One drink, Bryce. That's all you get. I was a little nervous to try alcohol for the first time but I couldn't escape it the rest of my life. It was time to dip my feet into the pool. I nodded to Nathan and he ran off. I rested awkwardly against the wall and watched the students dance. A girl tried to come up and ask me to dance but I politely declined. I needed to wear a sign that said I love dick around my neck.
Nathan finally found me and shoved a cup in my hand. “Whiskey and coke,” he said, grinning.
I took a sip and almost coughed it up. There was barely any coke in there. Nathan should never be trusted to mix drinks. I took another sip and it burned a lot less. The alcohol was already going to my head and my anxiety was disappearing. This partying thing wasn't too bad. I don't know why I had been scared for so long.
“You cool, here?” Nathan asked, “I'm going to go find Jenny.” The name sounded familiar and then I remembered that she was the woman Nathan kept interrupting my studying to talk about. Jenny was a senior and apparently God's gift to man according to Nathan. I told him I'd be fine and he went off to find his next conquest.
The rest of the party was a blur as I continued to fall deeper and deeper into alcohol. I was full-on drunk from just one drink and it felt terrific. Turns out, I love to dance. I didn't even know my body could move in those ways.
After my feet felt like they would fall off, I went out to search for Nathan. He was probably having sex with Jenny. I found him in one of the downstairs bedrooms sitting next to Jenny and snorting powder off a coffee table. Every warning bell in my head went off telling me to run as far way as possible. But Nathan waved me over and my drunk self couldn't say no.
I plopped down on the couch and watched Jenny snort the drug. I thought it was cocaine but later I found it was heroin. Jenny sniffed up as much as she could and wiped her nose back and forth, her eyes all big. She handed me the rolled up dollar bill and I sat there not knowing what to do.
“Come on, Bryce. It will make you feel like a million bucks,” Nathan whispered in my ear. I was too drunk to say no.
Didn't all the celebrities do this?
I bent over the coffee table and placed the money in my nostril. I didn't even remember snorting anything. Just a sudden rush of relaxation. I sat back on the couch with the biggest smile on my face. Nathan looked at me and grinned. I just chilled there for hours, staring at the wall. I'd never felt this at peace before. It was like I became who I always wanted to be.
But heroin was never as good that first time. In the beginning, I did it a couple times a week to get through the hardest classes. Then my tolerance began to build up. I had to use more and more just to get that same high. Soon I was using it everyday and selling my school books just to pay for it.
I dropped out of college and didn't have the courage to tell my parents. I just ran away. Ran away from everything. The only thing that mattered was the high.
And it felt so damn good.
Back on my piss-stained mattress, my high was hitting its peak. Every time I injected, I was reminded with why I could never go back to my old life. This was who I wanted to be. Life could never be this good without drugs.
My high was interrupted when a tall guy with bulging muscles came barging into my room.
Chapter Two
Draven
I had one rule when working for the Murphy brothers: no killing. I didn't mind asking someone a question but I would never bury them six feet under unless my life was on the line. And the Murphys knew that. Respected it. This junkie with a needle still in his arm just needed to be asked some questions.
I walked up to the sad figure on the mattress and looked into his sunken eyes. There was nothing there. He was as high as a kite. I picked the syringe out of his arm and threw it across the room. This guy would have been a knockout if he didn't let the drugs take over.
I never liked drugs. Never got the taste for it. Most of the men I worked with used because we were around it all day. But it wasn't for me. My drinking problem was already enough for me. No reason to fuck up my life even more.
I lifted the man until he was sitting up. “I'm looking for your dealer?” I asked politely. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and drool dripped from his lips and onto my arm. I shook his shoulders a couple times until his eyes came back and looked at me. “Who's your dealer?”
No response. I wasn't going to get anything out of this junkie. But I couldn't go back to the Murphys empty-handed. My only option was to take him to my place and get the info out of him when he sobered up.
In the back of the head, a small voice whispered, “What are you doing, Draven?”
Bryce
This steroid-fueled monster was screaming at me and messing with my perfect high. Everything out of his mouth just sounded like gibberish. I covered my ears but he wouldn't stop. I wanted to yell at him to get away from me but I couldn't find my voice. I felt like Ariel in the Little Mermaid. If only I could sing again.
The man picked me up and I tried to call for help but all that came out was a whimper. He carried me through the hallway and I felt like flying. The entire New York cityscape was beneath me as I flew through the clouds. Superman had nothing on me.
One of my homeless neighbors came out of his room and tried to take me away from the monster. The man knocked my neighbor to the ground and kept on walking. He carried me down the stairs and it went on and on. Down we went into hell, not stopping for anybody.
Suddenly we were outside and the sun was blinding. I tried to shield my eyes but the sun was just too bright. There was no way too keep it out. If only it could be night time.
