DeadheadChemistry
Bluelighter
Wrote this for a creative writing class, havent had time to edit it. Don't be too harsh, but constructive criticism is welcome! Hope you guys enjoy.
Crystal looked at herself in the mirror. She couldn't focus on any particular feature of her body, but she didn't care. She felt euphoric; she was flying in the clouds with a warm blanket wrapped around her. Her arms floated into the air and she closed her eyes, wishing she could stay in this place forever. This was heaven. There couldn't possibly be death when you were already drifting through eternity. She flew past mountains silhouetted by the sunset, fields of gold, and under limitless oceans that breathed a new life into her body. Everything was perfect, enchanting, and the earth was entirely in harmony. She opened her eyes and drifted back just in time to realize she had stopped breathing. She gasped and fell to the ground, astonished at her own negligence.
"Hey Crystal, you all right?" asked a voice from beside her.
It was her friend Tommy. She looked up at him and once again tried to focus her eyes to no avail. She could scarcely make out the basic profile of his skinny body. He looked like a pale skeleton looking down at her.
"Yeah… Jesus Christ, I think I forgot to breathe for a minute."
"What? Yeah babe… I think you're through for the night…" he only sounded half interested, and stared vacantly at the shower door in front of him.
Everything was spinning in circles, and he was struggling just to stand up straight. He managed to help Crystal get off the ground and they collapsed on the couch in the living room. Tommy looked down at the girl now lying on his shoulder. It was awkward, but he wasn't about to intervene. She was so beautiful, and the way her silky, dark hair laid across her face gave her this cute innocent look that was irresistible. They'd been friends for about five years, since they had gym together in Junior High. Neither of them ever did anything but sit against the wall and talk until the bell would ring, and it was a miracle they had passed. Tommy had always wanted to be more than just her friend, but he didn't have the balls to do anything about it. Besides, she was way out of his league. He was just a skinny junkie with no real future, and she was… well… everything he wanted.
"You're a great friend," she whispered softly in his ear.
"So are you…" he replied, not really sure what to do. He'd never really been this close to her before, and the compliment just made it even harder to stay cool.
Tommy lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply. It was so smooth, and it just made his euphoria progress to the next plane. He exhaled, and watched the smoke float carelessly into the room, desperately searching for an escape, but finding nothing but a door and a ceiling to cling to. He wanted nothing more than to reach down and give her a soft kiss she'd never forget, but he knew he couldn't. Not now, at least. If he was going to make a move it wasn't going to be when they were both high. He wanted it to be the result of his own inner desire, not of the chemicals flowing through his bloodstream.
He looked down once more at the angel lying beside him, and tried his best to focus. He couldn't distinguish the features of her face, everything was hazy… but he could tell that she had stopped breathing again. He nudged her and spoke more decisively to her this time, "Crystal, you're not breathing."
She opened her eyes and gasped once more. "Tommy… this is so…perfect."
"It may be, but that won't last very long if you keep forgetting to breathe," he was trying to sound worried but his words came out monotonous as his voice drifted off into oblivion.
"Yeah I guess that's kinda important, huh?"
"Yeah… I guess so," he responded with a grin.
Crystal woke up and lifted her head. It felt like a ton of bricks, and she instantly leaned over the other way and fell back on the couch.
"Holy shit," she muttered to herself as she rubbed her head.
Tommy was just starting to move around, and he slowly lifted his eyelids. He sat up slowly, and immediately felt the same as Crystal. His stomach growled loudly, and he looked up at a fuzzy room. He blinked a few times and brought everything back into focus as he turned to look at Crystal.
"Wow… I need a cigarette," said Crystal, still massaging her head.
"Yeah I second that motion," he responded as he pulled a couple of cigarettes out of his pocket. He lit the first and took a drag, holding it in for a few seconds and savoring the taste before blowing it out and lighting Crystal's with the tip of his.
"Here ya go beautiful," said Tommy as he handed one to Crystal.
They sat there on the couch for a few minutes staring blankly ahead, occasionally taking a poke off their cigs. Tommy got up and made some coffee, poured two cups and went back to sit on the couch.
"I hear Rich has got some uncut shit that he just copped off some Mexicans downtown," said Tommy, taking a sip of his coffee.
"Really, you think he's full of it or what?"
