NOTE: RE-READ CHAPTER THIRTEEN FOR REFRESHMENT
WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SENSITIVE TOPICS. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
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Overdose On Reality
~
June 4th, 2013
New York, New York
Unknown Location
Vera's P.O.V.
1:18 pm.
I groaned with a pounding headache. I look around, noticing I was in a hotel room. I didn't recognize the place, but I fell back onto the bed, used to waking up in unfamiliar places. I glanced aside; there was white dust on the bedside table. Someone must've been doing drugs before cleaning it up hastily.
Looking down at my body, my eyebrows furrowed at the dark bruises on my body. Matteo, my boyfriend, must've been rough with me in bed last night, but I can't seem to remember. My body was layered in sweat from the nightmare I had.
I rubbed my eye before getting out of bed, noticing I was alone. I groaned, my knees buckling of how weak I was. I fell back upon the bed.
I heard someone pounding on the suite door and I panicked. I cleared up the white powder off of the table before going to check who it was.
I opened the door and one of the hotel staff appeared, assuming because he was dressed a uniform a typical employee would wear. His eyes widened at my appearance for some reason that I was unaware of. He pushed the cart which consisted of breakfast meals.
He left after explaining what each was. I didn't have time to object before he left. I glanced into the mirror that was displayed in the small lounge. I gasped at my bruised lip. My tear-stained cheek was the next thing I noticed. My hand lightly brushed against my lip which caused me to wince.
I looked into my red eyes and I gasped. I grabbed all the things that left traces of me before dashing out of the room. I pulled a random sweatshirt I found in the room over my head, heading into the elevator. I hid my face with the hoodie as other people entered. I grabbed my phone, seeing that I had no SIM card anymore.
I threw my backpack over my shoulders and bolted out from the elevator as the doors opened.
I kept my eyes down, trying to escape the building with no repercussions. A groan escaped me as I accidentally rammed into a body. The male voice apologized, but I ignored, making my way out from the lobby.
I glanced above, seeing I was in Manhattan. I wasn't far from my parents' new hotel. I walked by a cafe, my eyes glued onto the folded map on the table. The woman had her eyes glued to the newspaper, paying no attention to her belongings in front of her. She was oblivious to her surroundings, seeming as if she was new to the city.
Walking past her, I hastily grabbed the few dollar bills that were enfolded with the map. Quickly leaving the scene, I stopped at a crosswalk, waiting for the orange hand sign to turn into the white-colored pedestrian symbol. I opened the map in a rush, looking between the road signs and the map I stole.
Wiping my tears, I winced as pain erupted from my arm. It became unbearable to the point where I pulled my sleeve up. Where my forearm met the rest of my arm was covered in bruises. My thumb hovered over my vein and I winced. I pulled my sleeve down immediately, noticing a curious eye my way.
Across the crosswalk, my eyes found a telephone booth. I needed to call my driver. Noticing the crowd around me starting to approach the road, I followed. Conveniently, I found a quarter in my jacket to which I hastily pushed into the phone booth.
Typing his number, I heard the ringing fill my ears.
"Hello? Graham here."
I clutched onto the phone harder, relieved to hear a familiar voice. "Graham, it's me, Vera." My eyes were shooting everywhere, cautious of my surroundings.
"Vera? Why are you calling from a private number?"
"I'll explain later. I-I need you to pick me up and get me a new phone ASAP."
"Got it. Where are you?" He asked, sounding concerned. I sniffled, looking up with my blurred vision. "Fifth Avenue," I replied hoarsely.
"Okay. Sit tight, sweetheart. I'm near so I'll be there shortly with your phone." I nodded, before taking a deep breath, placing the phone back onto the hook.
Waiting for him seemed like ages. I was overwhelmed with the noises consisting of the traffic and everyone's voices. I took out my smartphone, noticing there were unfamiliar scratches and cracks added.
Unlocking it, my phone seemed the same, but I had a gut feeling something was wrong. I felt empty as if someone stole something from me. I would wake up anywhere without care, but I would never wake up with bruises and stranded alone.
