by Linda Nelson
Karla's mom was the mom Carol had always wished her mom to be. The way Mrs. Centon had cared about where Karla was going, and what she was doing made Carol feel envious of her. If only her parents had cared about her as much as the Centon's cared about Karla. Maybe, just maybe Carol would have felt happier and better about herself.
Even though she had a lot of friends, sometimes Carol felt alone. Family or no family, Carol may have just signed her own death warrant. She was sure the guys would get even with her when they found out; she was the one who had told on them.
But maybe it would not even matter. Maybe they would never even know. She would just have to pretend like nothing was wrong, then no one would ever know.
Why did Heath have to get involved in the first place? She wondered, what the hell was he thinking? It was supposed to be just him and her. How could he do this to her? The funny thing was, deep down inside her, she still loved him.
7 o' clock rolled around. Carol knew her dad was not a stickler when it came to grounding her, and her mom did not even know what had happened the other night. She felt sober enough and confident enough to leave her room now. Maybe head over to Darcy's. Maybe she would even crash over there. Darcy's mom never minded.
Carol slipped from her bedroom, through the living room where her parents were sound asleep. This was the same thing every weekend. They probably would not even notice she had left. With her bedroom door closed, they probably would never even check to see if she was still there.
Quietly, very quietly, Carol slipped out the front door and out into the street. She clutched a pint of liquor in her hoodie pocket. It was out of sight and out of mind. Just a little something if she needed it, to help her sleep.
Darcy lived in a run down, three story apartment building, up on the top floor. It was normal to hear babies crying or adults arguing in any of the apartments. Like was the case for Carol, as she made her way up the stairs to the top level.
Old drab indoor/outdoor carpet covered the floor in each hallway. The stairway was in dire need of a paint job, with several steps needing to be replaced soon. The building did have a maintenance manager, but he was not around much. The owner did not feel the building was worth the money in repairs.
Carol was almost out of breath when she reached the top level. She should have climbed the steps slower, but she was anxious to talk to Darcy. She should know what was going on by now.
After a couple of swift raps on the door, Darcy answered, and opened the door wide to let Carol inside.
"Darren was here earlier," Darcy said while leading Carol to her room. "Said Heath, Gerry, Justin, Kyle and Mitch were in a bad accident last night. He said it was bad, real bad. Gerry was driving."
Carol took a seat by the bedroom window in the only chair in the room, a wooden chair. She slouched back against the back of the chair and rested her legs on the edge of the bed.
Darcy carried on after sitting down on the edge of her bed. "Justin may not make it. He went through the windshield. He's in a coma. I don't know about the others except that they are in bad shape."
Carol interrupted. "You don't know about Heath?"
"Darren said he had a broken leg. He will probably be home by tomorrow." Darcy lit a cigarette, took a drag and handed it over to Carol.
The cigarette helped Carol's nerves a bit. What she really needed was a joint or some snuff. The Captain she carried in her hoodie pocket would have to do for now.
Carol shared her pint with Darcy, and it was not long before the two of them began to feel the sleepy effects of the liquor.
She didn’t know if it was the sound of the capped bottle falling out of her hand and on to the floor or if it was something else like a gunshot. Carol woke with a start. She could see Darcy all snug in her bed with her blankets drawn over herself.
Carol gritted her teeth. She felt the back of the wooden chair digging into her spine. It hurt, and the fact she was kind of cold sitting in the chair with no blanket to cover her. She snorted to herself indignantly, thinking of how Darcy could have out of the kindness of her heart, given Carol one, just one of those many blankets she used on her bed.
She could just reach over and snatch up one of those blankets and Darcy would never notice, but why bother. Carol’s back hurt from the rungs of the chair. She picked up her fallen bottle, now half empty and returned it to her hoodie pocket. Thoughts of Heath returned to her mind. At least she knew he was going to be all right. A broken leg was not all that bad, but she still felt guilty for smacking him. She feared he would never talk to her ever again.
Enough of this, Carol thought. She needed to sleep in her own bed. It was time to her to leave. This was not the first time she had left Darcy’s in the middle of the night. But first she needed to see if Darcy had any money she could borrow, to buy herself another bottle of liquor. She was sure Darcy would not mind, since she did share her now almost empty pint with her.
The room was not to dark. Light flowed into the room from the streetlight outside Darcy’s bedroom window. Carol could make out Darcy’s purse sitting on the floor by her bureau. She quietly helped herself to the contents inside and quickly found the cash inside the wallet.
Carol was sure Darcy would not miss a couple of twenties. It would only be for a couple of days, and Darcy seemed to have over a hundred inside the billfold of her wallet.
After quietly replacing the wallet inside the purse, Carol let herself out of the bedroom. She was careful not to make a sound on her way out of the apartment. It would be another four hours before any of the occupants would notice she was gone.
The apartment building was now quiet. There was not one sound heard as she made her way down the stairway, out the door, and onto the street. Carol felt it had to be close to 2 in the morning. She heard the distant sound of an ankle biter barking somewhere in the neighborhood.
