TK laid in his cramped hospital bed, anxiously awaiting the arrival of his mom. He knew she'd be scared, and so, so ashamed of him. He stared blankly at the wall, willing his stomach to settle, he'd done enough vomiting to last a lifetime. How would he explain how he got to this point? Part of him wanted to let all his walls down, admit that he'd been abusing drugs for months, and today he just messed up the dosage. He'd felt so good. TK had figured that a little more wouldn't hurt, it would just get him fucked up enough that he'd have absolutely no worries. On the other hand, he wanted to keep his innocent facade. The good son, a normal teenager experimenting. So he wouldn't have to go to rehab. Wouldn't have to admit that he has a problem.
So he could keep taking the oxy.
As he tried to decide how to play this out, TK began to spiral, down, down, down, until he got to the origin of his little problem. Thinking back on it brought on a wave of shame and sadness for his own naivety.
It's difficult for an outsider to really, truly understand how a single white pill can destroy your entire life. How a medicine, prescribed by a medical professional, could completely uproot your life. But they can't predict how every individual will react to opiods. Some use them correctly, and never become addicted. Some use them incorrectly, and never become addicted. Some use them incorrectly and do become addicted. And some use them correctly, and still become addicted. TK knew this all too well.
It was a routine procedure. Most young adults have it done. TK got his wisdom teeth removed. A standard surgery, no complications. They prescribed him Codeine, to take the edge off. Take the edge off it did. He was coasting by in painless bliss, mind slightly fuzzy and perpetually in a relaxed, almost slumber. So when he ran out of pills, he went back to his dentist, claiming he was in a lot of pain. They took him at face value, because surely, the son of a prestiged fire captain wouldn't lie to get drugs. Right? No fire captain's son would be an addict, right?
Wrong.
The dentist willingly supplied TK with a refill, but for far less pills. TK went through them relatively quickly, and in desperation, went back to his dentist, claiming that he was still in pain, despite the painkillers.
"Would you like us to prescribe something a little stronger?" He asked, peering at TK from behind his clipboard. There was no judgment or suspicion in his voice, just the tone of a man who was almost too eager for his patient to be pain free.
"Sure." TK replied, voice fluctuating at the end, so it sounded more like a question than an answer. He couldn't believe it was that easy.
"Alright, I'll get you your prescription, just remember, you cannot take it with the Tylenol Three, but you can take it with Advil."
"Okay."
He returned moments later, prescription requisition in hand. Percocet.
TK went to the pharmacy as soon as he could, anxious to get his prescription as soon as possible. The pharmacist raised an eyebrow at the slip of paper, but didn't say anything other than to give them a couple of hours to fill it.
"I know it says to take one as needed, but I suggest you only take half, it's best not to take the full dosage as much as possible, and especially not on the first dose. These are pretty strong." She told TK, when he returned to pick up the medicine.
"Thanks." He replied, knowing full well that he wasn't going to listen to her advice. He wanted that relief, and he wanted it full strength. In hindsight, he should've known that those thoughts were the beginning of his decline into addiction.
TK was startled out of his ruminating by the sound of a sharp knock on the door. The pit in his stomach only deepened, and his palms began to sweat. He took an uneasy breath before calling out for them to come in. The door cautiously opened, and he swallowed thickly.
She was here.
