Part Two

Part two of three.

Part Two

Months began to fly by. I was starting to think that running away with Vince was the best decision I had ever made. The person everyone knew before all this had completely disappeared. I became a different Jade during my time with Vince. I mean, sure I missed my parents and my friends. I was 18, though, which is the age you are legally recognized as an adult. I never heard the end of it from my dad about how much I hurt mom... Looking back on things now, that might be what I regret the most about this. My friends could never understand why I just up and left, but they didn’t have to. In my mind, explaining myself wasn’t necessary. It didn’t take long before I ended up falling in love with Vince. He brought out a side of me that I didn’t even know I had. This was the Jade I liked more. She was spontaneous, adventurous, and most importantly, free. And I’m sure you can imagine the shock I had when Vince let his mutual feelings be known. When I said I wanted adventure, falling in love definitely wasn’t a part of the plan. It was a foreign feeling that gave me an inexplicable sensation. You know that saying that goes something like ‘love is blind?’ Well, love sure as hell is blind.

After driving across state border after state border and occasionally stopping to explore whatever area we were in, we finally decided to take a detour to none other than Viva Las Vegas. What’s the point, you ask? I know it sounds silly to stop in Vegas since I was only 18, but Vince was 24 so we had no problems having a good time. Plus, his brother lived nearby and offered up his place for us to stay. Adam was nearly as good looking as Vince. The resemblance is actually kind of striking, the only difference is that Adam happens to be a few years older. At first, staying there was weird. Weeks went by until I finally found myself feeling comfortable. You probably think I sound like a total brat. You could very well be sitting there thinking “well, you got what you signed up for,” and by no means am I complaining about how life was going. It was the best it had been in a while, but here’s where things become complicated. You see, I’d party sometimes during my years in high school. But, I never imagined coming close to doing some of the things I did during this whole experience. Vince was a man of persuasion. Vince was a man of many things, actually. That’s what I loved about him.

One night, he gave me a taste of real poison. And I'm not talking about cigarettes this time. He said it was no big deal, everyone does it. By 'it', I mean a variety of things. ‘Things’ meaning an assortment of drugs. Stimulants, as they called them in my freshman health class. Everything that belongs on a "what not to do" list. That was it for me. I knew it was a filthy habit, but I didn't care. That was the most poisonous thing of all. And it only took two months for apathy to morph into volatility One night in particular, Vince brought me the only remedy I cared for. "This stuff is really good, Adam's hookup was feeling a little extra generous tonight," Vince mused. As bad as it sounds, getting hooked up like that put me in a better mood. Adam's dealer, Tony, had become a regular part of our routine. I'd only seen him a few times, though, because he was a sketchy dude. Anyhow, tonight's bliss came in the form of a decently sized clear capsule. A white powdery substance resided within the confines, creating a perfect storm; do I pop it into my mouth or pull apart the capsule in order to release the powder? Eh, snorting the s**t always requires more effort. Once I chased my party favor down with some old gatorade, I waited a good 25 minutes for the effects to hit me. I was on top of the world. It's true, ignorance truly is bliss. I suddenly started feeling weird. Uh oh.

My head began to spin and time stopped so abruptly that it stood still. My heart was pounding out of my chest. The next thing I knew, my body met Adam’s hardwood floor with a violent thud. Immediately, Vince rushed over in my direction. From there on out, reality was a conscious blur. Vince’s cries seemed so distant when in all honesty, he was right beside me on the floor, shaking my unmoving body. “Jade! Jade, wake up. You’re going to be okay, just wake up for me! Please!” He pleaded with an unstable voice. God, I wanted to be able to show him that I was still here. Incoherent or not, I was still there, watching everything that happened from a motionless state. I became powerless.

You know that feeling when you’re so tired, you put up a fight just so you can keep your eyes open? This was kind of similar to that. You can only fight it for so long until you give in. I could sense Vince frantically pacing back and forth, across the room. Every once in a while, he would sit near me and gently graze his hand through my hair and along the contour of my jaw. Normally, this was a feeling that sent electricity throughout my body. As I drifted in and out of consciousness, it dawned on me that I had lost all ability to feel anything. I had become completely numb. I barely heard Adam walk through the door. “Dude, what the hell happened?!” Adam shouted. Vince was freaking out even more by this point. “She’ll be fine! She’s gonna wake up! She can’t leave like this… It wasn’t supposed to happen.” Through a foggy kaleidoscope, Adam hurriedly searching for his cell phone. “Don’t be a freaking idiot, man! She’s dying!” He screamed.

The only word I picked up from that conversation was ‘dying’. I don’t know if it was the seriousness of the situation or the fact that I had practically become a victim in my own body, but something dawned upon me. I knew I was about to die. After Adam hung up the phone, Vince began panicking. “Dude, I can’t go down for this. When the cops show up, they’ll know I gave her the pills.” Those were the last words I ever heard Vince speak. He was out the door before Adam could play the role of older brother and slap the living you know what out of him. What seemed like an eternity later, paramedics flew through the door with all the tools and remedies necessary for my revival. “Stay with us, honey,” A woman’s voice coaxed. Time was standing still as they made their attempts to salvage the minimal time I had left. My world shifted as I prepared to completely disappear. This was a more peaceful state. The overwhelming drowsiness was begging me to give in. If death were a person, he wouldn’t have to pressure me into to embracing his presence. I implored him to possess my body. Death is a peaceful entity, nurturing almost.

That’s it. It’s the end of the road.

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

A wild chapter. Road trip, drugs and a over dose. Your description made the story come alive for the reader. Left a open ending. Dead or alive? Thank you Haley for sharing the excellent chapter.
Coyote