Black by T.l Smith Read Free Book Online Page A

he got rid of me, made me run. He’s evil.”
    “How, Rose? I don’t understand.” Her head shakes back and forth and I want to reach over and grab it and make her look, to make her see. My arm comes up, showing her the inside of my arm. She yelps, her eyes taking in all the track marks. Her hand flies up and covers her mouth.
    “You’re a druggie?” Her eyes are wide in disbelief.
    “Yes,” I spit at her. She looks at me properly now, noticing my sunken cheeks, my protruding bones.
    “What does your drug problem have to do with Roger?” she asks, finally working things out.
    “He held me down, inserted it into me for days, then weeks, then months. Until the point where I’d do anything for a hit.” I pull my arm back, touching the marks and hoping one day they’ll leave my body.
    “How... how?” she stutters.
    “I tried to tell you, that day you kicked me out of your house.”
    “You wanted money, Rose. Money for that!” She points to my hidden arm.
    “I needed help. Help which you didn’t want to give me.” I shake my head at her. She’s so wrong.
    “You were high every time I saw you?” she screeches. I choose not to answer that. I continue eating my food in silence, and she does the same. No words are spoken until we’re finished eating.
    “Where are you staying?” Her voice is soft now. I shrug my shoulders. I haven’t worked that out yet, I didn’t get very far. “Stay with me.” My head shoots up at her. She can’t be serious. The last time I saw her she shut the door in my face and told me to never come back.
    “Just one night,” I agree. I do need somewhere to sleep. The streets are cold at night, and I don’t want to try my luck with Roger. Who knows what he’ll do to me.
    “As long as you want, Rose.”

    Her house is much the same. It’s nightfall and I’m watching her make dinner as she talks about her mysterious man. Her home is a one story very basic house—white walls, cream sofas, no pictures on the walls.
    “When is your fiancé due home?” We’ve been chatting about life, well, her life. Nothing much, just how she works now at an office in the same building as Roger. She doesn’t elaborate on that, she stopped when she mentioned his name, pausing looking at me then carrying on.
    “Any minute now,” she beams with the thought of him.
    “What does he do?” All I know is that she’s in love with this man and that he’s nothing like her previous relationships.
    “He owns his own business, works odd hours, sometimes he’s gone nights. But he said he was excited to meet you. I told him all about you.” I cringe. I’ve known Casey for six years. I was never as bad as I was toward the end. I thought when she saw me in a place that was so wrong, that my spoken words she would have believed the truth. She didn’t, she slammed the door in my face, never wanting to see me again. She was my best friend, the only person I had left, and then the door slammed on that part of my life.
    A door slams, Casey squeals and runs toward it leaving me sitting at the bench. I hear kissing, whispers, and then they walk in. He’s not what I expected. I thought he’d be someone more like Roger, someone who’s fake, but he isn’t, I can tell straight away. He sizes me up, looks at me with questioning eyes. He’s tall, almost as tall as Black. His head is shaven, he’s built, but looks very dangerous. His jeans are ripped, his shirt is tight, showcasing his muscles. He has on black boots which remind me of Black’s. Why is he in my head? He tied me to a bed for fuck’s sake . But he also saved me.
    “You a druggie, girl?” he asks, stepping closer. I feel like I want to sink into the chair and hide.
    “Sax,” Casey says, embarrassed.
    “Yes,” I reply, looking straight up to him. There’s no need to deny it, it’s evident by the way I look.
    “You need to leave,” he says, stepping back, waving his hand to the door.
    I stand and Casey screams, “No!”
    “She