@cxttodd gets a plotted starter!
It was the detective’s fault Erik was here - damn the man! He was clean (mostly) and had no need for support groups. Erik disliked crowds. He disliked people. And people, in turn, disliked Erik. He was the masked freak on the fringes of any social gathering. An oddity. A freak, if one was being kind. And when he spoke... He well knew the effect his voice had upon people. He well knew how at odds it was with his face. His face, which today was obscured by a black mask. It wasn’t only for his sake, but for all those whose sight he spared-
He didn’t want to be here. Erik didn’t want to be anywhere but his flat. At least at home, he had a cat waiting for him, a piano, a view of the city unrivaled by any other...
He could lose himself in other creature comforts besides the needle. He could. He would. If he could just leave this wretched place. The halls smelled like despair. He could already hear people introducing themselves at the NA meeting.
Hi, my name is forgettable and I am an addict.
He lingered in the doorway a moment, considering joining the others like he’d promised and instead, turned and walked towards the emergency exit. He would walk home. He was scarier than anything he’d find on the streets. He’d walk home and go back to his life and if he decided to rifle through his belongings for sweet opiates to spite Nadir Khan for sending him here, that was nobody’s business but his own.
Just as he reached the water fountains, he heard his name called. Erik froze. He recognized that voice.
Hi, my name is Catherine and I am an addict.
She’d been the only one who had let him sit beside her at the last meeting. The only one to smile at him. She’d even run out to the detective’s car and struck up conversation with Nadir after the meeting. Erik’s shoulder’s tensed. He faced her.
“Madame, if it’s all the same to you, I have a conflicting appointment today. I really must get going - you’ll have to shower some other unfortunate with your attention today. Goodness knows, there are plenty of wretches more deserving of your kindness than I.”
