Love is a Drug

“You know what, she was in love with me, and I was in love with her. We were in love” I claimed as a rancid smell wafted past my face, turning my head to see I had been talking to a passed-out man. But I really did love her, and I’m sure she loved me too. The way she left wasn’t right and I wish I knew what I could do to bring her back, with all my money.

“Cheers!” the crowd bellows in a melody as glasses clink and champagne flies.

“Awe, thank you Son, you didn’t need to throw a party for me”

“Yes, I do Mum. Dad isn’t here to do it anymore so it’s my turn to take care of you”

“I love you Reggie”

“I love you more Mum, Happy Birthday!”

After walking around the crowd and finishing off most of my Father’s unfinished business, I spotted an unfamiliar figure. A beautiful one too. She looked like a woman who knew how to party but the way she presented herself told me she was here for business. “Maybe a client Dad had lined up before he passed” I pondered to myself. As she turned around, I soon realised, I had no idea who she was, where she was from or what she was here for. Business? My Father? Did she kill him? Me? What did she want? As she put out her hand and opened her mouth a British accent with a hint of top shelf champagne was introduced to me.

“Hello Reggie, I’m Kate”

I shook her hand as politely as I could. “How does she know my name?”

“Good Evening, Kate, Enjoying the party?”

“Yes, grandly. The champagne too.”

“Only the top shelf is served here. Talking about the location, what does bring you here”

“Well, I don’t think that is any of your business now, is it?” her words sparked something in me. Something strange.

“Well, you are at my party I’ve thrown for my mother. So, what business can I help you with? Or you can leave as I don’t have a clue on who you are or where you’re from so your status and rapport are useless. So, I suggest you make yourself useful and start speaking.”

A mutual disrespected look was exchanged amongst our eyes and she made her choice.

Walking out the door, I followed her out to make sure she left with nothing but the embarrassment she had just made of herself. Kate speaks up with an examine tone.

“Do you know why you have never heard of me? Or anything about me?”

“No.” I replied with the intent of not engaging.

“It's because my family is the richest of them all. Even more so than yours.”

A silence fell between us, I was just trying to get her to the car when she stopped us at the top of the stairs.

“My Father paid yours to keep his mouth shut about us. Now that they are both dead, I assumed I would be courteous and come see the son of the man my father paid to shut up. Not so much of a man like your father you are.”

I broke. I dragged her to the closest room and threw her in there and locked the door behind us. There was no way she was making it out of here alive. But there was something about Kate that had me hooked. I wanted to get to know her for who she was. All this rage was just a show to scare her away.

“You really think you can scare me? Calm down, have some of this”

She took out of her pocket a small bag with a powder that proved my suspicions right, she knows how to party.

“What is it?” I asked, curious

“It’s fun, it's a get away from reality, I know your still grieving”

At that moment I think I fell in love with her. She knew my pain. She knew what it was like to lose your role model. The leader of your family. I trusted her.

“Yeah. You are right, I am still grieving. Deeply”

“Just have a little, you don’t need much”

She cracked the bag open and a haze of the biggest mistake of my life plumed in front of my eyes foreshadowing my near future.

She tipped out a small-scale amount. Confused, I asked “Are we on a restriction?”

“No, that's all you'll need.”

I looked at the smither of the toxic substance knowing I would be relapsing just to feel a familiar feeling I haven’t felt in months. With no hesitation I lent down and closed my eyes while feeling euphoria. It took me not 5 seconds to realise the bitch had laced it.

Days had gone by. I had woken up in a bright room. Am I dead? Is this Heaven? Hell even?

I frantically searched for my phone to call the police. Wait, I only got her first name. I didn’t get her last name. And she's the richest woman on earth, rich enough to disappear.

I start getting an abundance of notifications on my phone about my money being taken and new debts coming into my name. All my billions, gone. All my father’s debts, there, in my name.

I’m quick to realise that those are my father’s debts he had to Kate’s father. Now they are mine. I sold everything I had. My cars, my houses, my boats. Everything. But that wasn’t enough to pay the debts.

“That’s how living on the street off each weekly government payment became my life now, like yours. That’s how your life became mine and this is what is my new normal. Using the payments on drugs and alcohol because I can’t afford anything else due to those debts. Now I sit drunk talking to people who I thought I was so much better than once. Who I never thought I would be. Thanks to Kate I now am”

“Wow man. Welcome to the street”

Writers note: If this gets published on Vocal with the AI Generated content thing on. It's not AI Generated. I wrote this for a part of my course so I don't know why they wont let me submit it here. It thinks it has "spammy language and AI Generated content" when it doesn't. :)