Over the remaining minutes of their session Monica explained everything about Ms. Cooke. She said she was in love with the woman because she was so nice and seemed so caring, not to mention that she was absolutely beautiful and that she had fallen in love with the woman at first sight. Monica seemed to have a tad bit of an unhealthy obsession with Ronnie but nothing dangerous or worth pursuing. The bell rang and Monica left the office with a smile on her face and an appointment for the next week. Amber was certainly glad she could help the student, and actually felt like she had accomplished something that day. Before Monica, she was sure that coming to the high school would be pointless but ever since the attack she could barely face her colleagues at the clinic.
After her last student of the day she decided she would stay after school to type up the notes that she had taken, but first she wanted a little demoral fix. She removed her laptop from her black bag and then opened the drawer in the desk where she had shoved everything before Monica had come in. She took off her wrist brace and looked at the puncture wounds on her arm. They were getting quite obvious and if anyone saw her without the brace they would know she was injecting something into her body. She filled one of the needles and stuck it into an exposed vein. Her whole body felt warm and tingly after she had injected the drug and she smiled slightly and let out a sigh. It was time to get to work.
The next thing she knew she was waking up because there was a knocking at her door. Her first instinct was to yell at whoever was bothering her, but then she realized she was still sitting at her desk in the school. The combination of the work she had done that day and the last shot of demoral had knocked her completely out. She looked at her watch, it was 8:30, she muttered some choice words under her breath and looked over at the door. The knocking had stopped and for a moment she thought about just passing out again but then the door started to open.
"Dr. McKay?" It was Scott's voice, she heard him before she saw him. She grabbed her wrist brace and put it on quickly, before the door could open any further. "You're still here? It's rather late." The door opened fully and Scott came into the office. She looked at him with a longing in her eyes and in her heart. She never had trouble getting any man that she wanted, her perfect body saw to that, but this was her first day on the job, could she really seduce her new boss?
"I told you to call me Amber, it's okay really." Amber replied, "I was working on some notes and I guess I fell asleep." She looked over to her laptop and pressed a few buttons, closed out her programs, and then shut it off before closing it completely and sliding it into her bag. "Why are you here so late?"
"Paperwork." He replied simply.
"That doesn't sound like fun. Want to get a drink? I'm buying." Amber offered hoping it didn't sound too much like she was trying to come on to him. She made it seem as though it were a friendly gesture instead of a date. She saw his face get red, he seemed shocked that she would actually want him as a companion, little did he know she wanted much more then that.
"On a Monday night? I would regret it in the morning." Guber replied honestly and Amber laughed. She sort of felt stupid for asking after that comment, she really didn't think she expected him to say yes either, but she felt like she had reached out and he had shot her down. No matter though, she would come back swinging.
"Then don't make any plans for Friday, I'm taking you out." Amber said and stood up, picking up her bag as she did. Guber looked at her like she couldn't be serious, but she was. She could read him pretty well, her background in psychology gave her that ability, but if she could just sit down and talk with him, and pick his brain, she would be able to gain so much more information.
"It's a date then." Guber replied happily. Amber smiled at him, she could tell he was almost embarrassed that she was so forthright with him. It was also clear to her that pretty women like herself didn't talk to him very much. She headed out of the office with him, her bag slung over her shoulder, she was sure that this was the beginning to a beautiful relationship.
Two months later Amber and Scott were much closer, every Friday night they would join each other for a drink at the local pub and shoot the breeze. The problem was, Amber's demoral addiction was getting stronger with each day. She found that she needed more and more to keep her going, and more and more to get her high. It was late on a Friday afternoon when she was feeling the need to shoot up, unfortunately she had some how been called into a teacher's meeting and was unable to escape without being noticed. She was beginning to see how demoral was a problem and how it was effecting her every day life but she couldn't stop, she couldn't go back now, she would be fine if she just got a little bit more, then she would quit and no one would have to know.
It had been hours since her last fix and she was starting to feel nauseous and dizzy. She was getting looks from some of the other teachers, and Scott. What she didn't realize was that she was so pale her skin was almost snow white, and that beads of sweat were appearing on her forehead. To them it seemed like she was coming down with something. She brought her hands to her face and rubbed her eyes, trying to see clearly. Her vision was starting to blur considerably and it was almost as if she couldn't see the papers that had been laid down in front of her.
"Dr. McKay…did you hear what I just said?" Steven asked her. She looked at him and shook her head slightly, she didn't hear what he had just said because she was trying desperately not to throw up on the table. "The school board has now hired you for a full week instead of just three days, can you handle that?" Amber took a moment to swallow a few times before answering.
