Induced Euphoria.

"He's clean, Matt! He's been sober for two years now!" Laney screamed and rounded the corner into the hall, Matt was hot on her trail. 
"He was the one who introduced you to drugs Laney! He fucked up your life and now you're hanging out with him? What kind of fucking logic is that?" His face was turning a shade of pink and the vein running down his neck was bulging. 

"Look, I'm twenty one years old, I'm a fucking adult, I don't need this shit." Laney grabbed the blue duffle bag she brought to Matts house several days ago and began packing up her things. 
"Your actions aren't very adult like!" 
"Who are you, my father?" Laney screamed and grabbed a pile of her shoes and shoved the into the bag. She started with her clothes but Matt hit then out of her hands. 
"I'm not your father but I'm you're older brother, Im supposed to protect my baby sister. If you think you're going to fucking see that low life again, then you can just forget about it." 
"Oh really Matthew?" She said his name like venom and zipped the bag. "What can you do to stop me?" 
Silence filled the room as Laney made her way toward the front door. "Exactly," She laughed and shook her head. 
"You know who you sound like?" Matt crossed his arms and moved so he was only inches from her. "You sound like you fifteen year old self. You sound like my drug addicted sister. I guess things never change." Matt spat and marched out of the room, leaving Laney to wallow in self pity. 

She thought about it for a moment. This was the exact same argument she had with her family six years ago, when she first met Alex. Alex was somebody she had just met again so why was she throwing a fit the way she used? She stood in the door way, dropped her bag, and fell to her knees sobbing. She was going back, back to her days as a junkie and that terrified her. But still, that need and want to see Alex again was over powering. He was her addiction and that would never change. 

She sucked it up and made her way to her parked car. She felt like shit. She felt alone and tired, wasted and vulnerable so she pulled out her cellphone and dialed the one person she knew wouldn't judge her. "Hey Alex, can I come over?" 

Laney turned onto his street, the apartments he lived in weren't too far from the beach and the smell of sea salt was thick in the air. 
"Hey!" He smiled from the front door as she made her way up the stairs to his home. 
"Hey," It was right then that he noticed her blood shot eyes and puff lips. 
"Come in, let's talk." That was the thing about Alex. He cared for Laney no matter what. She remembered her mother would always say that he didn't care enough because if he did; he wouldn't have welcomed her to the world of drugs. The two sat talking for hours.

"So where do you work Lane?" Alex rested his feet upon the coffee table and took a sip of his coke can. 
"Well I'm a counselor for teenage drug abusers." She smiled and propped her head upon her elbows. "What about you?" 
"I'm a mechanic," He smiled. "I'm gonna start my own body shop in the next year, I just have to apply for some loans." 
Their simple conversations soon turned heavy as they discussed their road to recoveries and rehab horror stories. 

"Bye Alex," She smiled and watch intently as his hand reached for hers. 
"Bye Laney," He whispered huskily and pulled her close to him. Laney was a little hesitant as he hugged her but she was even more when he pulled away and brought his lips to hers. 
"Shit," Alex cursed and shook his head. "Too soon?" He laughed and rubbed her arm nervously. 
"A little, but we have time." She grinned and waved a goodbye. 

"I'm very disappointed in you Lane Sanders," Her weak mother spoke. "You should listen to your brother, this Alex guy is still bad news. I can feel it." 
"Mom," Laney sighed and shook her head. She didn't want to fight. 
"I hate seeing you like this Laney," He father joined. "We just want you to be happy and healthy, how can you do that when you're dating a horrible person." 
"He's not horrible dad," Laney sucked in her lower lip when she heard the heavy foot steps of her older brother, but to her surprise, Zacky was with him. 
"Were not talking about this shit in front of mom." Matt hissed in Laney's ear and went to hug him sickly mother. 
"Mrs. Sanders." Zacky grinned and hugged her. "You look beautiful." He kissed her cheek and moved to shake hands with their father. 
"Oh shut up Zack. You're a horrible liar." Their mother joked, earning a laugh from the family.
"Hey," Zacky breathed and leaned against the wall near Laney. 
"Hi Zack," She smirked and watched as Matt conversed with his mom. 
"So I'm having this party tomorrow night, I know Matt wouldn't invite you because he's pissed right now. So you wanna come?" He asked and sucked in one of his snake bites. 
"You know what?" She glanced at her brother. "I would love to come, what time?" 
"Be there by 9," He grinned and let his hand touch her hip. He slowly slid his fingers down her thigh, sending shivers throughout Laney's spine. 

