Somebody That I Used to Know Ch. 02

Alexandra didn't bother hiding her surprise, and to a great extent disgust, at Liam's living conditions. "This is a shithole Liam."

"I know but it was all I could get and I've just sort of got use to it."

"How could you get use to this?" She asked as she watch the ceiling leak.

"Drugs help."

Alexandra did a double-take, did Liam really just say that. She watched as he took a kit out from under his mattress, belt, needle, spoon, lighter, heroin. He wasn't joking.

Liam could see her shock. "It helps me Alex, I need to forget a lot of shit. I need to forget about Maggie, about Katie about Tyler. About everything and this helps me."

"Does..? Does it really make you forget?"

"Mostly yeah."

Alexandra sat down in front of him. "Give me a hit."

"What? Alex no I still have some morality."

"Fuck that Liam, I have a lot I need to forget, give me a hit."

She was determined and he was in no place to criticizes her, somewhat reluctantly Liam readied two needles. Alexandra watched in rapt fascination as Liam cooked two separate spoons of solid heroin into liquid form, while the liquid was bubbling Liam wrapped his belt around his arm, instructing Alexandra to do the same with her belt.

"Tap your elbow, get the blood pumping, get a vein up."

Alexandra tapped the crook of her elbow, her arm felt weird but it did het her veins up. Liam handed her the syringe.

"Put the needle in your vein, slowly."

Alexandra held her breath to stop her hand from shaking, she placed the needle on her arm and pushed forward.

"Stop."

Alexandra froze immediately from Liam's outburst. He took the needle from her.

"That's a bad angle, you'll only hurt herself. Here let me do it."

Liam placed the needle on Alexandra's arm, she could see what he meant by the angle. That tingling in her arm increased as the needle went into her vein, she had a sharp intake of breath when Liam extracted some of her blood to mix with the heroin.

Then he pressed the plunger.

The feeling of warmth surged through her body, the years, decades, of pain and hurt that she'd suffered disappeared in an instant, right then she was in a different place, a better place. She felt nothing.

She didn't even feel herself throw up.

"That's ok Alex, everyone throws up the first time. Everyone does it." Liam pushed his own needle into his vein, he felt the same warmth as her, despite being on heroin for nearly the past year, taking that hit with Alexandra would remain one of the best.

Alexandra wiped the vomit from her mouth, she crawled over to Liam, feeling the warmth emanating from him, she could hear his soul. When she kissed him they both felt their spirits dance together, they became warmer, they became calmer, the past disappeared further into the backs of their minds.

Liam scooted himself onto the mattress, Alexandra took her top off, followed by her trousers, wearing only her underwear she crawled onto Liam who had also stripped to his boxers. His body was pale but so far still in a good shape, a lot thinner than before the drugs but he hadn't wasted away yet. Alexandra stroked his roasting chest, touching his heartbeat, feeling it wash over her body.

Liam undid her bra, pulling it off her body. He smiled at the sight of her breasts.

"They're beautiful. You're beautiful."

Alexandra kissed him again, they're bodies were melting together, somehow they managed to get their pants off, rubbing against each other's naked flesh, intertwining together. When Liam rolled on top of Alexandra and pushed his dick into her sopping cunt she felt a feeling she'd never felt before, she felt a connection with Liam that she'd never had with anyone else, was it him, the heroin of both she couldn't tell and didn't care, the pleasure in her mind was explosive.

They stayed together for hours, slowly fuckin and rubbing against each other. Their drugged up bodies were in such a numb state they went for ages without cumming, they didn't even noticed when either of them did cum, the only evidence of their orgasms being the juices on their groins.

Sometime later, who knows how long, the two of them lay on the mattress, both naked, both still high from the heroin and both spilling out their souls.

"I knew I was losing her a long time ago. She could smell the affairs on me, every time I came home I could see her nose crinkle at their stench."

Alexandra handed him their shared cigarette. "Why did you do it?"

"I don't know. I really fuckin don't I mean I loved Maggie, I still do and God knows I'll never forget my kids. Maybe I'm just that fuckin stupid, maybe I'm weak."

"Adam said he was weak, that's why he cheated on Kaitlin, why I cheated on Ellis. It's bullshit, if you're that weak why did you start a relationship in the first place. Never start something you're never going to finish, you don't know what's it's like when something's finished for you and it's not your fault."

