HAVE YOU READ CRAVE ME PROLOGUE YET?
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MITCH MCKERSIE
<>Austin<>
I tied the belt tighter around my upper arm to stop the
blood flow.
Squeezing my fist every few seconds to pump up my vein, it
didn’t take me long to find old faithful. It never did. I leaned back against
the old, dirty, mold-infested couch, faintly hearing “Mad World” by Andrew
Michaels somewhere in the dark, ominous background. The lyrics immediately
brought back old memories—good times, happy vibes, when in reality there was
anything but fucking happiness.
This wasn't who I’d always been.
Once upon a time, I tried to find my independence, and
somewhere along the way, I found solace in the haze of dependency, which was
what led me to that place in time.
I didn’t bother to take in my surroundings.
It was always the same.
Familiar faces that blended together and never changed,
always jonesing, always wanting, always needing, always craving.
More. More. More.
And never enough.
It wasn’t about being high anymore. The euphoric, free
feeling was long gone. All that was left was the pursuit. Day after day I was
pulled down the proverbial rabbit hole with nowhere to turn, always trying to
escape, chasing the non-existent dragon that only led to darkness.
It was too late.
It had me.
The addiction.
A tight grasp on my soul, pushing me further and further
into the black abyss. What goes up, must come down. It’s the law of physics,
the code of life. I rode the high for as long as I could remember. I had been
so far up that there was nowhere left for me to go but straight to the bottom.
All I wanted was to drown out the feeling of my entire body caving in on me.
Soothe the ache, throw fire on the chill, and ease the nausea.
The only thing I could do to feel as if I wasn’t dying was…
To kill myself a little more.
I inserted the needle, welcoming the sting. My blood rushed
in, and I slowly pushed down the plunger.
I wanted it to last.
I always
do.
It was the best fucking part.
I pulled the plunger back out and watched with hooded, constricted
pupils as my blood swirled in once again.
Heaven and Hell. God and Satan. Love and hate. It all
blended together. Forming a clusterfuck of hope and despair.
Now…
Now, I squeezed my fist.
The rush.
Tingles from my fingers traveled up my arm and then, and
then…
It hits.
Simultaneously my eyes closed and my head fell back against
the couch.
I don’t care that it’s
dirty.
I don’t care that it
smells.
I don’t care about one
fucking thing.
All the misery was gone in the blink of an eye. As if it wasn’t
even there to begin with. All that was left was the free, euphoric, and
blissful feeling of pleasure that only this could ever bring me. My heart was
full, filling in the hollow existence that was my life. The pain numbed.
Even if it was only temporary.
A few moments in time where the world faded into nothingness
and I was swimming in an endless pool of possibilities. Not drowning in
disappointment, judgment, and regret. Not feeling like I was dead inside, meanwhile
I just killed myself a little more. I heard echoes everywhere. Colors blended
together making it hard to focus on one thing. I blinked a few times and just
like that…
I saw her face.
As if she was standing right in front of me.
Smiling.
Happy.
Laughing.
My whole world…
My girl.
My lips curled up slightly at the vision as I reached out
for her. Wanting to touch her, needing to hold her, yearning to kiss her. Craving,
God, craving to fucking love her.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured aloud to no one but the illusion of
my drug-infested mind. “I’m so fucking sorry,” I repeated repentantly, longing
for her to believe me.
Aching for her to love me again like she used to.
I don’t know how long I sat there, staring at her beautiful
face before my eyes, subconsciously rubbing the tattooed key that was placed over
my heart. I couldn’t take it anymore, and the desire won over the haze.
It was too powerful.
It was too vivid.
I grabbed my phone. “Baby,” I said into the speaker. The
ringing quickly followed, going straight to voicemail. I hung up and tried
again. “Baby,” I urged with desperation in my tone.
Still nothing.
I tried again and again and again.
I would try until the end of time if that’s what it took for
her to answer.
To talk to me.
To save me.
To crave me.
Time seemed to standstill, as my life slowly played out in front
of me. Trying to balance somewhere in between the light and the darkness when
all I could see was gray.
“What?!” she screamed into the phone, finally answering
after I don’t know how many failed attempts. “What the hell do you want now?”
“Mi cielo.” I
breathed a sigh of relief.
She ignored my term of endearment. I hadn’t called her that
in such a long time.
My heaven.
“What do you want, Austin? Why are you calling me? We’re
over! I can’t do this anymore!”
I shut my eyes and let my mind wander, allowing it to go to
another place in time where she didn’t hate me.
“I remember the first time I made you smile,” I chuckled, as
if it had just happened.
My nerves were on fire. The mere sound of her breathing
through the phone was too intense for me. I licked my lips, my mouth suddenly
dry.
“I remember when you used to smile just for me. Do you
remember, baby? Do you remember what my love feels like?”
I heard her faintly breathing.
“Do you remember my hands on you? My lips? My tongue? The
first time I made you come with my mouth? Do you remember all the times since?