"Yes that's fine…I am really…making progress with the stu…oh god…" Her response was cut off in a choke and she raced for the nearest bathroom. Once she got inside she barely made it to the toilet before throwing up. When she was finished she sat down on the floor and pushed back from the toilet, leaning up against the stall slightly for support. She took in a few deep breaths and blinked a few times. She was still very dizzy and didn't know if she could stand up or not. Her head was pounding, she could feel it in her eye sockets.
"Dr. McKay, are you in here?" Ronnie Cooke's voice said from the door. Amber groaned and forced herself to her feet. She flushed the toilet and then walked out of the stall, she looked like absolute hell at that point. When she saw Ronnie she smiled and then headed over to the sink to rinse her mouth out.
"I keep telling everyone to call me Amber, is there a problem with that?" Amber asked feeling slightly annoyed. She had been there for two months, why was everyone still addressing her as Dr. McKay? She started to run the water in the sink and cupped her hands under it and brought them to her lips and took some water into her mouth.
"You rushed out of there so fast, are you sick?" Ronnie asked and then walked over to her. Amber swished the water around in her mouth and then spit it out in the sink.
"Yeah, no worries though, I feel much better." Amber answered and then laughed slightly. It was true, after throwing up everything that was in her stomach her head seemed to have cleared considerably and she wasn't nauseous anymore. She knew she could play this off like she had the flu, she was fairly sure no one would go out of their way to check if she actually had a fever or not, "I'm probably just coming down with something, no biggie."
"Do you want me to tell Harper that you are going home?" Ronnie asked and put a hand on her shoulder. Amber turned to look at Ronnie and smiled, the woman truly was beautiful and she wanted more then anything to kiss her right then and there but she didn't because she had just thrown up, that and she was still sure Ronnie had no interest in her other then a friend. Over the past two months they had gone out together, had their share of drunken nights, nothing had happened between them.
"I have to go back in there anyway to get my bag so that won't be necessary. Thanks though." Amber replied. She looked in the mirror, at least a bit of color was returning to her face. Her whole body ached like nothing she had ever felt before. She groaned slightly and didn't even feel like walking back to the conference room. "I'll be fine, really." She pushed a loose strand of hair out of her face, it had fallen out of her bun, she had never worn her hair down for work. It was very long and she was afraid she'd look unprofessional if she wore it down.
"Okay, if you say so." Ronnie replied and they both started to walk out of the bathroom together. When they got out in the hall Guber was waiting for them, looking quite concerned over the situation. The pain in her back was getting worse, she could feel the area around her scars throbbing, but she hadn't divulged to anyone the attack that she had suffered just a few months before, she hated talking about it to random people.
"Amber, are you okay?" Guber asked as she stepped out.
"I'll go get your bag for you." Ronnie said and then left the two of them alone. Amber looked down into Guber's eyes and in that moment she wanted to tell him everything, everything about the drugs, everything about her previous job, and everything about the attacks. She decided that she would tell him that night, if she could convince him to come home with her.
"I'm fine Scott. I just really need someone to talk to but I don't want to do it here. Do you think you could meet me at my house later?" Amber asked him. He had been to her house before but never in it. She lived in a very lavish town house in the city. Guber never thought to ask her where the money to pay for it was coming from, but he knew that Amber must have a lot to afford the place she was living in.
"I…um…okay. What time?" He said, stumbling over his words like she was the captain of the cheerleading team and he was just a lowly nerd. She smiled at him and put a hand on his shoulder gently, to show that she meant no harm.
"Is eight o'clock good for you?" She replied and out of the corner of her eye she saw Ronnie coming towards them with her bag. She was glad Ronnie opted to get it for her, she didn't want to face all the rest of the teachers after running out of the room like that.
"Eight o'clock it is then." Guber said and then nodded slightly. He had a smile on his face ten miles wide. Ronnie stepped up to them and held out Amber's bag. She took it and slung it around her shoulder. She couldn't wait to get to her car so she could shoot up again. Her whole body felt like the tenth layer of hell. She was alternating from being too hot to being too cold. She knew the withdraw symptoms and she was feeling every one of them.
"See you then, and tell Steven that I'm completely okay with working here five days a week." Amber said to Scott. He nodded again and then headed back towards the meeting. Amber smiled slightly and turned to Ronnie, "Thanks Ronnie, I owe you one."
"No problem. Feel better." Ronnie said and then she also headed back to the conference room. Amber wasted no time getting the hell out of there.