The man threw me into his car and we drove away. The nice rumbling from the passenger seat sang me softly to sleep.
Chapter Three
Draven
The junkie threw up in my pristine Dodge Charger and I wanted to toss him out the car. The whole thing was going to have to be detailed after this and it wasn't going to be cheap. This wasn't going to be worth it.
I parked and lifted his limp body from my car. He was sound asleep now. I carried him into my apartment building and old Mrs. Jones from a few doors down peeked out from her door.
“Everything okay, Mr. Ash ?” she croaked out, raising an eyebrow.
“Don't worry about it, Mrs. Jones. Just go back inside.” She harrumphed and closed her door. I was probably going to miss out on her Christmas cookies this year.
I unlocked my apartment door while still holding the guy. I navigated through the mess of dirty clothes and empty pizza boxes, making it to my bedroom. I dropped him on my bed and he instantly curled up with my comforter.
I wondered how he got in this mess in the first place. His black shirt and jeans were torn and ripped but I could tell they were expensive brands. Did he run away from something or someone? Drugs can really fuck up a person's life.
The Murphys weren't very patient and I'd have to give them an update soon. What could I tell them? I kidnapped the junkie and now he's held up in my apartment. They'd think I was crazy.
But there was a method to my madness. If I could get him to speak about his dealer, the Murphys would look the other way if I didn't check in with them in a few days.
I went to the kitchen and looked for a clean glass. The place hadn't been cleaned in years and I didn't even remember the last time I used a glass. I went to the sink and filled up a dirty one with water. It was the best I could do. I placed the water on the nightstand next to the bed. He'd wake up soon enough and be deathly thirsty.
I splashed water on my face in the bathroom, staring at my dirty mug in the mirror. What if he didn't give up the dealer, Draven? Torture was my best tool in the toolbox but I couldn't do that to a man who was barely conscious.
The Murphys had been forgiving when I wasn't able to get some information a while back. But this was different. They'd cut this guy's head off if it meant getting their drugs back. I just had to hope that I could convince him to spill his guts.
My
phone buzzed in my pocket, shocking my system. I pulled it out and the screen read: Ian Murphy. He wanted an update on my progress but I wasn't ready to give him one yet. I hit the end call button and shoved the phone back in my pocket. I could dodge his first call but if I tried to do the same thing on the second call, Ian would have his dogs out looking for me.
The junkie was still sound asleep in my bed when I went back to the kitchen. I opened the fridge and found a beer can sitting all alone in the very back. I cracked the top and drank half of it on the way to the bedroom. It sure took the edge off the situation. I took a seat across from the bed and watched the guy sleep in the dark, sipping on my cold beer. This might take awhile.
Bryce
My high had worn off as I woke up in a strange bed. The mysterious bedroom reminded me of my place except this one had more furniture. The room had more holes in the drywall than mine did. Did I crawl to my dealer's house to find more drugs? The memories of being taken from my room by a monster hit me like a whip. My body was weak and it took all my energy to lift myself out of bed. That's when I saw him.
Sitting across from the bed was a dark figure in a chair. An empty beer can fell off his lap as he stood up. He wasn't a monster like my drug-riddled mind had led me to believe. But he was still one scary motherfucker. His dark brown hair was cut very short and a little bit of facial hair hugged his jawline. His deep blue eyes looked right at me and I knew I needed to leave.
“What am I doing here?” I asked, looking for an exit. The man blocked the door and the other doorway led to the bathroom. Maybe there was a window in there that I could escape through.
“Don't even think about escaping. In your condition, you wouldn't even make it a block before I caught up with you. And then I'd have to do some bad stuff to you.” How did he know what I was thinking? “Sit back down on the bed.”
I did as I was ordered. Something told me that I didn't want to mess with this guy. “Why did you kidnap me?”
“You have some information I need. And you're going to tell me everything you know.”
My brain was screaming at me to run. I tried to bull rush the guy, sending all my weight into him. It was no use. My body bounced off him like a rubber band and I flew back onto the bed. “Let me out of here!”
The man shook his head slowly. “You're going to tell me everything you know about your dealer. And you're going to tell me now.”
“Or what? You're going to kill me?” I never stopped to consider my words before they escaped my mouth. I just said whatever was on my mind. Even if I didn't want to know the truth.
“There's worse things than death,” he said softly. His words scared me to the core. But his grin was even more horrifying. What was this man going to do to me? He sat down on the chair across from the bed and studied me. The pathway to the hallway was wide open now but I knew it was hopeless. He'd run me down before I even got five feet.
“I'm not telling you anything,” I said, using every ounce of confidence. I didn't even know what he wanted. And when did I become a keeper of secrets? Not that I had any secrets to keep. My life had been in the dumpster the past couple of years. I didn't know anything worth knowing.