"I don't know yet, I'll have to give it a shot and see. I figure we could spend that $500 I got from my parents on some of that stuff, cut it up, and sell it for at least three times as much. We'd be rollin' for months if I could pull this off a few times."
"Yeah, as long as he ain't messin' with you Tommy."
"I know, that's the thing. I don't believe nothin' till I see it with my own eyes, or feel it goin' up my arm in this case. We just gotta keep our heads on straight and not blow all of it before we get a chance to triple our money."
"We won't. We're better than that Tommy, you've got your head on straight, and that's what I like about you. Besides, you've still got some of that stuff left from last night anyways, right?"
"Hell yeah. I got enough for two nights if we go easy, maybe one big night if you want, you know… sort of a celebration for what we're about to pull off."
"Yeah that sounds good. I say we just go for it all, it'll be the last time for a while anyways I guess." Crystal sighed and took a sip of her coffee.
"You better be careful though girl. Didn't you stop breathing a few times last night?"
Crystal looked down into her coffee, and slowly lifted it back to her lips for another sip.
"Yeah, I guess. I really don't remember much… it was really nice, that's all I know."
The two of them sat on the couch and watched some TV until evening rolled around. Tommy went to Rich's pad, took a test shot, and agreed that his stuff was the best he'd ever had. He handed over the dough and strolled out onto the dead Miami streets. He lit a cigarette and smiled. Life couldn't be better, he thought to himself. He walked a few blocks back to his apartment and opened the door. After laying the backpack full of dope on the floor, he crept over to the couch where Crystal had drifted off. Tommy hopped over the back of the couch and sat right on top of her, grabbing the remote control and immediately starting to flip through the channels, whistling innocently.
Crystal jumped, and groggily lifted her head in the direction of whatever had just woken her up.
"Tommy? Did you get the stuff?"
"Damn straight I did, we're set," Tommy kept flipping through the channels and eventually stopped on Music Choice to listen to some Oasis.
"Great, so we gonna go do the rest of that stuff?" asked Crystal eagerly.
"Of course, I'll go get everything set up."
Tommy came back a few minutes later and they both got their fix, traveling off into oblivion. He'd never done this much before, and he knew he couldn't stop Crystal even though she'd had trouble last night, and this was almost twice as much. He was the kind of guy who always beat the odds; there was nothing to worry about. If something went wrong, he'd deal with it then… right now he just wanted to relax and enjoy his high.
It didn't take long for something to go wrong. Crystal got up to go to the bathroom and immediately collapsed. It took Tommy a few moments to figure out what had just happened, but he responded as quickly as the heroin would let him.
"Crystal, babe… wake up. Damnit, don't do this to me. Breathe, please breathe." Tommy nervously moved her, but she didn't respond. Her face was pale, and her breathing was coming in short bursts. He tried to get her to respond, but eventually she stopped breathing completely. Tommy called 911.
It didn't take long; there was a hospital just down the street. The paramedics hooked her up to a bunch of different devices, and lifted her onto a stretcher. They left the apartment and Tommy jumped in the back of the ambulance, completely in shock. He was staring blankly into all the chaos going on around him; he didn't even hear the paramedic beside him trying to get his attention.
"Hey, buddy. What the hell did you guys do?" it was less a question than a demand.
Tommy didn't respond. They got to the hospital and took Crystal off to some room, and Tommy went and sat in the waiting room. His head was spinning, and he couldn't put together all of what had just happened. Everything was moving so fast, he couldn't think about anything except Crystal, and what would happen if she died. He'd kill himself, that's what would happen. There's no way in hell he could deal with that. She was all he had.
A police officer entered the waiting room and slowly strolled over to where Tommy was sitting with his hands on his head.
"I need you to stand up for me bud." Tommy didn't resist. "Now put your hands behind your back…" he kept talking but Tommy heard nothing. He could barely feel the handcuffs go around his wrists, and he didn't even bother responding to any of the questions he was being asked.
Nothing was ever 'normal' again. Life was never what it had been before, but Tommy didn't expect it to be. The next six years went by slowly, and before he knew it he was back out in the real world with nowhere to go, or so it seemed. Crystal was all right, she had an apartment but he hadn't talked to her since that night, he'd just heard the reports from inside prison. He'd learned a few valuable lessons. There was no changing the past, but the future was his to determine. He'd start fresh, heal some wounds, and maybe change some lives. He lit a cigarette and walked down the street. There was someone he needed to talk to.