Tell me I’m not forgotten. Tell me you remember, baby.”
Silence.
“I love you, Briggs. I love you so fucking much. You’re
killing me, don’t you see that? I’m dying without you.”
“No, Austin. You were dying with me,” she rasped, knowing that it killed her to say that.
“The first time I saw your face, I thought to myself, damn,
this beautiful girl is goin’ to be the death of me. You were perfect in every
way. I was a cocky son of a bitch who needed you then, as much as I need you
now.”
More silence.
“I had a dream about you, baby. I always fucking dream about
you. In my dream, you had a ring on your finger. A ring I put there. You
belonged to me. Only mine. Forever fucking mine. You were pregnant, Briggs. You
looked so goddamn happy. I saw light at the end of the tunnel for the first
time in years.”
She sniffled into the phone.
“I made love to you. Slow, just the way you love. Taking my
time to touch every last inch of your body. Memorizing every last bit of you.
Making you come until you begged me to stop. I didn’t.”
“I can’t—” she tried to interject, but I didn’t let up.
“I kissed your stomach. Our baby. Letting my lips linger
there, whispering sweet lullabies, letting her know Daddy will always be there.
Baby, it was so real. For a second I gave you the one thing you so desperately
wanted, the one thing I can’t give you.”
“Why are—”
“After we were done, I just lay there with you and our unborn
baby, both of you wrapped in my arms, the only place where you belonged.
Unforgiving thoughts plagued my mind as I carefully moved you away from me,
making sure not to wake you. I went into the bathroom and I got high. You found
me. You always find me. Except this time… I died in your arms. You couldn’t
save me, but it didn’t matter because the best part of me was already growing
inside you. When I woke up, I was alone. I’m always alone, Briggs, even when
you’re near me. I can promise you the world. I can promise you a life. But even
in my dreams, baby, I’m haunted.”
“Jesus Christ, Austin,” she wept. “Where are you?”
I opened my eyes, finally taking in my surroundings. As if I
was being woken up from a dream within a dream. I couldn’t tell what was real
or lucid. Confused by my own reality. It was then that I looked down, the
needle still firmly placed in my arm.
“Where are you?” she repeated with a shaky tone.
I shook my head, trying to find some clarity. “I’m so
fuckin’ sorry, baby. I love you, Briggs. I love you with everything that’s left
of me.”
“Austin, where are you? Please, tell me where you are?” she
whimpered, panic taking over.
I took a deep breath and murmured, “The place I hate.”
Once again…
Pushing in the syringe.
<>Briggs<>
I drove with my heart in my throat like every other goddamn
time before this.
I hated him.
I loved him.
I love him.
I slammed on my brakes, shoving my door open before my car
was even fully shifted into park. The stench of the drug den immediately
assaulted my senses, making me sick to my stomach that he was there.
Again.
I ran through the abandoned warehouse, ignoring the random
junkies that were hollering at me, pleading for more drugs, begging for another
hit. I tried my best to sideswipe the filth, piss, shit, and garbage all around
me. I sprinted past the graffiti walls, covering my nose and mouth, trying like
hell not to inhale the mold-contaminated air and decay that had taken over the
shithole. Piles of trash surrounded the dirty mattresses and chairs, infested
with rats and ghostlike junkies that appeared dead but could have been alive. I
knew where I would find him. He was always in the same spot, the back of the
warehouse that looked over the harbor.
I turned the corner, and saw him. My once favorite maroon
beanie placed securely on his head. I couldn’t control my emotions.
I hated him in that second.
I despised the love I had for him in my broken, fucked-up
heart in that moment.
I slowed down as I got closer, my calculated steps slow and
precise. I wanted to face him. I wanted to look into his eyes like I had done
so many damn times before, even though I knew there wouldn’t be anything but a
hollow existence. A shell of the man I once knew gazing back at me.
The truth was eating me alive as if I was dying right along
with him.
I couldn’t do it.
Not anymore.
I stood behind the tattered couch, staring at the back of
his head. He nodded off. The craving completely took over me, rotting its way into
the empty space that now held his soul.
I shook my head in disgust and bewilderment with tears
streaming down my face. This was all that was left of him.
No more I love you’s.
No more I promises.
No more tomorrows.
No. More. Austin.
“Why?!” I shouted, my chest heaving and my heart breaking
bit by bit. “Why do you do this to me? Why do you keep doing this to me?” I
sobbed uncontrollably. “I can’t fucking do this anymore! I can’t watch you die!
I can’t watch you kill yourself more than I already have!” I bawled, my body
shaking.
“I hate you! Do you hear me, Austin?! I fucking hate you!” I
screamed loud enough to break glass.
Heaving, I leaned over and placed my hands on my knees for
support, struggling to breathe in and out.
“Why do you do this to me? Please, Austin, please fucking
enlighten me! I’m sorry! I’m so fucking sorry!” I whimpered hysterically.
He didn’t try to comfort me like he always did. He didn’t
try to hold me, touch me, kiss me, or reassure me.
