Sempiternal

Three months. That was all it took.

The sun blazed through the open curtains and flooded the room with warmth. The alarm hadn’t sounded yet, but Lucy Moore was already wide awake. She laid there, snuggled in her covers, staring at the ceiling, processing everything that was happening. It brought a smile to her face. She was excited. Ready to move forward in her life and start a new chapter.

She sat up and swung her feet over the bed, stretching and cracking her toes, lifting her arms up over her head with a big yawn. Her suitcases were waiting up against the wall by the door. They were already packed, with the exception of her outfit for today and her toothbrush. Everything was ready to go, and it felt so good.

She took a good look at herself in the mirror, followed by a deep breath. It was time. She turned on her heel, stuffed her toothbrush and last night’s pajamas in one of her bags, and made her way out into the hallway.

“Congratulations, Lucy.” She heard from one of the rooms.

“Thank you!” She called back.

“Congratulations, baby girl. Everyone is so proud of you. We’re all going to miss you around here.” Lucy’s favorite nurse, Pamela, beamed at her.

She gave Pam a tight squeeze and smiled. “I’m going to miss everyone, too!”

When she finally reached the lobby there was a giant, glittery banner hanging over the sliding double doors reading, “CONGRATULATIONS LUCY”. She smiled brightly. There was cake, punch, and balloons everywhere. The nurses were dancing, 80s music played from the overhead speakers, and for once in her life, Lucy felt accomplished. She was proud of herself.

If you had asked her three months ago what she’d be doing with her life in three months, you wouldn’t have gotten an answer. Because three months ago Lucy Moore would have been drooling all over herself, incapable of staying conscious long enough to have a conversation; beyond fucked up on whatever drugs she could get her hands on.

Her favorite, heroin. There wasn’t anything better than that burst of euphoria. The feeling of complete peace, mentally and physically. The semi-conscious state of bliss that made time fly by. It was the scratch to satisfy that itch you have been dying to get at for a few hours. Nothing could compare to that high.

But it only took three months. Three months of hard work and dedication. Three months of curbing the craving to get the hell out of rehab and find an alley to shoot up in. She got through the withdrawal, the denial, the countless hours of group therapy, and found herself somewhere in between. She felt alive. Really alive.

Amongst the chaos, Lucy saw a familiar face sitting on one of the benches in the waiting area. Her lips formed into a thin line as she tried to suppress a huge smile.

“Hey you.” She said softly, nudging his knee with hers.

The man looked up from his cellphone and narrowed his eyes. “Do I know you?”

Lucy’s face scrunched up. “It’s me, silly!”

Her friend faked surprise. “No way! You’re not Lucy!” She rolled her eyes as a small smile played on the man’s lips. “Come here, kiddo. I missed you so much.”

Lucy wrapped her arms tightly around her friend’s torso. “I missed you too, Seth.” She mumbled into his chest. “So much. You can’t possibly imagine.”

“Trust me, I can.” He replied, kissing her hair softly.

She pulled away, holding him at arm’s length, afraid that if she let him slip away any further she wouldn’t see him again for another four years. He had changed so much. He was so much bigger; filled out. And he had bleached a large portion of his hair. But he still smelled like the same cologne, still had the same perfect smile and warm chocolate colored eyes.

“What? Is there something on my face?” He asked her.

“Just perfection.” She replied.

Seth smiled, giving her one more kiss on the forehead. “Let’s get out of here. We have a lot of catching up to do.” He grabbed her bags and headed for the exit.

Lucy took one last look at the crowd and waved them all a big goodbye. It was strange, but she would actually miss this place. Three months isn’t the longest amount of time, but she formed an incredible bond with many of these people, who, like her, were on the road to recovery.

The ride to the airport was silent for the most part, with the exception of Seth’s eccentric music playing in the background. Lucy couldn’t decide if it was a good kind of silence, or an awkward kind of silence. After all, it had been nearly four years since she had seen him. The last night being when he came to tell her he was leaving for Florida in the morning, because he had finally gotten his big break. And now he was a superstar. She never begged him to stay in Iowa, because she knew how much he wanted it, and how hard he had worked. She had been at almost every match he had. She knew how good he was, and she was proud of him. He deserved it. She couldn’t let her selfish wants get in the way of his dreams.

“So, you’re like, on Monday Night Raw now?” Lucy asked, trying to clear the air.

“You mean you haven’t been watching? I’m offended!”

She shrugged. “Haven’t really gotten around to it, no. There were no TV’s in rehab, and I sold my TV at home for-” She trailed off, not wanting to say the word ‘drug’.

Seth cleared his throat. “Yes, I am on Monday Night Raw.”

Lucy smiled, “that’s so cool.” She remembered all the nights that Seth would make her watch it with him, teaching her all the names of all the superstars and divas, and what kind of move was what. He studied the shows like books, knowing that one day he would be in that ring.

“I got you a job.” Seth blurted. “It was supposed to be a surprise, but I couldn’t hold it in any longer.”

“What!?”

“Yeah, it’s nothing huge, just selling t-shirts. I figured since you’re coming on the road with me so that I can keep an eye on you, you might as well make a little cash on the side.”

Lucy could barely contain her excitement. It took everything she had in her not to climb over the center console and smother her best friend in a hug. “I’m going to be working for WWE! Oh my God. Oh my God, I’m going to be working for WWE.”

Seth laughed, “I thought you’d get a kick out of that. You start tomorrow at Raw, it’s in Baltimore. There’s no uniform, but you should probably wear this.” He handed her a black shirt with three wolves on it that read “The Hounds of Justice”.

“The Hounds of Justice?” She asked.

“Man, you really haven’t been keeping up. It’s okay, I’ll get you all filled in on the plane.”