Storm

Mark slowly opened his eyes, praying that every indication his body was giving him would prove to be false. Unfortunately, that was not the case. He was lying in a hospital bed, although he couldn't remember how he had gotten there.

"Oh, thank God!" he heard someone mutter. A few seconds later, Maureen and Joanne were standing next to him.

"What happened?" he asked, attempting to pull his hand away from the vicinity of his face so he could sit up. It wouldn't move more than a few inches above the bed. "What the hell?" He turned so he could see what was stopping him from moving; he was handcuffed to the hospital bed. "What's going on?"

"God, Mark. Don't you remember what you did?" Joanne asked. He shook his head. "You disappeared… we filed a missing person's report two days ago. They found you passed out in an alley."

"But why am I being arrested?" he asked. His head was beginning to hurt from trying to understand exactly what was happening to him.

"Possession of cocaine," Joanne said, looking down at the floor. Mark closed his eyes and sighed. "Mark, what…"

"Please don't start," he interrupted.

"Mark, obviously there's something you aren't telling us. And since I'm your lawyer, I should probably know what the hell is going on," Joanne replied.

"I just lost two of my best friends. I think that whatever it is can wait," Mark said.

"You aren't the only one who lost them, Mark. They were our friends, too. Don't forget that," Maureen said. She and Joanne turned and left without saying another word. Mark was left to deal with his memories.

LINELINELINELINE

Mark groaned as he rolled off the couch to answer the door. Someone was banging on the cold metal at an unusually early hour of the morning. "What is it?" he muttered, pulling the door open.

"Jesus, Marky, I thought you'd be happy to see your little sister," the young woman replied, pushing past him into the loft. She shook her head as she surveyed her surroundings, her long blonde hair flicking at Mark's face.

"Beth, what are you doing here? At two AM, no less," Mark asked.

"I came to visit my big brother, of course," Beth replied.

"You have class tomorrow morning, don't you?"

"God, no, I gave that up a long time ago. It just wasn't working out for me. But of course, you understand all about that," Beth said.

"Beth, you love English. Why would you just quit?"

"It really wasn't that I quit. It was more like I was asked to leave," Beth admitted. Mark shook his head and sighed.

"I'm not sure I even want to know what caused that," he replied.

"Probably not. It wasn't one of my finest moments."

"I didn't think it could be."

"You are at least going to let me spend the night here, aren't you Marky? I mean, after all, I am your little sister," she begged.

"Of course, Beth. You're always welcome to stay here," he said. She smiled and gave him a hug. "You can sleep in my bed."

"You were sleeping on the couch already… why?" she asked, glancing at the blanket that lay crumpled across the back of the couch.

"Fell asleep reading… Collins must have given me the blanket," Mark replied. He walked over to his door and turned on the light so that Beth could see to get into the room.

LINELINELINELINE

It wasn't the obnoxiously bright sunlight that woke Mark from his fitful sleep. Instead, it was the fact that Collins, Roger, and April were all standing over the back of the couch laughing at something.

"What's so funny?" he asked, sitting up.

"You actually slept on the couch all night for no reason…" Collins began.

"I had a good reason for sleeping here all night," Mark replied.

"And that would be…" Roger asked.

"My sister showed up late last night. I let her sleep in my bed," Mark told them.

"That's sweet," April said, standing up and walking back towards Roger's room. Roger followed closely behind her. Mark sighed, knowing that they were going to shoot up. The short amount of time he'd been awake was, unfortunately, the only time Mark would see Roger sober all day. It was sad, but Mark couldn't control the actions of his best friend.

"We really should stop them," Collins said, looking up at the closed door that led into Roger's room. Mark stood up and stretched.

"No matter how hard we'd try, Roger's never going to give it up. Not until he's good and ready," Mark told him. He shook his head and got up to change into some clean clothes. He opened the door to his own bedroom, expecting to see his little sister still asleep. Instead, Beth was sitting on the edge of his bed, going through the exact same motions Mark knew Roger and April were starting on the other side of the loft. "What are you doing?" he asked as she lifted the needle towards her bare arm.

"It's nothing you need to concern yourself with, Marky."

"Like hell it isn't! Do you have any idea what you're doing to yourself?" Mark asked, walking closer to the bed. He watched in horror as she plunged the needle into her arm and forced its contents into her veins.

"I know exactly what I'm doing, big brother. Don't worry about me," Beth replied, putting away her things. Mark sat down on his bed, defeated, as Beth rose and walked out into the main part of the loft. Without saying a word to Collins, she walked through the main room and out the front door. When Mark didn't return after a few minutes, Collins walked into his room.

"What happened?" he asked.

"We've got to stop them from killing themselves. All three of them," Mark replied, staring blankly at the wall.