Chapter Three

This drive is constantly taking place in my head. The chase for this drug is nonstop. It begins the minute I wake, and lasts until I close my eyes at night. I’m obsessed with it. Mr. Glad was right, I’m back in the cycle. Stuck in a neverending loop. It’s my very own dark, and twisted version of groundhog day.

I can see the phone lighting up beside me in the cup holder. It’s her again. She likes to ride along, but she’ll just have to deal with being at home this time. The pain of my aching body is just too much for spending extra time on the road, and I’m the one who pumped blood through a machine for an hour to make this money. The clinic takes my plasma. They use the plasma to create life saving medicine for patients with various diseases, and I just donate for the money. I’m selling myself. We live in a world that’s all about money. It makes me sick, but I’m no different from the rest of them.

The bandage around my right elbow makes my hand fuzzy, and numb. The night was filled with red lights, yellow lights, and cigarette smoke trailing from my sticky nicotine coated fingers. Oasis begins playing on the radio, and I wonder who else might be taking a road trip.

The parking lot always seems full of vehicles, and it’s difficult to find an empty space near the apartment. I circled around the property a couple times before giving up. Tonight the street lights glow in a burnt orange, and the buildings all look the same. There’s a cold breeze in the air, and the trees shed a few leaves with every gust. The environment here is quite unsettling, but a hot spot for anyone looking to score. I walk up to the door and knock twice. “Who is it?” It’s me.. Leonard fumbled with the door for what felt like an eternity before opening it. He always gives me this cold stare before letting me inside. I don’t think he likes me very much, but I don’t care. “Who is it, babe?” Katie yelled from the back room. “It’s Tyler. What do you need, man? Your woman’s been calling me nonstop for the past twenty minutes. Did you let her know you were coming here?” I really wanted to tell him to mind his business, but I knew that wouldn’t be good for business. Of course, she knew I was stopping by for a second. “She’s calling me again.” Leonard answered his phone, “Yes? Yea, he’s here.” Then I hear Barb on the other end.. “Tell that mother******, if he doesn’t get back home with my car in the next five minutes, I’m going to call the police, and tell them he stole my car.” I just shook my head, and covered my face. Leonard ended the call, looked at me, and said “Dude, this is getting out of control. You need to put your girlfriend in check, man.” I looked over at Katie, and she just stared at the ground, avoiding all eye contact. I noticed new sets of bruises down her arms and legs. I looked back at Leonard, and he handed me the bag. I’m out of here. Thanks again for looking out. “No problem. Just tell her not to call my phone with that mess anymore.” It pained me to take that kind of talk from this guy, but I always did my best to brush it off. Dustin was the only cool one, but he wasn’t there. Dustin was the roommate. He was also Katie’s ex-boyfriend, and occupied their living room. A few cardboard boxes along with a couple hampers stuffed with dirty clothes took up space in the walkway. There was an old acoustic guitar laying across the air mattress in the corner. I took a seat in one of the dining chairs, and sampled some of what I’d just purchased. Just enough to ease the pain in my body, and settle my stomach. I really don’t want to go home, and deal with this woman. There has to be something I could say that might distract her from jumping on me as soon as I walk through the door, but I got nothing. I’m afraid this night still burns in orange, the cold wind still blows demanding respect, and every leaf falls to the ground.