The Reflection of Fallacy
Crystal looked at herself in the mirror. She couldn't focus on any particular feature of her body, but she didn't care. She felt euphoric; she was flying in the clouds with a warm blanket wrapped around her. Her arms floated into the air and she closed her eyes, wishing she could stay in this place forever. This was heaven. There couldn't possibly be death when you were already drifting through eternity. She flew past mountains silhouetted by the sunset, fields of gold, and under limitless oceans that breathed a new life into her body. Everything was perfect, enchanting, and the earth was entirely in harmony. She opened her eyes and drifted back just in time to realize she had stopped breathing. She gasped and fell to the ground, astonished at her own negligence.
"Hey Crystal, you all right?" asked a voice from beside her.
It was her friend Tommy. She looked up at him and once again tried to focus her eyes to no avail. She could scarcely make out the basic profile of his skinny body. He looked like a pale skeleton looking down at her.
"Yeah… Jesus Christ, I think I forgot to breathe for a minute."
"What? Yeah babe… I think you're through for the night…" he only sounded half interested, and stared vacantly at the shower door in front of him.
Everything was spinning in circles, and he was struggling just to stand up straight. He managed to help Crystal get off the ground and they collapsed on the couch in the living room. Tommy looked down at the girl now lying on his shoulder. It was awkward, but he wasn't about to intervene. She was so beautiful, and the way her silky, dark hair laid across her face gave her this cute innocent look that was irresistible. They'd been friends for about five years, since they had gym together in Junior High. Neither of them ever did anything but sit against the wall and talk until the bell would ring, and it was a miracle they had passed. Tommy had always wanted to be more than just her friend, but he didn't have the balls to do anything about it. Besides, she was way out of his league. He was just a skinny junkie with no real future, and she was… well… everything he wanted.
"You're a great friend," she whispered softly in his ear.
"So are you…" he replied, not really sure what to do. He'd never really been this close to her before, and the compliment just made it even harder to stay cool.
Tommy lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply. It was so smooth, and it just made his euphoria progress to the next plane. He exhaled, and watched the smoke float carelessly into the room, desperately searching for an escape, but finding nothing but a door and a ceiling to cling to. He wanted nothing more than to reach down and give her a soft kiss she'd never forget, but he knew he couldn't. Not now, at least. If he was going to make a move it wasn't going to be when they were both high. He wanted it to be the result of his own inner desire, not of the chemicals flowing through his bloodstream.
He looked down once more at the angel lying beside him, and tried his best to focus. He couldn't distinguish the features of her face, everything was hazy… but he could tell that she had stopped breathing again. He nudged her and spoke more decisively to her this time, "Crystal, you're not breathing."
She opened her eyes and gasped once more. "Tommy… this is so…perfect."
"It may be, but that won't last very long if you keep forgetting to breathe," he was trying to sound worried but his words came out monotonous as his voice drifted off into oblivion.
"Yeah I guess that's kinda important, huh?"
"Yeah… I guess so," he responded with a grin.
Crystal woke up and lifted her head. It felt like a ton of bricks, and she instantly leaned over the other way and fell back on the couch.
"Holy shit," she muttered to herself as she rubbed her head.
Tommy was just starting to move around, and he slowly lifted his eyelids. He sat up slowly, and immediately felt the same as Crystal. His stomach growled loudly, and he looked up at a fuzzy room. He blinked a few times and brought everything back into focus as he turned to look at Crystal.
"Wow… I need a cigarette," said Crystal, still massaging her head.
"Yeah I second that motion," he responded as he pulled a couple of cigarettes out of his pocket. He lit the first and took a drag, holding it in for a few seconds and savoring the taste before blowing it out and lighting Crystal's with the tip of his.
"Here ya go beautiful," said Tommy as he handed one to Crystal.
They sat there on the couch for a few minutes staring blankly ahead, occasionally taking a poke off their cigs. Tommy got up and made some coffee, poured two cups and went back to sit on the couch.
"I hear Rich has got some uncut shit that he just copped off some Mexicans downtown," said Tommy, taking a sip of his coffee.
"Really, you think he's full of it or what?"
"I don't know yet, I'll have to give it a shot and see. I figure we could spend that $500 I got from my parents on some of that stuff, cut it up, and sell it for at least three times as much. We'd be rollin' for months if I could pull this off a few times."
