Dangerous Liasons, Chapter 5 (Where Am I?)
by Jaresa
Chapter 5
Eve was hoisted out of the van and taken to what looked to be some sort
of desolate house. She thought that maybe it was a crack house but once inside
she saw no one. Despite the outside it was quite clean.
“This is your new home.” The man said.
“How long will I be here? I thought you were waiting for orders from your
boss. Weren’t you just speaking with someone?” Eve asked.
“The boss’s orders are to keep you here. If you shut up it will be pleasant.
If not I will have to shut you up, and if you live when you go home you
will never be the same.” He said icily.
Eve took in the place looking for an exit. She sat quietly as she was told
but her mind was reeling. She would not be anyone’s victim. She would fight
but she needed a strategy. The man received another call and left her there
alone. All of the doors were locked and the windows barred. That didn’t
stop her. She had noticed a cellar door and decided that was her best means
of escape. She made her way to the basement. The cellar door was rigid.
She tried prying it open to no avail. She hadn’t realized how much time had
elapsed. The man returned.
“Boss said you were feisty. He also said that killing you was the easy
option.” He laughed a maniacal laugh.
“You will be here for a while and when you leave you won’t care about your
family." He held up a syringe. “Remember those days Evie. You were stronger
than most addicts but it took you a long time to get rid of the cravings.
See the boss doesn’t want you dead; he wants you crippled.”
Eve fought as hard as she could crying. She would not live like that ever
again. Death was a better option to her. She could not stand the thought
of people she loved bringing her back from addiction.
“I never did heroin. Please. I have children. Please I can pay you more
than what your boss does. Please I am begging you. I will do whatever you
want. Please don’t do this. I’d rather die.” She shouted.
“I know you never did heroin but it is among the most addictive. This will
only hurt for a second. Just a pinch.”
Eve’s mind erased. Her body slumped with in minutes. She could not hold
her head up. The drug took her places she had been before. Her limbs were
heavy. She tried to touch the spot where the needle pinched but her arm fell.
Flashback
Eve was with a group of friends from the jazz club. Joni was
one of her closest.
“Billy I got something good for you.” Eve never understood why they
called her Billy. She did not sing near as well but she had a way about
her.
”Jones I told you I don’t mess around anymore. I have hope Jones.”
“Or a new man. Never mind you I am going to take the midnight train
back to Georgia and maybe stop in Florida on the way.” Joni laughed. She
was already tanked from the vodka and tonics she had consumed. She snorted
right there in front of her weak friend who was recovering.
Eve fell off of the wagon before it was time for the next set. She
appeared on the stage. She had been feeling blue because it had been weeks
since she had seen Julian. She felt as though he just had an affair. He was
from a well to do family. Maybe he needed a little brown sugar to satisfy
his curiosity. He had that and now he was gone.
“Ladies and gentlemen, people around here call me Billie. If you have
heard me chirp you know I am no Billie. Maybe it is this Gardenia.” She
smiled.
“I get Billy though yall. For anyone who has had a broken heart, anyone
who has given up on love and still crave it, this is for you.
Good morning heartache/You old gloomy sight/Good morning heartache/thought
we said goodbye last night/I tossed and I turned until it seems you have
gone/but here you are with the dawn/Wish I’d forget you but you’re here to
stay/It seems I met you when my love went away/Now everyday I start by saying
to you/Good morning heartache what’s new..” She sang from the pit of her
soul.
“Stop haunting me now/Can’t shake you no how/Just leave me alone/I’ve
got those Mondays straight through Sunday blues/Good morning heartache here
we go again/Good morning heartache you’re the one who knows me well/Might
as well get used to you hanging around/Good morning heartache sit dooowwwn.”
There was applause all around. She did not see him in the crowd observing.
He knew something was wrong. He let her finish her set without interruption.
He approached her after.
“Eve what is going on? I thought you gave this up.” He looked into
her eyes hoping he was wrong regardless of the foot.
“What are you talking about Julian?” Eve smiled waving her hand in
the air at nothing.
“Besides I haven’t seen you around her much lately or any where else
for that matter. So what gives you the right to question me?” Joni approached.
“Evie we are going to hit a party over Lakeside are you coming?”
“Sure I can use the fun.”
“I don’t think so.” Julian interrupted. They both laughed at him as
Joni took Eve’s hand emphasizing that it was bare.
“Haha classic Joni, but you see me and Eve were having a discussion.
It seems to me that she has had too much of a bad thing. I will be escorting
her home.”
“The hell if you are. What is it Julian? Have you forgotten what brown
sugar taste like? Well let me remind you.” She kissed him.
“That is the only taste you will be getting.”
“Nice try but you are coming with me and that is final.” He asserted.
“A doctor, how can a woman like you practice medicine.” He dared not
caring about the people slowly surrounding them.
“Doctors need steady hands and you cannot get high and go into the
operating room.”
“ golly you Julian. I can do it. You don’t know me. You have no idea
what I have overcome/”
“Oh is that right? To overcome means not overcompensating. It means
forging ahead and powder does not so that Evelyn. Please darling come with
me. If not for anything but an explanation. Just so we are clear you are
not a taste you are the woman I love and I cannot watch you throw your life
away.” He looked pleadingly into her eyes.
Eve could not resist him. Maybe she needed to be saved that night
because Joni never returned. She overdosed on a pure dose of cocaine.
End Flash.
The memory was like reliving the moment but Eve could do nothing. Her body
lay on the floor like a pile of rotted muscle. Her mind traveled to places
she never wanted to revisit.