Accidental Addiction

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^*Matt’s POV*^
Laying with Allison I drifted off, and Sarah couldn’t have been more pissed when I came in the next morning, trying to sneak into bed without being noticed, but as soon as I shut the squeaky door and turned around- BAM! She was standing right there, scaring the shit out of me as I slammed myself back against the door.

“Where in the hell have you been Matt?!” She screamed, and I sighed, putting a hand over my heart as its erratic beating continued on, threatening to bust through my ribcage.

“I-I had to work late, because Mr. Fincher’s son got killed in Iraq, and he couldn’t come into work so I was left with a shit load of papers to file.” I breathed, and she glared. “I fell asleep sometime around one. I was exhausted, and I still am.”

“Really? Well, I called Frank, and he said you went home early.” Damn you Frank!

“No, I went out to get some food, because I knew I would be in the office all night.” I had gotten used to lying to Sarah, she may look smart, but she’s like a rock. I didn’t know how I still loved her. Her expression dropped and she came up to me, putting her hands on my shoulders.

“I’m sorry, Matt, I just worry about you. Driving all the way from LA back here in the dark. It’s stressful, I mean, you could get in an accident, or something worse.” She said, and kissed me on the cheek. I swear, sometimes I do believe she’s bipolar. She screams and yells at me one second, and then expects me to crawl all over her the next. Sometimes I just wish I could build up the strength to just toss her out. But I couldn’t, instead I brushed it off, like I always do, and wrap my arms around her waist.

“It’s okay.”

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^*Alison’s POV*^
I woke up, and Matt was nowhere to be found. Luckily. I was hurting, and wasn’t in the mood to put up with anyone. I got up and walked into the kitchen, and started fixing coffee. I already had my schedule for today planned out. I needed something to take away the pain. Lance should be by around lunch to help me restock, and as soon as he leaves I’ll be ripping up floorboards. Lance is a nice guy, I’ve known him for a little over a year, he isn’t that into drugs, he may do a bump every once in a while, but he’s mostly just a dealer. Anything you have on your mind, he can get it. I sometimes wonder how he doesn’t get addicted. Oh, wait, I do know. He knows when to stop. He gets into the hole, but gets out just before the ceiling closes him in. He knows when to break loose. He’s not like me. I climbed into a bottomless pit, and never got out. I tried, once or twice, but I always wind up slipping and falling on the third day. While I waited for the coffee, I went back into my room to check and make sure my closet hasn’t been touched. I know Matt would never go through my things, hell he doesn’t even know where I keep my things, but when you’re like me, you don’t really trust anyone. Once you get consumed by booze and drugs, you get a bit more paranoid than you were before. I stared down at the floor, my crowbar over in the dark corner, resting beside the candle I used to see by. Nothing had been touched. The boards hadn’t been jarred, everything was still the same way I left it the other night. I closed the door, and as I turned around, I noticed something. I walked over to my nightstand, and picked up a small piece of paper, folded in half, with my name on it in Matt’s handwriting. I unfolded it and read what it said.

‘Allison, sorry I had to leave, but it’s eight AM, and Sarah’s going to have a fucking heart attack (if she hasn’t already). I’ve decided I need to check up on you more. Especially now that these attacks have gotten worse. I’ll be back after work. –Matt’

I smiled. The first genuine smile that had inhabited my lips in a while. I quickly let it drop though. I can’t let him get close. This is not good. Last night was horrible. I know I made him stay, but that was my conscious-self thinking, my human side. I don’t trust men anymore. Not after what happened between Steven and I. Matt was a nice person, but I couldn’t let him get close. I don’t give a fuck if he is wanting to protect me from Steven, I can’t let him get close. I let Steven get close, and now look where that took me, down a road of broken bones, bruises, and hurt. I sat down on the edge of my bed, and stared down at the note. I could put up with him once a week, and know that he’s not going to hurt me, but every day is getting too close for comfort. Even though I tried to convince myself that Matt would never hurt me, I was scared. What would happen if he came over when Steven just happened to drop by? What would happen to Steve? Shit, what would happen to Matt? Steve is a big guy, I’m like a rag doll to him. Matt would be a match. Matt could get hurt. Now, I’m not scared of him, I’m scared for him.

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As I wait for four PM to roll around, I was still on edge, not from drugs, but from fear. I had tried to stay away from my closet all day, because I was afraid. Usually, fear draws me towards my haven, but this time, it pulled me away. I decided I needed to be clean when Matt came over, because Steven shows up at weird, unexpected times, and if he showed up, I would need to be alert, and have my head screwed on straight so I could stop anything that could turn out bad. Sure enough, at three fifty five, there was a knock on the door, and I went to answer it, and I was expecting it to be Matt, so I had already unfastened the chain lock. I opened the door, and then saw who it was. I quickly tried to shut the door, but he put his hands against it, and pushed it back.

“Woah. Baby, aren’t happy to see me?” He asked, and I backed up, shaking my head. He came in and shut the door back, sliding the chain lock in place. His eyes were completely shot, and his dark hair was messed up, and his skin looked a sickly pale gray color.

“Please Steven, please, not today.” I begged as he made his way towards me, with a grin on his face. He leaned in and kissed my lips. I’m not letting this happen again. I brought my hand up, and pushed him away, and took off. Bad idea. He caught me at my bedroom door, and pulled me back by my hair. There was a knock on the door as my head hit the floor.

“You’re not going anywhere.” Steven said, and there was another knock. It was sure to be Matt.

“Help! Help! Pl-”

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^*Matt’s POV*^
I knocked a few times, and then there was a loud thud from inside. I knocked again, and what erupted made my stomach turn.

