Apocalypse Now
3
The AA meetings take place in the most decrepit part of Forks Hospital—which isn't really saying much, because the whole hospital is pretty much falling apart.
Leah turns up her nose as she nears the room. It's literally in the back corner of the hospital and is honestly downright creepy…it doesn't help that this is Forks and it's always fucking raining. Leah stares out the window for a few seconds, taking in the storm happening outside, before she enters the room.
The Clearwater is immediately disappointed when she notices a lack of snacks and other things that would bring about a general feeling of happiness. She huffs and looks around the room, surprised at the number of people that are actually around her age. They look back at her like they've never had a new girl before— and she guesses that they haven't…or at least don't get new people very often.
After a couple seconds of rocking on the balls of her feet and thinking about getting the fuck out of there, she spots Jasper sitting in one of the chairs and playing with his phone. Unfortunately, he looks up at her just as she's about to leave. He just stares at her as her feet gravitate towards the exit, not saying a word.
Leah sighs and turns back around. She finds herself seated next to this blonde catastrophe, wishing she were anywhere else. "Hello Casper."
"Leah," He is slumping in the chair and still manages to look like he's posing for a photo-shoot. How does he do that? He reaches into his backpack and pulls out a notebook and bag of m&ms, "Want some?"
Leah looks at him, what? did he hear her stomach growl or something? She holds out her hands anyway, "Hell yeah."
"Here," He plants the bag in her palms and then opens his notebook. He begins to scribble something down in it, no longer paying attention.
.
Leah gets the vague feeling that he's ignoring her and had only given her the candy to placate her. Leah rips it open with her teeth and stares him down. "You're my mentor, so mentor me." She tries to get a look at what he's writing. "I don't even know what goes on in these meetings."
"They begin with a prayer and then the twelve traditions," Jasper tells her quietly, his eyes looking around the room lazily. "They the either have a speaker, have a discussion, or do a reading."
"Is this church? What the hell," Leah leans back in her chair, "First they don't even have snacks—"
"I brought you m&ms," Jasper mutters.
"Then they have the nerve to have some type of weird book reading and tradition what-not, I think my mom made me join a freakin' cult—"
"Yeah," Jasper agrees, "We sacrifice those who relapse on the third Friday of every month, and on special occasions, like a full moon, we eat a child and try to restart the prohibition movement."
There's a moment of silence and Leah looks at his face, clear of expression, and begins to snicker uncontrollably. "You do sarcasm so well. Oh my God."
"That wasn't sarcasm."
"You're really funny, Cas, hilarious."
His face twitches, "You can't make nickname based off something that's not even my name."
Leah just ignores him and jumps to another conversation, "Yeah, okay, but imagine suggesting Prohibition to a bunch of alcoholics….that would never work." She shakes her head "Your cult logic is flawed, sorry."
"Negative," Jasper crosses his arms and tips his chin back, "That just means the brainwashing worked. You know nothing about cult activity."
"Obviously. I haven't been brainwashed yet," Leah looks up to see a plump middle aged woman stepping up to the podium, "But it looks like I'm about to be."
"Hello, as most of you know, I'm Lorraine Thompson, and I'll be leading tonights meeting." She smiles widely, revealing a row of yellow teeth. Leah grimaces. "First I will read the Serenity Prayer…please bow your heads."
What if I'm atheist? Leah bows her head anyway, glancing at the others out of the corner of her eye.
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change…blah blah blah."
Leah tunes her out and gets a good look at her fellow alcoholics. There are about ten of them in total. To her left sits some macho guy with a buzz cut and directly across from her is a red-headed woman with an eternal grimace etched across her face. Leah doesn't get to look too closely at anyone else because apparently the prayer is over.
"Now," Lorraine Thompson begins. Her voice high and bubbly. "I'd like to ask that any newcomers please stand and introduce themselves."
All eyes zero in on her and she sighs. She slowly raises from the chair and says, "Hey. I'm Leah." And sits right back down. As if these low-lives need to know anymore info about her other than the fact that she's even there in the first place.
"Nice of you to join us, Leah. We hope that these meeting will guild you down the right path." Lorraine smiles again, and Leah looks away. "Today will be a discussion day…and the topic is school. How has your addiction influenced your schooling? Any volunteers?"
