Page 93 of Dark Room Junkie

“What?” Pascal cast a puzzled glance in my direction and grimaced. Then he walked to the bar with Anton, leaving me alone with Liam.

I forced a smile and was glad when the blond banker asked how I knew Pascal. I was good at small talk, and I started to loosen up a bit. Liam didn’t seem like a stuck-up snob, and I felt more at ease.

While in the midst of talking, Pascal appeared and handed me a glass. “Here!” He clinked his glass against mine so hard it almost fell out of my hand.

I eyed the caramel-colored liquid suspiciously. “That’s not water.”

“Oh, come on! Nobody drinks water here! You can get that for free in the bathroom.”

The monster inside me cheered, and reason froze with fear. I brought the glass to my nose and smelled the whiskey.

Dammit. Is this fate?

“Cheers!” Pascal exclaimed.

Yeah, my life was sinking like a broken ship. And I knew that if I drank that, it would end up in an endless whirlpool. But at least my life would somehow be bearable.

So I drank.

Fireworks exploded inside me. The fluids raced through my veins like gold, and the spirits of life danced. My body had longed for this, and now, with just one sip, the world seemed right again and everything would be okay.

It wasn’t the last glass I drank, and with each one, I distanced myself more from the crap I was actually in. Even when Pascal told me they were staying until closing time, and heading straight to the airport, I didn’t mind being left without a bed. I got wasted and justified it by saying it was my birthday today. For a brief moment, the world was back in order, and I didn’t want to lose that.

Pascal told me about his work and gave me his number. “Hit me up if you need anything,” he said with a wink. I nodded, my gaze wandering to Liam and Anton. Did they know what Pascal usually got up to?

“Bro!” someone called out and slapped me on the shoulder. “What are you doing here?”

It took me a moment for my blurred vision to clear, and I recognized the person standing next to me.

“Juri-Rock,” I said with a heavy tongue. “Hey.”

Juri introduced himself to the others and turned back to me. “Celebrating your birthday here, huh?”

Internally, I facepalmed. The only person who knew about it was blabbing it to everyone. This day wasn’t that important to me. But using it as an excuse came in handy, of course.

“It’s your birthday today?” Pascal asked, surprised, raising his eyebrows almost accusingly.

“Well,” Juri interjected, glancing at one of the hundred clocks hanging above us. “Yesterday.”

“Then I’ll buy another round!” Pascal exclaimed. “Come on, join us!”

Juri was with a blond guy around the same age whom I didn’t know. Judging by his sour expression, he wasn’t thrilled about joining our group, but Juri insisted they toast with us for a moment. Pascal bought a round of tequila, and Juri offered a shot to his companion too. We toasted and drank.

“I’ll be right over there at the bar, Stoney,” Juri said right next to my ear.

The concern in his voice was unmistakable. I nodded gratefully. Just his presence calmed me down. Knowing he was there made everything bearable.

It was around two in the morning when someone unexpectedly approached me from the side. This time, however, the situation quickly turned unpleasant. The man yanked me out of the bar by the collar and pressed me against the wall outside.

“What?” I wasn’t capable of much more, already drunk as I was.

“You sold me expired benzos!” the guy yelled.

I felt his spit on my face and turned my head away. “What’s that got to do with me?” I mumbled, trying to free myself from him.

But the guy held onto me tightly and even shoved his forearm against my throat. “I want my money back.”

“No refunds,” I slurred. “Anyone could come up with that excuse.”

---