I had no wifi or data to use. I went through my messages, but nothing seemed out of place which made it seem odd. I went through my recent pictures, yet I wasn't able to find anything.
My eyebrows knitted together as my eyes looked over my recently deleted that was empty. I never fully delete pictures off my phone. Something was wrong and I was terrified to find out what happened. I needed to investigate.
A honk pulled me from my thoughts. I turn my head, sighing in relief seeing the familiar Range Rover I was always transported in. Graham immediately got out of the car, his worried eyes meeting my weird state. He rushed over to me, guiding me towards the car before opening the door.
I burst into tears once my bottom touched the leather seats. Droplets splashed into my red cheeks as Graham's worried eyes watched my every move, not asking what had happened since he was used to seeing me this way, somewhat this way, but I could tell he wondering.
"I-I don't know what happened last night. I usually don't remember this, but this—" I paused, turning on my new phone. "—this feels different."
Graham began to drive, signaling me to continue as he remained quiet. I roughly pulled off my thin jacket, revealing my bruised arms where his eyes widened. "Vera! What happened?" He exclaimed. I bit my lip to cause it to stop trembling, but it did no such thing.
"I-I don't know. I never wake up with bruises. Something happened. Someone busted my phone and left me stranded. I don't know where Matteo is. I'm so scared." I ramble as my hands shook as I typed in Matteo's number.
"I don't know where Lily and Norah are either. Something is wrong and I don't know what happened to me last night. I had a terrible dream—"
"—a dream? What was it about?" He asked, warily looking at me through the rearview mirror. My eyebrows furrowed, attempting to remember. "I-I don't know. I just felt terrible when I woke up." I mumbled, deleting his number to call Lilly first.
As I expected, it was sent to voicemail. She was probably sleeping in with her girlfriend. I bite my lip, shakily typing in Norah's. A few rings had me anxious, but I heard someone pick up the phone.
"Hello?" A male voice answered. My heart was tensed, not hearing the reassuring voice of my best friend. "Hi? Is Norah there?" I heard shuffling before I heard Norah ask who it was.
"Hello, who is this?"
My eyes filled with tears. "Norah! It's Vera. I'm sorry I'm bothering you, but something happened and I don't know what—"
Her concerned voice filled my ears. "Did you O.D. or something?"
"I don't know. If I did, something wouldn't feel this wrong. I tried calling Lilly, but—"
"—you don't remember?" I paused. "Remember what?"
"She told you, right in front of me, that she's going back to Hawaii for a family business trip. Her parents needed her."
I furrowed my eyebrows. I shook my head. "N-no, I don't remember."
"You were wasted last night, now that I think about it."
"But I didn't drink that much last night."
She paused too, not sure what to say. "I remember I didn't want to drink a lot last night, and I know that I didn't."
"That's so weird—"
"—Listen, I called because I'm confused about what happened last night. I'm scared and I woke up stranded in a hotel room and I found a little bit of cocaine which I'm trying to stop—"
"—Stranded? Vera, what is going on—"
"—and I have weird bruises all over my body. I never wake up with bruises and I'm so scared, Norah." I burst into tears, not being able to finish my rambling. "Bruises?" She exclaimed. She paused for a moment, before continuing, "Can you come to my place? Where are you?"
I wipe my tears, sniffling. "On my way."
I end the phone call before looking up at Graham. "Can you drive me to Norah's?"
He wasn't happy with my wish, but he had no choice, only to comply. "I trust you are going to have this handled, but please, please call me the second you need me."
I nodded, giving him a broken reassuring smile.
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hi guys! how are you all :)
i hope you enjoyed this chapter. i know i've written this chapter so far ahead from the previous flashback which is my fault! i'd like to remind you all that this story is a rough draft for me! so when the story is completed, i will edit it.
what do you think of this chapter so far, by the way? i hope you all reread chapter 13 because i needed a refresher as well lmao. let me know what you guys think happened in the comments!
as always, thank you for the incredible amount of love and support you all always give me <3 i love you all fr :)
and don't forget to stay healthy and inside!
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- alli