Addiction

The addiction is all-consuming.

He hears a vague sound in the background, and in the back of his mind, he has this niggling feeling that he has something important to do, but he can't quite let go of the rollercoaster inside his head, and doesn't want to let go of that wild rollercoaster ride.

Just a little more.

Just a little more.

The chant continues as he gazes at the ceiling with unfocussed eyes, reaching for a climax that he's built up in his own mind as his world continues to spin around him, and he closes his eyes and gives himself into the pull of the drug.

She called him for the hundredth time, her hands shaking as she dialled his number. He never failed to answer her calls - not unless...

Her heart sank at the possibility of the broken promise, the twin pull of anger and worry twisting her emotions, of his safety and hers, of their future together, of the consequences of that one mistake.

He hadn't used for months, when he first made her that promise six months ago, when she had sat him down and told him calmly that she needed to know for her future, and he'd made his choice then and he had chosen her, and a family with her.

Would it be just one time, or would he succumb entirely to the addiction? 

He still wasn't answering her calls, and she knew in her heart of hearts that he'd succumbed to the lure of the drug. And she didn't know what to do, feeling like an idiot for trusting him so much with herself and her heart, and she could only curl herself up and blink back the hot tears that had gathered behind her eyelids.

One step at a time.

One step at a time.