Leah snorts. She doesn't let her little drinking escapades influence anything…especially her schooling. Getting a good degree is the only way she'll ever make it out of this dump anyway.
The guy with the buzz cut glares at her and makes his way to the podium.
"Oh excellent, Rob, is going to share his story…" Lorraine claps her hands then pats his beefy shoulders. "The stage is yours, dear…" She eventually flutters aside, her checks flushed pink.
Oh gross, Leah plants her head in her hands.
"Hello, I'm Robert, and I'm an alcoholic…."
Leah pokes Jasper in the arm, mouthing 'I'm in hell.' He doesn't seem to get it though, and is playing two-dots on his phone in the cover of his notebook.
"…it all started my junior year…beer pong was my life…I was so good at it…" Rob continues. Leah buries her head in her hands as the human meatball begins to talk about the glory of jello-shots and how he got kicked off the varsity football team for failing a breathalyzer test at Homecoming. Apparently, that ruined his chances of getting his football scholarship the next year, and basically, from what Leah gathers, his life sucks because he got addicted to jello-shots in high school.
Eventually, Leah just falls asleep in the most uncomfortable positions ever. Harry with all the piercings had droned on for like ever about how drinking did not help him with his college philosophy class in anyway, and Tamara said she thought drinking would help her art. Instead, she ended up throwing up on all her watercolor pieces.
Leah almost suggested she try LSD or something, but Jasper sent her a look like he knew that she was going to say something inappropriate.
After those two, she just clocked out and slept the rest of the meeting. Jasper hadn't even cared…or maybe he hadn't noticed, too absorbed in whatever game he was playing on his phone.
.
.
"Leah, I'd like to personally welcome you to the group," Lorraine says, a smile ever present on her face. "It's not everyday we get a new member."
"I don't doubt it," Leah mutters, looking at the lady's pink and white flowery shirt and plain khaki's in blatant distaste. "Forks rarely has anything new and this guy," Leah jerks her thumb at Jasper, who's standing behind her, not really paying attention. "Isn't even the correct sponsor for me."
"Are you complaining?" Lorraine's blue eyes flicker to Jasper's blissfully unaware form. Her cheeks pinken and Leah feels her lips curl in disgust. Lorraine just laughs, "Oh dear, Forks is low on everything, but new members absolutely need a mentor. Besides…Jasper here looks quite capable…"
"Um," Leah shifts uncomfortably, "Okay lady, whatever."
Lorraine doesn't even bristle at Leah's rudeness. "How did you like your first meeting?"
"It was…insightful."
Lorraine nods, and smiles again, her thin wed-stained lips stretched over yellowing teeth. She is the epitome of what a midlife crisis would look like. "I hope you don't mind me asking hun…but have you been sober very long? Or have you been struggling pretty badly?"
"Oh," Leah cocks her head back and grins, "I've been sober for about six hours but when I get home I plan to—"
"Pray, and bake cookies," Jasper cuts in. "She'll bring them next meeting."
"Excuse me—" Leah cuts in, but Jasper lightly tugs her elbow and pulls her away.
Despite his rude cut in full of lies, Leah allows him to pull her away. At least he had managed to get her away from that creepy middle-aged disaster in kitten-toed heels. (ew.) "Sorry," Jasper releases her, "It's just, I know your story—"
Leah raises an eyebrow.
"I mean, I kind of know about the situation with your mom. I know for a fact that she and Lorraine work together. Lorraine just volunteers to do this, but she works in the Hospice unit with your mom. She's probably spying on you for Sue."
"Well that was very valiant of you," Leah drawls, "But I don't really give a flying fuck what my mom thinks. I came to this train wreck, didn't I?" She grins, "So she can't complain."
"Okay," Is all Jasper says. They walk to the hospital's entrance and Leah moves to go to her car when Jaspers taps her on the shoulder lightly. "I won't see you until next Friday, but if you need anything, just call."
Leah looks at the little sheet of paper between them. She takes it and slips it into her pocket, "Thanks." She smiles a little, "Means a lot."
Jasper just smiles like he knows. He jogs down the steps and to his shiny car, "And Leah?"
"What?"
"No drinking, okay?"
Leah doesn't respond. She slips into her car and shuts the door.
AN. short chapter. Not particularly a fan f this one. Not my best.
I really need to start getting a plot chart for this going. It's all jumbled in my head.
review!