Page 80 of Bad for You

When she’s free, she shoves me in the chest, making her contempt for me more than clear.

I simply chuckle in response.

She leads the way, and we walk in silence, both of us wanting this over with.

No one bothers us because, let’s face facts, we’re the ones who would fuck shit up. Everyone keeps to themselves in this part of town anyway. A haven for those who just want to disappear and not belong.

It’s a dark night; even the moon doesn’t want to come out and witness the shit about to go down.

“What does he look like?” Bria says, breaking the silence.

Her voice is almost alien-like out here in the quiet. But we both know it’s the quiet before the storm.

She reads my hesitation for what it is—I don’t know what the grown-up Lewis looks like. “Fucking great. A name, then?”

“Lewis.”

The falter to her step confirms my worst fears.

I don’t know what I’m about to walk into, but it won’t be good.

When we approach the house, I stop and take a moment to appreciate it because it would have been quite a sight in its heyday. This three-story Victorian mansion would have been the envy of many back in the day.

Now, however, it’s rotting away; its dilapidated state is a reminder that nothing lasts forever. Regardless of this, though, the impressive home still stands tall at the end of a long dirt driveway. The surrounding cornfields just add to the eerie vibe.

Under different circumstances, I could appreciate the macabre sight, but now, this place is merely a reminder of what my brother has become.

I follow Bria as she walks toward the home, not surprised that a soul isn’t out here. I am surprised, however, when she detours around the back.

She reads my hesitation instantly. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

I prepare myself for anything, but when I see what looks like a once guesthouse, I realize I probably can never prepare for this.There is no door, so we walk in and are greeted with what can only be described as hell on earth.

Countless candles are scattered around the room, providing a warm glow for the inhabitants to shoot up and pass out in an ethereal bubble, forgetting the world exists outside this place.

Bria steps over the bodies strewn out on the dirty carpet, strung out on whatever shit they’ve ingested. The fact they’re so subdued hints at heroin.

Lewis can’t be here.

The people we step over are someone’s brother, sister, father, or mother, but they chose this lonely path that only ever ends in misery. I wonder what led them here.

I wonder a lot of things.

The vibe gets darker the farther we venture. It smells of stale beer, piss, and sex. The orange hue from the candles just adds to the macabre ambience. It feels like I’m awaiting a jump scare from a B-horror movie.

Bria stops just outside a room, hinting she has no intention of holding my hand.

Taking a composing breath, I enter the room. My eyes take a moment to adjust because, if possible, it’s even darker in here. But as I see a young man slumped against the wall with a tourniquet tied tightly around his arm and a needle hanging from his limp fingers, I realize this vision will forever be entwined in darkness because that young man is my brother.

I’d recognize that shaggy blond hair anywhere. But it’s now clumped together in a dirty mess. He was always skinny, but now, he’s nothing but skin and bones.

“It’s him?” Bria asks from behind me, her voice the only thing that forces me to believe this nightmare as real.

I nod, never taking my eyes off Lewis.

“We gotta go. Now.” The urgency in her voice hints this scene isn’t the worst of it.

Dropping to a squat in front of Lewis, I remove the needle from his fingers and throw it into the corner of the room where ten others just like it are piled.

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