The clock struck 9:00 and Laney knew it was time to get going. Zacky didn't love to far from her house according to the directions and she wanted there to be a crowd so she didn't have to run into her brother. The house was spilling out people, some she recognized from bands and others she just new from around town. Music was rattling the windows and several kegs were lined up by the side yard. Laney shouldn't have been there, it was dangerous. 

"You made it!" A voice startled her as she made her way into the rather large home. Zacky pulled her into a hug and let Jimmy squeeze her to death. 
"Laney!" He boomed and raised his beer into the air. "I love you!" She could tell he was borderline drunk and it made her giggle. Jimmy was a fun person to be around in general but when her got drunk; everything was funnier. 
"What are you doing here?" That voice she didn't want to hear that night echoed in her ears. "You shouldn't be here Laney." Laney turned to face him. She expected to see a face full of anger but instead she got worry. "I'm gonna take you home." 
"Matt, I'm okay." She said calmly. She didn't want to fight with him, he was only trying to protect her. "I can handle myself." 
"Are you sure?" He asked, craning his neck so he could look her directly in the eyes. 
"Positive," She grinned. "Now someone get me a coke." Her statement made everyone laugh, including an anxiety ridden older brother. 

Laney moved through out the house, watching others drink and party. It was times like these were she wished she didn't have to watch her self every two seconds. She wished she could just let loose and party like all the others. But she wasn't normal, she was a recovering drug addict. 
"Calm down," Zackys soothing voice appeared in her ear and an arm wrapped around her waist. "You're okay. I'm watching you." He wasn't drunk but the can of beer in his hand was taunting Laney. 
"Would it be weird if I asked if we could go to your room?" She bit her lower lip and motioned upstairs. He smiled and nodded, took her hand and led her to the empty bedroom.

"I thought you can't like me?" He laughed as she sat down on the bed and he closed the door behind them. 
"I told you I have an addictive personality." She smiled. Laney had to addictions. One was Alex and the other was Zack. She though the if her obsession with Zack grew, she could forget about Alex. 

Zack set his beer on the table and moved to stand directly in front of her. "So what are we going to do?" His voice was husky and low, she knew exactly what he wanted. She wanted it too. In one swift movement he had Laney on her back, his lips attached to her plump ones. 

His hands slid from her waist to her chest, her back to her ass. He smiled and pulled away for just a moment to remove his shirt. His lips met her neck forcefully and her petite hands reached for his belt buckle. 

Laney woke up to a tattooed chest and heavy arms wrapped around her body. She gasped for a moment but when those green orbs met hers she was immediately calm. "Hey," His voice was rough. 
"Hi," She squeaked and let her dark curls fall into her eyes. Zack smirked and lifted his hand to brush her hair back. "You're beautiful." He mumbled and pressed his lips against her forehead. 
"Zack," She sighed and snuggled into his chest. "What did we do." It wasn't a question, more of a statement. 
"You don't regret it, do you?" He sat up, pulling Laney across his lap. 
"No," She smiled. "Not at all. I just, I just don't want to start anything. I mean we barely know each other." 
"We can get to know each other," He kissed her lips gently. "Can I take you out tomorrow?" The morning sunlight reflected from his eyes and she could see her self perfectly in those mirrors. 
"I'd like that," She beamed and kissed him once more. "We just can't tell Matt that this happened." 
"He would chop my fucking balls off," Zack laughed and pulled the comforter over their heads.