Roger and Mark had passed out after Collins' phone call. Their slumber was interrupted by another phone call from none other than Collins.
"Speak!", Mark mumbled into the receiver, full well knowing who the caller was.
"It's 10:30 AM…I just figured you guys should get up…don't want to miss this….", Collins went on, a bit irritated, considering he was doing them a favor by waking them up.
"We're up", Mark muttered, just starting to shake Roger awake, unknown to Collins, before clicking off the phone.
Mark gently shook Roger, announcing that it was 10:30 AM and that they needed to get going. Roger glared at Mark at the reminder. He hadn't slept a wink last night, and while he knew that kicking his habit was for his own good, as well as Mark's, he wasn't sure if he could actually go through with it. Stumbling out of bed, Roger headed to the shower, intended to take a cold quick one, just to wake him up enough so he seemed like enough of a person to show up to the meeting. Having taken a shower the night before, Mark put on some fresh clothes and a pot of coffee. If there was another thing that would give Roger the motivation to keep going with this morning's responsibility, it was coffee. Sighing to himself, Mark walked around the kitchen, getting out mugs and toasting some bread for himself, knowing Roger was too nervous to eat. His hand rested idly on the counter, thinking about all he and Roger had endured when Roger had regressed and shot up in the past. The fights, the screaming, having to pin Roger down to the bed so he couldn't get his stash. The beatings, the pain in Roger's eyes and the fear in Mark's. The fear. Mark had never been scared of Roger until those moments. Roger had changed into a different person, someone unknown to anyone, the craze of the drug taking over. The beep of the coffee maker shook Mark's thoughts back to the present, he was just glad this would all be taken care of once and for all. Roger emerged from the bedroom, dressed in random jeans and a t-shirt, looking quite unhappy. Mark handed him a mug of coffee and motioned for them to sit on the couch so they could talk for a bit.
Mark slowly sipped his coffee and looked over at Roger. Roger just held the mug in his hands and stared at its contents, as if he wasn't sure what to do with it. An awkward silence passed between them both. Mark wished there to be conversation to fill the silence, but he knew better than to push Roger, especially now. Roger continued to stare into his mug as a lone tear trickled down his right cheek. The silence in the room was enough to hear a pin drop, and Mark looked up at Roger after hearing the tear splash into the mug. The filmmaker placed down his own mug and slipped an arm around the guitarist, pulling him close. The affection just lead Roger to cry harder, and Mark pulled Roger into a tight embrace, just letting him cry. Mark's eyes darted to the clock which read 10:50.
"We've gotta go…and I know you're scared", Mark spoke softly, only eliciting a nod from Roger in response.
They both rose and walked hand in hand to the 3 story brick building off of Avenue B. Roger squeezed Mark's hand tighter as they walked inside, and his gaze shifted to Mark's other hand in which he held his camera. Roger's brow furrowed quickly, but then relaxed as he heard Mark's words.
"Habit….and I know not to use it", Mark blushed, looking at the floor.
Walking up a flight of stairs, a directory greeted them and soon they found themselves outside the room where the meeting would be held. Both men entered quietly and were amused to see that a circle of chairs had been set up, just like the Life Support meetings. Mark and Roger looked at each other and wondered if the meetings would be run similarly too. Taking a seat next to Mark, Roger looked around. Almost all of the chairs were full. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, Roger thought. Out of the corner of his eye, Roger thought he saw someone familiar.
"Paul", Roger asked.
"Yeah – surprise!", Paul responded, grinning.
Paul was who ran the Life Support meetings, and since Paul was running this, Roger knew he could handle it. A few more people came in and sat down, all looking at the other people around the circle.
"Alright, let's begin", Paul said clearly. "I want everyone to say their name and why they're here."
Roger listened closely to everyone's answers, realizing he couldn't stretch the truth or make up his, he had to tell the truth. He needed help and he was finally ready to get it.
"I'm Roger, and I've recently begun to use heroin again, but I want to stop – for good", Roger said calmly.
"Very good", Paul answered. "We can help you get there. I see you brought Mark with you, it's nice to have support during a time like this".
Mark and Roger both looked at each other and smiled. This was going to be ok, and Roger knew it was going to be a success. Watching from the back of the room, Collins' smiled, pleased with the large step Roger had taken. It was he who had arranged for Paul to run this particular meeting. He figured that with Paul there, a familiar support person, it would be easier for Roger to admit his problem and take the first step. Hopefully Paul would be able to run the rest of the meetings, but it wasn't guaranteed. Collins' figured it didn't matter, Roger had done the first step by himself, Paul was just there to make sure it actually happened, and now Roger would take the road to recovery. With a gentle squeeze of Mark's hand, Roger was ready to face the long and difficult journey ahead, with his best friends and lover by his side.