A quick update. For once!
Enjoyyyyy!!
When Mimi opened her eyes the next day, she remembered why she had tried to kick her habit. She would sink into the same pattern everyday. In the evening, she would shoot up, usually before and after work, to get her through the evening and through the night. Waking up was the worst part. Withdrawal would set it. She woke up feeling as if she had slept on the cold sidewalk. She lay, curled up in a ball on the corner of her bed. Her stomach felt as if it were being squeezed in a vice, and she couldn't lay down straight or stand up. She just lay there, shaking and aching all over. It was like someone had soaked her bones in gasoline, and then dropped a lit match on them. Mimi wished she could just get up and go and get a glass of water. No...that wouldn't work. That was the problem. The only thing that would get rid of the pain would be more smack. Then the next time round, she would need to take more to get rid of the withdrawal from the last dose. It was a horrible routine. One that she was right back in again.
There was the sound of the door of the apartment opening and closing. Roger was home. Shit. Mimi knew that he would be able to tell what was wrong with her. He had been through six months of it. One look and he would know. Mimi reached out an arm and pulled the sheets right over her head, in the hope that Roger would think that she was still asleep.
Roger opened the door to the bedroom quietly. Mimi had come home late the night before, and it was likely that she wanted to sleep until early afternoon. It was late morning now. He could see the shape of her, curled up underneath the sheets in a little ball. He could see that her slender frame was shaking violently. Roger frowned with concern, and sat down gently on the edge of the bed. He pulled the covers away from her gently. Mimi lay, still curled up in a tight little ball. Her hair was stuck to her with sweat, her skin shining from it, yet her teeth were chattering and her muscles contracting with violent shivering. Roger didn't know what to do. He felt anger and disappointment flare up in him immediately. She had given in. Even when she had promised that she wouldn't, she had. At the same time, Mimi was in pain, and he knew that he had to look after her. Roger tried to forget about his anger for a few minutes. He brought Mimi a glass of cold water and helped her to sit up.
Mimi pulled herself up slowly, feeling the stomach cramps easing slightly as soon as cool water touched her mouth.
"I'm sorry..." she said slowly, looking up at Roger. He just pushed a couple of aspirin into her hand, not meeting her eye. He didn't want to talk to her, or he knew he would yell something that he would regret.
Close up on Tom Collins. It's nearing the end of a very long day for him.
He had taught a variety of classes that day. All philosophy, but each class was at a different level, and each kid came up with some sort of ridiculous theory that he had to prove wrong. Smartass kids, they would argue as long as they possibly could, just to waste lesson time. Now Collins had a huge stack of papers to mark, as he had stupidly set several classes with writing exercises, forgetting that he would have to thoroughly grade each one. The next day, he would be handed the assignments he had asked for as homework, and he would have another night full of paper grading.
Collins yawned, packing his things away and locking the classroom on his way out. It was several hours after the last class had ended and the halls were nearly empty, apart from the odd cleaner or professor. He checked the clock on his way out. Shit. It was later than he thought, and it would probably be better to get a room in a motel then drag himself all the way home. He would try and finish earlier the next day and talk to his friends about his work then.
Late at night. Collins is sat on a cheap motel bed, up to his elbows in endless papers about Metaphysics and Ontology. He knows he is going to be up until the early hours of the morning marking these papers, leaving him with only a couple of hours sleep.
Mimi storms out of her apartment, dressed for work. By the sound she is making stomping down the stairs, I can pretty much tell that she and Roger aren't on the best of terms. He came in this afternoon furious, yelling something about Mimi 'not helping herself' and 'wasting his time'. He shut himself in his old room in the Loft, letting me know that he couldn't be around someone who was so stupid. Mimi came up and tried to talk to him, but he remained silent. I told her that he would come round in a couple of days.
Mimi sighed at her reflection in the mirror. The last of the girl were changing back into normal clothes and heading home. A lot of them were like her. They looked good on the dance floor, with make up and their trashy clothes. But up close, they were damaged. Black shadows under their eyes from working such late hours. Many of them were junkies, with track marks lacing their arms, shooting up in the dressing rooms, when they thought that none of the other girls were watching. Mimi bit her lip. She still had her stash in her pocket, she had slipped it in their earlier, not wanting Roger to find it if he looked around her room. She was really tempted.
"Mimi...Mimi..." hissed one of the girls, coming up to Mimi, her fake fur jacket pulled tight around her.
"What?" Mimi asked, packing her make up and dancing clothes into her bag.
"Have you got any smack? Ruby said you had...I need it bad Mimi...I would go to my usual guy but I owe him and he'll have a right go at me if I ask for more...please..."
It was nothing new. At the end of work, most of the girls would be begging round for something...cigarettes...a joint...coke...smack...you name it, one of the girls would be after it. Mimi noticed this as an opportunity. She could get rid of her stash. Get rid of temptation, and then she would tell Roger and he would be proud of her again. Do it Mimi, she told herself. Before she could become dependant again.
"Yes...here...take it. I don't want it anyway," Mimi said quickly, pulling out the stash and throwing to the girl, who caught it and looked at it as if she wasn't sure it existed. She grabbed Mimi and pulled her into a hug.
"Oh my god, Mimi, you're an absolute angel! You're the best!" She squealed, jumping up and down a little before heading for the exit and turning to say goodbye. "I'll see ya tomorrow night...I'll pay you back, I promise. You're a star Mimi!"
Mimi smiled as the girl headed out of the door and breathed a slow sigh of relief. No more. She wasn't going to buy any more. Even if the man offered it to her for free, she wasn't going to take it. Now she was going to go home and find Roger and tell him what she had done. Maybe he would forgive her.
Mimi skipped down the road home. She tried to ignore the cramps that were starting on her stomach. She knew she would have to pay for her slip up. She'd feel bad for a few days, but after that, she would keep clean and she would promise herself. She was going to do it. Roger had managed it. He wouldn't touch drugs now. Mimi wanted to be the same way. The nights were starting to get warmer, she noticed.
Mimi passed some bum, sitting on the street corner. She was in such a good mood, she pulled out a few dollars, almost all of her tips for the whole night, and put them at his feet. She remembered times when a few dollars would have saved her ass.
"Thanks..." muttered the guy, in a low voice. Mimi gave a smile in his general direction before carrying on walking.
"Wait..." he called after her in a hoarse voice, reaching out and grabbing her ankle with a harsh grip. Shit. Mimi should have known better than to help some guy out in the middle of the city, it was asking for trouble. She tried to pull away, but this guy was persistent, and clung to her.
"Let go of me!" She hissed. The guy still grabbed her leg, muttering something incoherent. Mimi managed to pull her leg away, and yelled at the guy, kicking out with one of her feet. She caught the guy on the side of the face with her stilettos and began to walk away quickly, trying to ignore the guy's pained groans.
"Wait...Mimi!"
Mimi stopped dead. He knew her name. How did he know her name?
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Can we say 'DUNDUNDUUUUN!!!!'?
I bet y'all can guess who it is.
x