The Addiction (Frybot & darkangel76)

Phoebe Abbott, for once, couldn’t wait to get off of work. Of course, she loved and adored her job at the small bookshop downtown, but tonight she was anxious. She had plans to pay her parents a surprise visit.

Yes, Phoebe knew that her parents had gone away on a small vacation together and would be arriving back home the next evening. But, she figured it the perfect plan to drive out their way and surprise them with a long overdue visit starting the moment they got back. After all, they were only an hour’s drive away and it had been months since she’d seen them last.

Phoebe’s parents always were ecstatic anytime she visited them. So she had no worries that her little surprise would be a welcome one even if unexpected. Smiling, as she watched the clock’s hands slowly creep toward 4pm, she reached in her bag and popped a piece of butterscotch candy into her mouth.

“Mmmm…” Phoebe mumbled on a sigh as she swirled the candy around her mouth, letting the sweet flavors dance upon her tongue.

“You and that candy,” Edith laughed. Edith was the elderly lady who owned the bookshop.

Phoebe just smiled at Edith, placing a gentle hand upon her shoulder. “Indeed,” she added as she gave the candy a little suck and then chuckled.

Edith looked at the clock. It was five minutes to 4pm. The woman looked over at Phoebe and gave her a warm smile. “Just go, my dear.” She paused a moment. “It’s nearly 4pm and you have a bit of a drive ahead of you.”

Phoebe’s face lit up at Edith’s words. “Really?”

“Yes, child,” Edit said. “And if I know you, you’re probably already packed.”

Phoebe blushed and smiled, more than confirming Edith’s remarks. “You know me too well.”

“That I do, my dear. You have a good time with your family.”

At that, Phoebe gave Edith a gentle hug and headed out the door and made her way to the garage where she parked her car. It didn’t take her long to get there and before she knew it she was on the road, car packed and gassed up, heading toward her parents’ empty and waiting house.

The man sat in the dimly lit truck, in the parking space at his apartment. The truck was an old, red Toyota truck that quite frankly, was a miracle that it still functioned properly. Well, mostly properly. Every once in awhile something would go wrong but it always bounced right back. There wasn't much in the man's car, just some clothes, a spoon, a few syringes, and a lighter. Sometimes it was best not to ask questions. As he sat and glared down into an empty bag, with a scarce amount of brown powder in the bottom, heroin. The man uttered a curse word under his breath and smashed his hand into the car dash. He had no money, no drug, and no where to go. The man's name was Thomas Kaine.

As he slowly exited his car and slammed the door behind him, he walked toward his place. There was no need to lock the door, there was nothing for anyone to steal and there was nothing of value in that piece of shit. As he decended up the flight of stairs to his second story apartment, he plopped down on the couch and sat with his hands in his head. Finally, as ideas flowed through his head, he finally decided he needed some of the substance tonight. After a quick phone call, pleading with his dealer that it wasn't too late, he moved quickly to his car and turned the key to ignite the engine.

Where he was driving, he didn't know. He just needed to go somewhere. He needed a house that looked empty and that was big enough to have something he could at least trade for the drug. After finally deciding on the place, he parked his truck in the driveway, and sat in his car, wondering if he was really going to go through with this desperate act. In his black jeans, an empty wallet, his keys and a knife. His generic black band tee was faded and dirty, he hadn't changed in days, and he didn;t care. He needed it now. Slowly, he opened the door and descended to the house. . .

Phoebe pulled into the driveway of her parents’ house. She reached for the garage door opener and parked her car inside the garage so that her parents wouldn’t see it when they got home until the last possible second. Giggling, she got her bags out of her car, closed the garage door and let herself inside her parents’ home.

Heaving a happy sigh, Phoebe brought her bags into the spare room on the first floor and then popped another piece of butterscotch candy into her mouth. The taste of it as she swirled it about her mouth made her smile. Running her fingers through her long, dark hair, she walked out of the spare room and headed into the kitchen to fix herself a simple dinner before fully relaxing for the evening.

Phoebe searched her parents’ pantry and refrigerator and finally found something she could use. With a smile, she took out the few stalks of celery that had been leftover and washed them in the sink. She then took the peanut butter and began to spread it on top of the washed celery. It wasn’t much, but it would be tasty and just enough to get her through the evening. In the morning she could go grocery shopping and restock her parents dwindling food supply.
Carrying her plate of peanut butter slathered celery, Phoebe brought it into the living room and set it down on one of the end tables near the couch. She then went back into the kitchen and got herself a glass of ice water and proceeded to bring that out into the living room as well. She set the cold glass down upon a coaster and then let her body flop onto the couch.

Letting out a long exhale, Phoebe grabbed the throw blanket laying on the couch and curled up with it as she began to eat her snack and sip on her water. She found the TV remote and turned the thing on, flipping through channels until something somewhat interesting popped up on the screen.

Totally relaxed and so very exhausted, Phoebe’s eyes could no longer stay open. It wasn’t long before they grew heavy enough that they stayed closed and sleep consumed her.