“Help! Help! Pl-” Allison’s cries suddenly stopped. I didn’t know what to do. If she’s on another one of her mixed up concoctions, then I’m not staying. The last thing I need is to go home with a black eye. But what if something’s actually wrong? What if whoever keeps beating her up is here? Shit, she could- The door opened, and half of Allison’s face came into view. The small chain lock was restraining the door from opening anymore.

“G-go away Matt.” She stuttered, and I looked at her concerningly.

“Allison, what was that? I heard you scream. Is everything okay?” I asked, and she nodded.

“Yea, ev-everything’s fine. I just…thought my floor was crumbling beneath my feet.” She muttered, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.

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^*Allison’s POV*^
“Oh... You’re okay?” Matt asked again, and I nodded shakily, and I tried to secretly reach a hand out to his shirt, to try and send him a message that something was wrong, but Steven grabbed my arm, and twisted it behind my back. I had to bite my lip to keep from crying out as he pressed the gun deeper into my temple.

“I’m-I’m fine, just go.” I didn’t want him getting hurt. He hesitantly nodded.

“Bye.”

“B-bye.” I struggled to whisper, and he turned and walked away. I had a way out of this hellish nightmare, and I let him walk away. But I did it for the both of us. So Steven wouldn’t kill me, or Matt.

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^*Matt’s POV*^
I can’t believe I just let myself do that. Something wasn’t right. She sounded scared. Although, she said she thought her floor was crumbling. That’s one thing I hate about her: since she takes so much shit, and she has that lunatic that beats the fuck out of her, sometimes when I come over and she won’t let me in, I don’t know if it’s because she’s silently freaking out in her mind from all of the drugs, or if whoever is beating her is there, and she’s too ashamed for me to come in and fight her battle for her. Half of the time, I want to make her open the door all the way, and let me in, I snapped that chain one time, because as soon as she shut the door she started screaming like she had just seen a dead body. They really need to make those chains sturdier, so someone can’t break it with one little tug. It took forever for me to find the one she has now. I walked out of the building and got in my car. Well, Sarah should be happy that I’m getting home on time today.

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^*Allison’s POV*^
I tried to crawl away from Steven as he threw me down me down on the bed and crawled on top of me. I elbowed him in the face, and tried for the seventh time to get to the phone. He had been trying to get my clothes off for an hour now, but tonight I wasn’t giving in. Maybe it was because I didn’t have any heroin or crack flowing through my system and I could think straight. He got off of me, yelling in pain. I fell off of the bed, and immediately got up and ran into the living room, grabbing the cordless phone off of the couch. I heard him behind me as I grabbed the phone, and dialed Matt’s number, it rang once, twice-

“Allison?” He answered, and I heard Steven coming towards me.

“Matt-Matt, he’s here, he’s-” I was cut off as the phone was jerked from my hand, and I turned on my heel as Steven cut it off, and drew his fist back. I never even saw it coming, but I was knocked out cold before I hit the floor.

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“Allison! Allison, open the door!” I slowly came to, laying in bed, naked. Even through the throbbing headache, I sat up. Steven was gone. Like always. I quickly got on some clothes as Matt continued to bang on the door.

“I’m coming!” I yelled, and he stopped knocking. I stumbled out of my bedroom, past the bathroom, past the kitchen, into the living room. I opened the door, and for a second I thought by the look on his face, that Matt had seen a ghost.

“Oh my god, Allison, what in the hell happened?” He asked, and I looked down at my arms, scratches and cuts, a few bruises on each one. Last night wasn’t me giving in so Steven wouldn’t kill me; last night was a war.

“I’m…I’m not really sure.” Bits a pieces of yesterday were complete black spots. I remember fighting with Steven, for a long time, but it was only a few pieces of what happened. I can’t really remember all of it.

“Allison…you have got to stop hiding shit, and start talking.” He said, and I moved out of the way so he could come in. He came in, and when I looked back up at him he shrunk away slightly.

“Is it that bad?” I asked, and he slowly nodded. “I-I don’t remember much. I don’t even know what time it is.” I said, shaking my head, and he sighed.

“It’s six PM. I’ve been knocking and yelling for over an hour. I got a call from you last night, but I couldn’t get over here because Sarah was up. Do you remember calling me?” I shook my head no, he sighed and gently grabbed my hand and started leading me towards the bathroom. I leaned back against the counter, as he started pulling out medical supplies. “You don’t remember who did this either?” Matt asked, inspecting my face. I didn’t even look in the mirror. He reached over and grabbed a fresh wash cloth, and ran some water on it. I was hesitant about answering his question, but I did with a small nod. It was time he knew.

“Yea, I do.” I said quietly, and he turned the water off.

“Who was it?” He asked, and I looked down. “Allison,” He lifted my face up. “You can tell me. I won’t tell anyone.” He said, and I sighed as he started getting dried blood off of my cheek. I fell silent for a second, contemplating if I should tell him about Steven.

“I can’t tell you. He’ll kill me.” I whispered, and Matt instantly stopped, and got a concerned look on his face.

“He’ll kill you?” He asked, and I nodded.

“I got him thrown in jail, and three months later he got out, and he said that he wouldn’t kill me if I did whatever he wanted me to.” I watched as his eyes filled with even more concern.

“Allison, just tell me his first name. I promise, I won’t tell a soul. He’ll never know that you told me.” Matt said, and I took a deep breath.

“Steven.” I said quietly. “He’s a horrible person.”

“Is this what’s been happening for the past four years? All of those times you said you’d tripped, and fallen, and blamed it on clumsiness?” He asked, and I nodded.

“I was afraid for my own life.” I looked down, feeling fear wash over me. “And now I’m afraid for yours, too.”