them and moved.
"Let's go" I shouted from the yard. Shawn took all the stuff and got into the car.
"Shawn, tell your mom I miss her" Aurora waved at us.
"Bye Shawn" Sarah also waved at us.
"Bye sweetheart" Shawn waved at Sarah back as I started the car and began to drive.
"What? Sweetheart?" I looked at Shawn through the front t mirror and smiled.
"I'm sorry. I just-" He looked at the ground.
"Don't be sorry. It's just okay" I simply smiled with him through the front mirror.
"Where are we going, Ame?" I loved the way he called me 'Ame' as Soren and Sarah used to call me like that.
"Sorry dude, I forgot to tell you that Soren was invited to a sleepover by Diego after the party" I sighed as I rotated the steering wheel.
"What the f-" He swallowed his words.
"Is there any problem?" I looked directly at him through the front mirror.
"Nope" He looked at the ground but I saw disgust in his eyes.
"You are scared of Nicolo, aren't you? There is nothing to be afraid of. He just wants to protect Sarah, his little princess. You know, boy's troubles. I remember when Sarah was about 3 years old, Nicolo started planning how to get her out of boy's troubles. I know, it's wired but it's cute" I burst out with laughter. Shawn tried not to laugh but he failed. "I know, Sara has a crush on you but anyway she is stubborn so be careful" I started teasing him.
"Soren is right. You liked to tease teenagers" He clenched his jaw.
"Yeah. It's funny though" I tightened my hands on the steering wheel. "I think we're in place but Soren isn't here" I mumbled. I and Shawn stayed there for a while after I parked the car at the beginning of the street.
"There he comes" Shawn pointed to the corner of the street. I nodded since I was able to see him. I just felt like my vision was weak because I could see things far better before. Although the headache I had the night before was not much less, I just ignored it.
"Party animal" Shawn messed up Soren's hair a bit.
"You look tired. Did you enjoy it well?" I looked at the two boys who were in the passenger seat through the front mirror.
"Yeah," Soren said shuttering.
"Are you okay?" I asked Soren while driving because I saw the area under his eyes was dark.
"Yeah" Soren mumbled.
"Are you drunk?" I raised my eyebrows at him through the mirror.
"Nope" He was confused.
"You are drunk" I adjusted the front mirror as I could see him properly.
"Nooo" He rested his head on his knees.
"You are drunk," I said again strictly.
"No" His eyes filled with tears.
"Hey, Babyboy I'm just kidding. I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you" I was sad to see his eyes fill with tears.
"Bro, it's just a joke" Shawn hugged him.
"Were you slapped by a girl?" I asked as I laughed like a witch.
"Noooo" Soren always got mad when I asked him about girls.
"Alright" I stopped the car near the college.
"Bye Ame" They both waved at me and went into the college. I was staring at them for a moment and drove to the Microsoft Headquarters.
"What are the types of Chemical Reactions," Shawn asked Soren while he was placing his stuff in his locker.
"Synthesis, Decomposition, Single-displacement, Double-displacement, Combustion" Soren said with great pride.
"You missed one thing. What about pencil arts?" Shawn winked.
"Fuck you! Did you see that?" Soren's eyes widened.
"It's adorable, Romeo," Shawn said in a teasing way.
"However, keep it as a secret" Soren grabbed him by his collar.
"Alright," Shawn was laughing like crazy.
...After a while...
"I feel a little sore. I'm going home" Soren grabbed his bag and went out of the cafeteria.
"But why? Can I come with you?" Shawn ran after him.
"No. You must stay here and write down the notes for me" Soren kept walking out of the college.
"What's wrong with him?" Shawn rolled his eyes and shrugged.
...Soren's house...
"Mom, I'm home" Soren shouted and ran upstairs to reach his room.
"Why baby? Are you okay?" Aurora sat down next to Soren who was lying on the bed.
"I feel sick" He sobbed like a child.
"Do you want to eat or drink something?" Aurora hugged him to her chest and unbuttoned his shirt to make him feel comfortable.
"I don't wanna drink or eat anything" Soren rubbed his eyes.
"What do you need baby?" Aurora gently rubbed his hair.
"I don't know mom. I'm weak" He sobbed again.
"Get some rest. After a good sleep, you'll feel better" She placed a kiss on his temple.
"Sweet dreams Babyboy" She left the room, letting him sleep.
"Love you, mom," Soren said weakly. He closed his eyes tightly and tried to sleep but he failed. His mind was after a strong thirst for something. He felt that the weakness of his body was being controlled by something. He wanted it more. He was thinking of a way to get it back. He remembered Diego.
"I want it" Soren picked up his phone and texted Diego.
"What?" Diego texted back.
"Cocaine...I want it so badly" Soren texted.
"You just got to know the real-life man. Meet me at the gym class in college tomorrow" Diego texted and Soren threw his phone onto the bed. He grabbed his pillow tightly and hide his face in it to reduce his pain but it didn't work. To appease the struggle he had with himself, it was not a solution to rediscover what had caused it. But that was the nature of addiction.