Page 40 of Fight or Flight
CHAPTER XIV
“CLAIRE?” JENNY GASPS and takes a step back, looking at me as if she saw a ghost.
“I’m- I’m sorry for showing up like this, but I need your help,” I stammer nervously and step from foot to foot. I still feel over-energized, but also the blow sharpened my anxiety and apprehension when it comes to standing in front of the person I lost. The one I probably disappointed the most, even more than I ever did myself.
Another tremor runs through me, and I have to grind my teeth not to let it show, but I needn’t have to worry about it because Jenny launches at me, almost knocking me over. Her heavy sobs run through my body, and I wish I were more present to enjoy this moment without my mind being all over the place. I dreamt about this so many times, and I always thought I would be the one sobbing in relief. But here I am, doped out of my goddamn mind.
“Jen? Who is it?” I hear a concerned male voice before Brody steps into my line of sight and, similarly to Jenny before, takes a step back as if I’m some phantom coming to haunt him. “Oh, shit!”
Jenny steps away a little, close enough to still keep her hands on my shoulders but far enough to give me a quick once over. I can tell the second in which she notices that there’s something wrong with me, other than my more than disheveled appearance, her intelligent eyes meeting mine briefly before I look to the side.
She sniffles loudly before touching my face tenderly like she used to when we were teenagers and I was having one of my meltdowns. “You’re going to be okay, babe.” Her low whisper meant to only reach my ears.
I hang my head in shame, feeling the positive effects of the drug wearing out a bit with her words. Tears start to flow freely down my twisted face, landing on Jenny’s perfect house doorstep.
“Come on, it’s chilly outside. Not that it’s any better inside since the heater broke, but still...” She mutters as she grabs my hand and leads me into the cozy interior of the cabin.
I sit down on the plushy sofa, relishing in the soft feel of fabric under my palms, and sigh. This feels like heaven.
Quiet murmurs of the conversation between the couple resonate throughout the open plane of the first floor, but for the life of me, I can’t concentrate on anything else other than the feeling of safety that the comfy seating provides for me right now.
The drugs are fleeting my body with each of my heartbeats. I can sense it as the anxiety, fear, and paranoia slowly enter my mind, making me want to burrow myself under the throw pillows or the soft sponge inside the sofa cushions.
Shit, my mind is warped.
I don’t know how much time passes as I try to become one with Jenny’s furniture, but when a door slams somewhere in the house, I jump to my feet as if burned and look around in alarm. I run to the window, sure to find Ramirez with his goons waiting outside for me.
But of course, after wildly looking around, I see that there’s no one here other than Jenny, who’s leaning on the wall and observing my behavior with passiveness I didn’t know she was capable of.
“Where’s the big guy gone?” I chirp as if trying to pretend that this is normal, and I didn’t just come here high as a kite ten minutes ago after being gone for years.
“Brody went to fix the heater and then left for work,” she says slowly, eyeing me. “You’ve been... out of it for an hour now.”
An hour? What the...
“Shit. Nora...” I put my hand to my mouth, my eyes going wide. I was meant to be gone for a few minutes, but it’s been... My eyes spring around, trying to find a clock before landing on a digital one placed on the small desk in the corner.
Fuck. It’s been two hours.
“Oh, no,” I grab my hair in panic and then whirl around to find Jenny standing close by. She grabs my arm, palpably done with my erratic behavior, and drags me back to sit.
“What did you take?” She asks in her no-nonsense tone.
“I don't know exactly,” I mutter and draw invisible patterns on my legs, unable to look her in the eyes.
“Okay, how long ago was it?”
I scratch my head and blink a few times, trying to remember the time on the clock that I literally had in front of my eyes a second ago. Damn it, I need me some Coke right now.
I should’ve just stayed in the club, continued my work, and don’t stick my nose into things that weren’t my business. All would be fine.