Now that she felt totally awake and sober with a couple of bucks in her pocket, Carol decided to take a short stroll over to the mini mart on Main Street. It was not far and did not take her long to get there. She could make out the shadow of a figure standing next to the old phone booth which was slated to be torn down by the phone company in the coming weeks.
This was where Jay could be found selling his stuff. Stuff Carol needed. Her stash at home was almost gone, and she could not face going without any after all that has happened this weekend.
“Hey, I need another bag.” Carol told the shadow figure.
“No. You pay me for what you already have. No more credit.” He told her.
“But I have to have some,” she pleaded.
“You give me the sixty you owe and then I will fix you up.”
“I have forty.”
Carol showed the bills to him. Jay snatched them out of her grip and told her she now owed him twenty.
“You’re a ….” Carol carried on. “I need more stuff. Come on man. Please, just this one last time.”
Reluctantly Jay pulled a small baggie from his pocket. “This is the last time, and the price is going up. I am going to have to start charging you interest, so you had better pay in within the next two days or I will have to charge you double.”
“That’s robbery. You know I can’t get that kind of money.”
“Well you had better figure it out, or you won’t get any more stash.”
Carol felt pissed as she walked away, heading home. She wanted so bad to punch the guy out, but you don’t beat on your dealer or he won’t deal to you anymore. This meant she would need to do some car hopping at the mall.
***
“I friggin’ hate that Bitch.” Maggie said.
“Hate who?” Ashley asked while she doodled on the pad of paper.
“That new girl, Karla,” Maggie hissed.
“Oh her; I guess, I don’t know…I really don’t have any problem with her.”
“That’s because she is not after your man.”
“Since when was Gerry your man,” Ashley asked.
“We started se
eing each other two weeks ago; right up until that Bitch showed up.” Maggie paused, “I know he still likes me. I just have to get rid of the Bitch before she can sink her claws into him.”
“Maggie, she doesn’t seem to be like that.”
“I couldn’t tell last night. She was all about him at the party.”
“You went to the party? I heard that went over well.”
“Oh yeah, it went great.” Maggie said sarcastically. “I left almost as soon as it started.”
“Why?”
“You think I wanted to stay around while that Bitch got to hang on my man’s arm. I don’t think so. And Carol, she’s another frigging Bitch; she had to encourage it.”
“So you left before the pigs showed up?”
“Pigs ... I didn’t hear anything about them showing up.”
“So you just left… where did you go? You should have called me.”
“I came right home. I wasn’t in any mood to talk to anyone.” Maggie picked up her brush off her bureau and began brushing her long brown hair which fell to the middle of her back. “But I did get even.” She confessed.
Ashley could only imagine what crazy Maggie had done. “I have to ask…What did you do to her?”
Maggie smirked, “I slipped a Roofie in her drink.”
“Oh my God, you didn’t.” Ashley giggled. “And no one saw you?”
“Hell no… Gerry was too busy making goggle eyes at her, so I slipped it in her hard lemonade when he wasn’t looking. Then I left.”
“Oh my God… I heard she was rushed to the hospital for an Over Dose... God, Maggie, you could have killed her.”
“Too bad I didn’t…now I will have to find another way to get rid of her and get my man back. By the way, I’m going to leave in a bit, heading over to the hospital to see if he is doing any better. I want to be there for him when he wakes up.”
Ashley took her cue. She stood up and snatched up her sweatshirt and slipped it over the crook of her arm. It was too hot to wear it. “I have to get home now anyway. See you in school tomorrow.”
Maggie followed Ashley out the front door of her townhouse apartment. “Oh if you see that Bitch, Carol – tell her I have words for her.”
Ashley wave signaling acknowledgement and walked off in the opposite direction. She was glad to be on her way. Maggie was tolerable at times and then other times she was out right crazy and more than just a little bit too obsessive for her. She wondered if Gerry ever noticed Maggie was stalking him.
Road Salt
By Linda Nelson
Published by Linda Nelson at Kindle Direct Publishing
Kindle Edition
Copyright 2013 Linda Nelson
Image Copyright, Alial 2012
Used under license from BigStockPhoto
Cover Photo stock image by Alial and Text by Paint.net
This is for the many addicts I have met over the past year, all of which are in recovery,
I pray you learn forgiveness for yourself and others while you journey on your path of recovery;
As I learn empathy from my own journey…
DEDICATION
This is for the pain and suffering of those going through or have gone through addiction and the personal who respond to emergency calls of addicts in crisis around the world, namely, EMT’s, First Responders, Addiction Counselors, Law Enforcement, and friends and families of addicts.
This book is for you. I know your struggles and understand the needs and the importance of overcoming substance abuse and addiction.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank Scott Shelley, a former co-worker and friend, for his support and cooperation in helping me acquire the information that was needed to understand the substance of Bath Salts, which is the topic of this story. Without his help, this book would never have been written since EMT’s and First Responders are the most likely to have seen Bath Salt usage first hand.