Liam looked over at Alexandra, she wiped a tears from her eye, with her free hand she gently stroked her empty womb.

"You Ok Alex?"

"Yeah, it's nothing. God look at me, crying over something I never even met."

Liam rolled over and kissed Alexandra, She whimpered softly at the touch of his lips, their connected souls crying out with want and need.

"Fix me up another hit Liam."

Month 1

This became their lives, drugs and fucking. They barely left the apartment except for heroin and occasionally food. The once disgusting apartment became a home to Alexandra, she didn't even notice the dried vomit stain on the floor, hers from the first day.

Neither of them wore clothes anymore, no need to when it's just the two of them, made it easier to fuck that way. One time Alexandra was leaning over the kitchen counter to get some food and was surprised to feel Liam come up behind her and start fucking her from behind. To anyone else being pushed up against the cold, hard counter would be agony but Alexandra was on a permanent high form the drugs so she felt nothing but pleasure.

Those were the happy times, she and Liam would talk for hours, days even, just connecting with each other. Neither of them could keep track of time, they could be fucking on Monday, falling asleep on Saturday and waking up on Wednesday with no knowledge of what happened to them in all that time. If it wasn't for the neighbours' paper, which they stole, they would never know the day, everything just melded into one another, days were interchangeable, as were weeks and hours and months and seconds.

But none of it mattered to them, they had each other, they had the world's best painkiller and they had their sexual health.

Month 2

The life of a junkie is not a prosperous one, this meant that once a month Liam and Alexandra exited their hovel and ventured into the strange, bright world in order to get whatever money they could . They were a sight every time they went out, in searing heats they were wrapped up warm to prevent the shivers, in the dullest days they wore sunglasses to hide their dilated pupils, if there's one thing a junkie hates more than no drugs it's judgement.

Their first stop was toilets, mostly pubs and restaurants, on the off-chance that some-one had dropped some money, they found pound coins more often than not and on a rare occasion they caught a £5 note or even a £10 one. However these were few and far between and mostly they had to resort to stealing money from people – which was incredibly risky – or stealing scrap metal and selling it, it wasn't good money but it got them by.

Month 3

From time to time one of them would utter the magic words, normally it was Liam.

"Alright that's it Alex I'm done, I'm off the stuff."

With Alexandra being the co-dependent junkie she had become she followed whatever Liam did, so when he quit the drugs she quit as well. But they never had the guts the throw away the heroin, they could only put it in the cupboard and lock it away, usually with a bike lock and then throwing the key away.

It never worked out for them, they always ended up paranoid, shaking, screaming, arguing and at a few points they even got violent, when Alexandra was having a nightmare she accidentally punched Liam in the face, giving him a black eye.

Month 4

It wasn't long before the cupboard was broken open and they were both back on the stuff.

By now their relationship was just one long drugged-up orgy, days were meaningless, weeks lasted seconds and a minute could go on for an hour, they couldn't keep track of anything, only when they wanted a next hit and when they needed to go out to get it.

Month 5

With their drug habit costing quite a bit there were a few months were they couldn't pay their dealer on time, usually he gave them a week to pay but now they hadn't been able to pay for a long time and he was looking for payment.

Their dealer was a sadistic man called Cyril Moreno, he was around their age, maybe a few years older but his mannerisms and body language made him seem almost a decade older. His eyes would always stare lecherously at Alexandra but he never touched her.

Of course when Liam and Alexandra couldn't pay he offered an alternative, Alexandra caught on quickly and accepted what she had to do. Liam was less encouraged.

"No, no, you are not doing that."

"Liam it's fine, I'm basically a whore anyways, what's one more random guy."

"This is different Alex, you're with me. I care about you."

Alexandra felt her heart sob, Liam was in love with her, and truthfully she was beginning to fall for him. But this was something she needed to do. She kissed Liam then went to face Cyril.

He wasn't gentle, he fucked her from behind, his sweaty stomach slapping against her ass, his hands clumsily groping her breasts. She numbed herself out of the experience but was shot back in when his cock violently entered her ass, it wasn't long before he shot his cum into her ass. Alexandra tried to get dress but the one remaining dress she had left was torn and her panties were un-wearable now. She walked back to Liam's house in tatters, when she got back she felt a single tear go down her cheek. Liam simple told her;

"You are not doing that again."

