He couldn’t tell if what he felt was guilt, or something completely different. Chris smiled, though, sloppy and sarcastic - as he pressed himself into the couch, arms spread out at either side, legs wide open. Stop? Why would he stop? It was the only thing that took away the pain. When he told Ashley that he was through with line after line, of course he was lying to her.
That’s just what addicts did. They’d say anything to make it seem like they were perfectly normal - well, when they had control of it. Did Chris have control of his addiction? He thought so, but - Chris should have thought about it a little harder. Ashley wasn’t stupid, and he knew that she might find out eventually - which, she did. She absolutely did.
“How cliche would it be to tell you that you don’t understand?”
Ashley paced back and forth as she contemplated just what was going on with Chris. She had found out about him doing this just about over three months ago. Now whenever she had stumbled upon it in his back pack, she felt hurt. “I thought we were friends. I could’ve even helped you stop, if that’s what you wanted.”, she was upset and avoided even glancing at his eyes. It wasn’t like she was disappointed in him, more so than she was disappointed in herself.
When he said that she didn’t understand, she finally acknowledged his eyes. “I don’t understand, because you won’t tell me anything.”, Ashley sat on the coffee table in front of him while letting a sigh fall from her lips. “Please, Chris, just please let me help you. I don’t want to lose my friend.”, her words came out pleadingly.