I would also like to acknowledge the counselors at the Phoenix House and other drug rehab facilities for their dedication to helping people regain their lives back. I have seen many individuals reenter society as strong community individuals, and this would never have happened without their help.
And also I can’t forget my son and daughter for helping me understand the characters in this series and for being supportive in the writing process.
Chapter 1 – Please Forgive Me
“Maggie, have you heard from Gerry lately?” Ashley asked after setting her tray of food down on the table and taking the seat next to Maggie.
Carol cringed. She wondered why Ashley had to bring up Gerry’s name.
“As a matter of fact, yes I have.” Maggie turned her smug face back toward Carol. “And he’s not doing good thanks to you and your little bitch.
He said the jail is overcrowded. He sleeps in what used to be a gymnasium, that’s been turned into a cell so it can hold over a hundred guys. It is wall to wall bunk beds, and it is so loud he can’t hear himself think most of the time.
He also said that a guy in the bed next to him was beaten up by the other inmates. They may have killed the guy too.”
Carol knew whom Maggie was referring to. Gerry, he was the guy that Maggie had an unhealthy crush on. He was also the one whom Carol had fixed Karla up with for the party that landed Gerry in jail.
Everyone knew how much Maggie hated Karla.
“It is not my fault that he was arrested, and it isn’t Karla’s fault either. He’s the one who got behind the wheel after drinking at the party. We didn’t tell him he should be drinking and driving, or using and driving. Apparently he heard the police coming and decided to beat feet as quickly as possible.
And if, Mitch had his seatbelt on, he would never have been thrown out of the car’s windshield. It’s unfortunate enough they had to use the jaws of life to get Gerry out before the car went up in flames.”
“Well if you hadn’t insisted in matching Karla up with Gerry, I,” Maggie emphasized the use of I before carrying on, “would have been with him, and I would have kept him from driving. I would have been there for him as a designated driver.”
“There’s no way you of all people would have been able to stop him from driving that night.” Carol snarled back, “he was running from the cops, and you know it.”
“How do you know he was running from the cops?” Maggie batted her eyelashes.
Carol hated it when she did that. Maggie wasn’t a knock out dead gorgeous babe, she was just pure and simple, crazy Maggie.
“Get a clue Maggie; you know why he was running from the cops. If anyone is to blame for him being in jail, it is you. In fact, you know what Maggie? You suck.”
Carol gathered up her lunch and crossed the cafeteria to take the seat across from Karla. With a flare of air from fluffing her hair, she snubbed Maggie one last time. She had it with that girl and her obsession about Gerry, Carol’s childhood friend and football captain, who was now sitting in jail. Didn’t she get it, he never liked her to begin with, and everyone knew she was a psycho case and a stalker?
Before Karla had moved to Brantwood Maggie dated Gerry just once. It only took one date for Gerry to learn how crazy Maggie was. He made sure to tell everyone to. After that Maggie stalked Gerry following him everywhere he went. He tried to intimidate her into not following him, but she took that in a different way. In her mind, it meant that he actually liked her and wanted all her attention. The guy just couldn’t shake her away from him. It did not matter what he did.
Maggie would get angry every time she found out that Gerry was dating someone else. Sometimes she tried to intimidate the girl he was with, but when it was someone who had known Maggie for some time, they realized that all they had to do was ignore her; she’d give up in the long run.
The only one who couldn’t stand Maggie’s threatening was Gerry. As soon as he found out that she was threatening his current girlfriend he would break up with her in fear that something terrible was going to happen to her.
She wasn’t a person to trust.
He had no idea that Maggie did what she did to Karla and him. If he only knew…
There was nothing Maggie could do about Carol stomping off but glare at her. She never quite liked Carol anyway. She just liked hanging out with her so she could be part of the in-crowd. But apparently the in-crowd was beginning to dissolve since Ian’s Party, which took place a couple of months ago at the beginning of the school year. This was the event that Maggie had her hands in. She thought no one knew her true role in the outcome of that night. She thought she knew everything that took place that night right up until the police showed up. She just didn’t know who had called the police and reported the party.
Everyone had stopped sitting at their table two months ago after Carol and Heath had officially broken up their relationship. Heath’s friend Gerry, the one whom Maggie had a crush on, had not been in school for over a month. He was now sitting in prison doing time for the death of Mitch, charged with vehicle homicide. He was looking at a sentence of twenty-five years.
Mitch had been the one who was thrown through the windshield during Gerry’s accident, dying from the injuries he sustained from the collision. Even though he had been airlifted to a trauma unit at a nearby hospital, he only lived long enough for his family to say their goodbyes to him. He had died from the serious injuries had sustained from being ejected from the car.
Gerry was charged with DUI and vehicle homicide and was looking at ten to twenty-five years along with a minor charge of underage drinking. At first Gerry’s dad tried to have him charged as a minor. The courts denied the request by stating that the crime was too serious, and he was to be charged as an adult.