And for there on out they always had the right amount of money beforehand.

Month 6

After buying their latest batch from Cyril, Liam and Alexandra took a wrong turn and ended up going past a primary school at closing time. Liam walked up to the gated fence and looked inside the playground at the children running towards their parents. Through them all he saw Maggie, she was on her knees hugging Katie, her daughter, Liam's daughter.

Full of sadness and regret Liam stumbled towards the two of them, Maggie saw him and walked quicker. Liam held out his arms towards Katie.

He began to speak; "Ma..."

"Sorry I don't have any money for you." She quickly interrupted him as she put Katie into the car.

"Maggie it's me, it's Liam."

Maggie shut the door and spoke in an angry whisper so Katie wouldn't hear. "I know who you are and you disgust me. Look at you, it was bad enough when you were just a cheater but now... You're a fuckin disgrace Liam, drugged up on God knows what and her? Is she one of you fellow junkie whores?"

"No, that's Alex, she's my friend. Maggie I want to see my daughter."

"She's not you're daughter, not anymore."

Liam could only watch as his ex got in her car and drove away with his daughter, he held back the tears but when he and Alexandra got home he took an almost dangerous amount of heroin and cried himself to sleep.

He awoke over a week later.

Month 7

And so this brought her to the present, according to yesterday's newspaper it was March. Alexandra got up and out of bed, her feet barely registering the hard, crusty vomit stain on the floor. Alexandra opened the door to steal the paper again but as she did she saw that across the hall another neighbour was trying to fit a large mirror through their door. Alexandra looked at the mirror, she couldn't believe was she saw.

No way was the reflection hers. She was stark naked and hadn't even realised it, her hair was long, messy, dirty and very straw-like, her skin was disgustingly pale with stains from food, blood, sweat and cum amongst other unknowns. Her body was horrifyingly thin, bones were seen against the skin and her once curvy body was now full of edges and sharp corners. Worst was her face, her eyes held pain and tiredness, she looked fifty five instead of twenty five.

Ignoring the paper she rushed back instead. Suddenly all the memories came back to her, for the first time she saw what she and Liam had become and what they had done. She was disgusted with herself and threw up on the floor, this new vomit pile landing right next to her first one form months ago. She needed help.

Alexandra got dressed, gathered what belongings of hers she hadn't sold yet and left a note for Liam before leaving his apartment, she saw the revolting mess for what it was again. She left the apartment quickly and ran outside.

The sun burnt her skin and blinded her, she had been a recluse for so long this was new to her, had it really been only eight months, she felt like she'd been hooked on heroin for years. Her head pounded, her throat was dry and she felt every inch of her ache, she practically ran to the hospital.

She rushed though the hospital doors and slammed herself against the reception desk.

"I need help." Was all she said.

Once the doctors were finished taking tests and filling in paperwork for her stay at rehab Alexandra was allowed to phone someone, she called Kieran and Carol but when Carol picked up the phone Alexandra couldn't get past her name before bursting into tears. Thankfully a friendly nurse took the phone and told them where she was.

Alexandra needed all the help she could get

**

Adam was surprised when he got a phone call from Liam, despite having his number in his phonebook for years they hadn't talked since Jane's funeral. Liam had come into a bit of money from winning a bet and wanted to know where Adam was so he could visit.

Adam had been living in Las Vegas for the past year. He'd only meant to stop off there but like everything is his life he settled. He got a job as a bartender at a strip club, and was currently living in one of Vegas' great hotels. He didn't have a penthouse but it was near the top. All in all he was living The Good Life: Lite Version.

When the summer of 1997 came around Liam boarded a plane and went to visit Adam. They met in the terminal, hugging each other like the old friend's they were.

"It's good to see you Adam."

"You too Liam, Christ you look like you're wasting away, what happened to you?"

"I'll explain in the car. Come on."

Adam led Liam to his car, a small red thing but it was in good condition.

"So what you been up to?" Liam asked once they left the airport.

"Been working around here, bartender at a strip club and part-time blackjack dealer at one of the casinos."