“What's your name?” he asked.
“Tell me yours first,” I replied defiantly. For some reason I thought I had some control in this conversation.
“Name's Draven Ash. Now what's yours?”
He wanted to start off small. Get me talking. I'd give him my name but nothing else. “Bryce Turner.”
The man leaned over in the chair and scratched his facial hair. “Bryce Turner, tell me everything about your dealer.”
What the fuck? That's all he wanted to know? But I couldn't give up my only source for smack. It took me months and months to find a dealer who would give me drugs in trade for blowjobs. Other dealers wanted to fuck me for the smallest amount of heroin. But my first time couldn't be with a drug dealer. I wouldn't let that happen no matter how much I needed a fix. My mouth on the other hand was a different matter.
I hated the way my dealer's disgusting skinny cock tasted. It was a cross between stinky cheese and a rotten banana. It took all my efforts to keep myself from gagging as he fucked my face. But it was all worth it for those hours of being high. There was no way I could give him up. He was too valuable to me.
I put on my best poker face. “I don't have a dealer. Who are you talking about?”
Draven laughed hard, slapping his knee. “That's a good one. A junkie without a dealer. Don't even try to play games with me, Bryce. Who the fuck is your dealer? I want a name.”
The urge for a fix was already coming on. I could feel the need deep in my veins. My hands began to shake slightly and Draven noticed it. “Like I said before, I don't have a dealer. I get my drugs from whatever random guy is standing at the corner of the street.”
“If you want to play it that way, we can play it that way.” Draven walked over to a beat-up dresser and pulled out a pair of steel handcuffs.
“What are you going to do to me?” I crawled backwards on the bed, trying to get as far away from Draven as possible.
Draven grabbed my wrist and locked one cuff around it. The other cuff was locked to the bedpost. “You're not going anywhere. And I think you'll be singing a different tune in a few hours when you need a fix.”
I pulled on the handcuffs as hard as I could but all I did was hurt my wrist. “You can't do this to me, Draven.”
“Oh Bryce, I can and I will.” My eyes widened as he smiled and left the room, leaving me all alone with my addiction.
–
During the the next few days, the withdrawals had taken over. The need for smack was overwhelming. My body was going back and forth between ice cold and scalding hot. Draven had put a bucket next to the bed that I continually filled with vomit. The room was spinning and the bed sheets were soaked with my sweat. There was no way I was going to make it out of this alive.
I screamed Draven's name over and over again until he finally came back into the room. “How are you feeling, Bryce?” He sounded like a doctor looking after a patient. Draven was one vile son of a bitch.
“Fuck you,” I said through clenched teeth. I rattled the handcuffs against the bed post, making as much noise as possible.
Draven held a cold compress in his hand and set it against my forehead. “I have a proposition for you that I have no doubt you'll agree to. Give me your dealer's name and I'll come back with some heroin.”
Those words were almost too good to be true. I'd do anything for drugs at this moment. Even give Draven my most prized possession: my body. “My dealer's name is Jenkins. Now get me some drugs now. I can't take it anymore.”
“Jenkins? Sounds more like a clown than a dealer.”
“Will you fucking stop talking and get me my smack!”
“Where does he live?” Draven asked.
My brain was so cloudy that I couldn't remember right away. If only I had a little bit of a fix to clear my mind. I visualized his house a few blocks away from my apartment building. He lived in a nice neighborhood for being a drug dealer. “Oak Street. Jenkins lives on Oak Street.”
“Good. See that wasn't too hard.” Draven ran his fingers through my wet hair. “I'll go first thing in the morning and get your drugs.”
My body was about to blow up. There was no way I could survive until the morning. “You have to go now, Draven. I can't wait any longer.”
“Not gonna happen, baby.” Draven winked at me and sat down in his favorite chair. He was going to watch me suffer again all night. I was going to die in a few hours and Draven was going to just watch me wither away. He snapped open a beer and drank. Fuck him.
Chapter Four
Draven
I didn't want Bryce to know that I could barely keep my eyes open. I hadn't gotten any sleep since I brought him to my apartment three days ago. I needed just a little bit of shut-eye to regenerate. But tonight was going to be rough.
Bryce was going through ex
treme withdrawals and if I didn't watch him closely he could die. But it was all worth it because I had the information I needed.
Jenkins, his dealer, didn't live far away. In the morning I'd get the drug shipment back, return Bryce to his dumpster of a home and everything would go back to normal. Or at least I thought.
We both survived. There were some pretty close calls when Bryce almost choked on his throw up. I was able to roll him over so he could vomit into the trash can. I didn't get a wink of sleep again and knew that it would only get worse.
Royal Blood Complete Series Box Set Page 13