Lie to me.
Nothing.
I wiped my face, standing to look at him again. He hadn’t
moved from the place he sat. His body was lifeless.
“Austin,” I murmured so low I could hardly hear myself.
“Austin,” I said a little louder.
My feet moved on their own accord. Inch by inch, I made my
way around the couch, old needles, bags, and God knows what crunching under my
feet. I felt as though I was having an out of body experience. I was there, but
I wasn’t. Closing my eyes, I swallowed hard before I was fully in front of him.
“Please, God,” I found myself saying as I slowly opened my
eyes.
My body shuddered as I took in the needle that was still
lodged into his vein, his eyes were closed, and his head leaned over to the
side.
“No!” I lunged into action, tearing the syringe out of his
arm and throwing it as hard as I could across the place I called Hell on Earth.
“No! No! No! No!” I repeated, grabbing his face, making him
look at me. All the color had drained from his body, his lips turned blue.
“Austin!” I shook him. “Austin!” I shook him harder. “AUSTIN!”
I slapped him across the face.
Nothing.
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”
He wasn’t breathing.
“Don’t do this to me! Don’t you do this to me again! Do you
fucking hear me! Please! Don’t leave me!”
I reached for my phone.
“9-1-1, what is your emergency?”
“He’s not breathing. I don’t know what to do! Please,
please, help him!” I explained as much as I could to the operator, but my
thoughts were scattered.
“Ma’am, help is on the way. I need you to calm down. Can you
do that for me?”
“I don’t know! He’s not breathing. Please don’t let him die!”
“I need you to calm down. You can’t help him if you don’t
calm down.”
I nodded even though she couldn’t see me.
“Ma’am, are you there?”
“Yes.”
“I need you to lay him on his side with his knees bent for
support. Make sure his face is turned to the side. Can you do that?”
“I think so.”
I gently laid him down on the couch and did as I was told.
My hands shaking the entire time.
“The paramedics are almost there. Where is your exact
location?”
“We’re in the back of the warehouse overlooking the harbor
by Wallace Street and Grant Avenue.”
The rest proceeded in slow motion.
Paramedics filled the
vacant space, pushing me to the side. Narcan being injected up his nose.
Paddles shocking him back to life.
“One, two, three, clear.”
His body jolted.
“One, two, three,
clear.”
His body jerked again.
“He’s breathing.”
Laying him on a
stretcher.
Rushing him into the
ambulance.
Holding his hand the
entire ride.
Emergency room…
Paperwork…
Insurance…
“Briggs,” a familiar voice called out, pulling me out of my
fog.
I cocked my head to the side.
“Briggs, do you remember me? I’m Aubrey’s mom.”
I nodded unable to form words.
“They’re not going to let you go back there, honey. You’re
not immediate family. It’s hospital policy. He’s in good hands. I promise I
will do everything I can to make sure he comes out of this alive. That being
said, there’s a chance he’s not… he was dead for too…” She placed her hand on
my shoulder in a comforting gesture with hesitation, unsure how to proceed. “Honey,
you need to call his family as soon as possible, time may not be on our side
today. They need to be here now.”
I nodded again as she reassuringly squeezed my shoulder. I
walked out the double doors of the emergency room, wanting some privacy. The
cool breeze was a welcome feeling against my feverish face. The chaos all
around me was too hard to ignore. I reached into my pocket for my phone and it
was then that I noticed I was shaking. I couldn’t form one coherent thought as
I dialed his number. Shame and remorse submerged me, pulling me under, making
it hard to breathe.
“Hello,” he answered. I opened my mouth to say something,
anything, but nothing came out.
“Darlin’, are you there?”
“Dylan,” I softly whispered his name into the phone. He was
Austin’s best friend, and the only one that knew the truth.
“Briggs? Are you alright?”
“I-it’s Austin,” I blurted out, my voice breaking, the words
causing my stomach to turn.
“What?”
“It’s Austin, Dylan.”
“Is he—”
“He OD’ed. He’s in the ICU. They don’t know if he’s going to
make it,” I informed him, my tone sounding distant and detached.
“Jesus Christ,” he rasped. “What the fuck, Briggs? You
promised me. You fucking promised me if I—”
“I’m sorry,” I wept, tears streaming down my face. “I’m so
fucking sorry.”
“How did it get this bad? How has it come to this? How could
you let this happen?” he roared question after question, looking for answers I
didn’t have.
I violently shook my head. “I tried. I swear to God I
fucking tried! You have to believe me, Dylan!”
“No, Briggs. You didn’t. You’re the reason he’s there. If he
dies, it’s on you, do you fucking hear me? You!”
I shut my eyes, my phone falling from my trembling hand,
crashing to the ground. My body shuddering, knowing in my heart, he was right.
It wasn’t always like this.
At least…
MEET THE OTHER BOYS IN THE SERIES
COMPLICATE ME
FORBID ME
UNDO ME
CRAVE ME PRE-ORDER
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