"Sounds pretty good."

"It is, work nights so I get to see the city in the dark. Fuckin beautiful. What about you Liam, tell me what you've been doing."

"Ah I've been in the dumps and lower Adam, me and Maggie broke up last year, I was cheating on her and she found out. Haven't seen my kids since and I got started on heroin to forget it all."

"Fuck Liam, no wonder you're like that. You still on that shit"

"Not really, I locked myself in my room and de-toxed myself for about a month because I came here so if I start shaking don't worry."

"You sound like you've had it rough."

"Ah once you get use to the squalor it's no problem. Actually lived with this girl for a few months, guess we had a relationship but she took off one day for rehab and I haven't seen her since."

"Sounds like you had a druggy romance."

"Yeah, I guess I did."

"What was her name?"

"Ah you don't know her."

"I wouldn't think so I've been living in America for six, seven years."

"She was no-one ok and I'd rather not talk about her."

"Ok, I'm sorry."

Liam stayed quiet for the rest of the journey. Adam could see that this strange girl obviously meant something to Liam and she hurt him.

Nevertheless when they stepped out the elevator and into Adam's apartment Liam couldn't contain how impressed he was.

"Woo, Adam you've hit the big time here."

"It's nothing much, you save up a bit and get a few small wins downstairs and even you can get this. I've only been here a few months, the first three months living here I slept at the bar I was working at."

"They let you."

"No."

The two friends laughed. "So listen Liam I've got the week off, what do you want to do?"

"Hey man you're the one that lives here, you know all the places to hit up. Where do we start?"

"Let's grab a pizza first then we'll head out, gamble a little, pick up some chicks, party."

"Normal Friday night?"

"Friday? This is my usual Monday."

The two friends headed downstairs, by now it was getting dark and the lights were coming on. Liam was impressed but couldn't believe it when Adam said they got better. They walked down the street to a small pizza restaurant, it was fairly busy but not too bad. The door opened with a bell to let the owner know someone had come in, one of the cooks looked over the counter and smiled at Adam.

"Mr McAllister, it's been too long."

The two men shook hands.

"Only a few weeks Martin. Oh Martin this is my friend Liam, Liam this is Martin, he owns the restaurant."

Liam shook Martin's hand. "Hey."

"Hello sir, what can I get you Adam, it's on the house, as always."

"Get me a two deluxe options Martin."

"Right away sir, what shall you choose for a topping?"

"Make mine a plain, extra cheese if there is any. If I know Liam he'll have a pepperoni."

"I'll get right on that. Take a seat."

Adam and Liam took a booth near the window. "On the house? What'd you do to get him so happy?"

"Martin's got Mob connections, he had some trouble with protection money so the mob were going to kidnap his daughter. And trust me, this mob is a particularly sexually vicious mob, what they do to kidnap victims is worse than dying. Anyway I'd been flirting with his daughter for a good week and was just about to score a date with her so I did something about it. I paid the protection money and he's been looking after me ever since."

"Awesome, what happened with you and the daughter?"

"Nothing much, we fucked a couple of times but we knew it wasn't anything serious. Besides last Christmas she and her friends took a vacation to New York and she met a guy there."

Martin arrived with their pizzas, surprisingly fast though Liam but this was Vegas, maybe it was different here. Liam opened his pizza box and to his surprise there was a phone number written under the cover.

"Hey Adam, what's this number on the box for?"

Adam smiled. "That's the deluxe option. Martin runs a prostitution ring from the restaurant, if you want company you ask for the deluxe option, then you pick what type of girl you want, you want blonde you get a plain cheese, you want redhead, which I remember you have a thing for, you get pepperoni and if you want brunette you get the meat feast. You can even choose to get a stacked girl by asking for extra on your pizza, like I ordered extra cheese, or you can go for the vegetarian option if you want a skinny girl. You can even have coffee if you want a black girl or rice if you're into Asians."

"That last one's pretty racist."

"I know but I didn't write the rules up. Anyway we're giving the phone numbers because they can't have the prostitutes in the restaurant, whenever we're ready we call them and pick them up. What do you think?"

"I'm a little hesitant over picking up two manky hookers."

"They're not streetwalking whores they're escorts, real girls that are the real deal. You'll love them Liam."