Falling From Disgrace

Roseann was quiet for a moment when her son finally finished regaling her with the events of the last three months of his life. Though Jack was an adult, he was her child, and like any good mother she wanted to comfort him, for she saw in his face the anguish he was suffering from losing the girl he loved. However, she also needed to set him straight.

“Jack,” she finally spoke with a firmness that had his undivided attention. “I love you, sweetheart, but you are an idiot.”

Taken aback, Jack gave his mother a confused look and then barked out a laugh.

“One,” Roseann continued, “you’re an idiot for even listening to your sister. I love Gillian but since she got married, shrewdness took over any kindness she had in her. Don’t you think that the bullshit she said to you was just to make her feel better about herself for cutting people out of her life at the first sign of weakness? You don’t have a hero complex, honey, you have a heart. A big one. I worry about Gillian all the time but never about you because I know you’re good, and kind, and have a good head on your shoulders. Or at least I thought you did.”

Jack let his mother’s words wash over him and where he was feeling sad he was now feeling quite stupid. Why did it take her telling him Gillian was full of shit for him to finally start to believe it? Since when was he the type of guy who needed someone to corroborate his feelings?

“As far as this love you have for Adrianna, who gives a shit where it comes from?” his mother ranted on. “Love isn’t about why or how or where. It’s about having a connection with someone who makes you want to be the best person you can be. Adrianna found that in you, she had the strength to get better because of your love, don’t you see that? Yes, you were there to take care of her physically but the power to resist taking the medication came from inside Adrianna that was driven by her love for you.”

Speechless at his mother’s profundity and also embarrassed, Jack just looked at the floor and nodded.

“Look at me, son,” Roseann instructed. “Have you been miserable since you broke up?”

“Yes,” Jack admitted.

“Do you feel emptiness? Pain?”

“Yes.”

“Do you miss her?”

“Hell, yes,” Jack breathed.

“Then go to her. Tell her that’s how you know you love her.”

For the first time, Jack was glad the drive home would take three hours. He needed at least that much time to figure out what he was going to say to Adrianna.

When a knock came upon Adrianna’s door her stomach twisted; not in relief, but in absolute terror. Ryan, her old fuck-buddy, had come through for her and after explaining she was not making a booty-call, he promised to send his friend Boggs her way and that he would have what she was looking for.

Ignoring the nerves that had her hands shaking, she opened her door to find Ryan’s friend standing there. He was a scraggly looking guy with long, dirty blonde hair that was sticking out from under a beanie. He wore a pale blue polo shirt and khaki cargo shorts and had a face that looked like someone had grabbed his forehead and chin and tried squishing them together. His features were disconcerting. Adrianna was sure that if you looked up pill-pusher in the dictionary, his picture would be there.

“Adrianna? I’m Boggs,” he spoke, surprising her with a British accent.

“Come in,” Adrianna replied meekly, stepping out of the way to let him enter her foyer.

“Ryan tells me you’re looking for pills, love?”

Adrianna shuddered at the fact he called her “love” but nodded. She folded her arms around herself, her whole body now shaking with adrenaline.

“No need to be nervous, I’m not a cop or anything,” Boggs laughed. “Are you sure it’s pills you want?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Pills are getting harder and harder to come by. I have some now but there’s more that I can offer you that’ll be cheaper and easier to get.”

“Like what?” Adrianna asked, terrified but curious.

“H,” Boggs said simply, like he was commenting on the weather.