"Yeah, as long as he ain't messin' with you Tommy."
"I know, that's the thing. I don't believe nothin' till I see it with my own eyes, or feel it goin' up my arm in this case. We just gotta keep our heads on straight and not blow all of it before we get a chance to triple our money."
"We won't. We're better than that Tommy, you've got your head on straight, and that's what I like about you. Besides, you've still got some of that stuff left from last night anyways, right?"
"Hell yeah. I got enough for two nights if we go easy, maybe one big night if you want, you know… sort of a celebration for what we're about to pull off."
"Yeah that sounds good. I say we just go for it all, it'll be the last time for a while anyways I guess." Crystal sighed and took a sip of her coffee.
"You better be careful though girl. Didn't you stop breathing a few times last night?"
Crystal looked down into her coffee, and slowly lifted it back to her lips for another sip.
"Yeah, I guess. I really don't remember much… it was really nice, that's all I know."
The two of them sat on the couch and watched some TV until evening rolled around. Tommy went to Rich's pad, took a test shot, and agreed that his stuff was the best he'd ever had. He handed over the dough and strolled out onto the dead Miami streets. He lit a cigarette and smiled. Life couldn't be better, he thought to himself. He walked a few blocks back to his apartment and opened the door. After laying the backpack full of dope on the floor, he crept over to the couch where Crystal had drifted off. Tommy hopped over the back of the couch and sat right on top of her, grabbing the remote control and immediately starting to flip through the channels, whistling innocently.
Crystal jumped, and groggily lifted her head in the direction of whatever had just woken her up.
"Tommy? Did you get the stuff?"
"Damn straight I did, we're set," Tommy kept flipping through the channels and eventually stopped on Music Choice to listen to some Oasis.
"Great, so we gonna go do the rest of that stuff?" asked Crystal eagerly.
"Of course, I'll go get everything set up."
Tommy came back a few minutes later and they both got their fix, traveling off into oblivion. He'd never done this much before, and he knew he couldn't stop Crystal even though she'd had trouble last night, and this was almost twice as much. He was the kind of guy who always beat the odds; there was nothing to worry about. If something went wrong, he'd deal with it then… right now he just wanted to relax and enjoy his high.
It didn't take long for something to go wrong. Crystal got up to go to the bathroom and immediately collapsed. It took Tommy a few moments to figure out what had just happened, but he responded as quickly as the heroin would let him.
"Crystal, babe… wake up. Damnit, don't do this to me. Breathe, please breathe." Tommy nervously moved her, but she didn't respond. Her face was pale, and her breathing was coming in short bursts. He tried to get her to respond, but eventually she stopped breathing completely. Tommy called 911.
It didn't take long; there was a hospital just down the street. The paramedics hooked her up to a bunch of different devices, and lifted her onto a stretcher. They left the apartment and Tommy jumped in the back of the ambulance, completely in shock. He was staring blankly into all the chaos going on around him; he didn't even hear the paramedic beside him trying to get his attention.
"Hey, buddy. What the hell did you guys do?" it was less a question than a demand.
Tommy didn't respond. They got to the hospital and took Crystal off to some room, and Tommy went and sat in the waiting room. His head was spinning, and he couldn't put together all of what had just happened. Everything was moving so fast, he couldn't think about anything except Crystal, and what would happen if she died. He'd kill himself, that's what would happen. There's no way in hell he could deal with that. She was all he had.
A police officer entered the waiting room and slowly strolled over to where Tommy was sitting with his hands on his head.
"I need you to stand up for me bud." Tommy didn't resist. "Now put your hands behind your back…" he kept talking but Tommy heard nothing. He could barely feel the handcuffs go around his wrists, and he didn't even bother responding to any of the questions he was being asked.
Nothing was ever 'normal' again. Life was never what it had been before, but Tommy didn't expect it to be. The next six years went by slowly, and before he knew it he was back out in the real world with nowhere to go, or so it seemed. Crystal was all right, she had an apartment but he hadn't talked to her since that night, he'd just heard the reports from inside prison. He'd learned a few valuable lessons. There was no changing the past, but the future was his to determine. He'd start fresh, heal some wounds, and maybe change some lives. He lit a cigarette and walked down the street. There was someone he needed to talk to.
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