I've Got This Friend

Chapter 7

He cleared the house quickly and easily before coming back down to the kitchen.

"No monsters under my bed?"

"None."

Mae gave him a tight smile. "Are we pretending a drive-by didn't happen?"

"I don't know what the hell that was." Tapping his rings gently on the glass he started to grow angrier the more he thought about it. "We'll find out soon enough."

"Does that happen often? Kip told me about a lot but not shootings and kidnappings."

"It doesn't happen a lot." He drained his glass with a little smile. "I forgot how good straight orange juice is, mine usually has vodka in it." Opie looked at her as she took his glass. "You're really calm about this whole thing."

Mae refilled his juice and handed it back. "No, I'm not." She began to laugh anxiously and held out her hand to show how badly it was still trembling. "I'm a therapist. I'm good keeping my shit to myself when I have to."

Opie grabbed her hand and held it still. "You don't have to keep shit to yourself, not with me." Giving her arm a tug, Opie turned and brought her around to stand directly in front of him. "I know we just met but we talked about a lot, Sack, you can trust me."

"You might not want to start this."

"I do."

She nodded as her face scrunched up. "I was so scared," her voice cracked. "I mean I was literally petrified, seriously. If you didn't push me I wouldn't have moved, honestly, I'd be dead right now."

"Adrenaline woulda kicked in." He assured her.

"I know from experience it wouldn't have. My fight or flight is more like freeze and die."

"Experience?"

"You know what they say, 'every saint has a past and every sinner a future'. Although I'm not exactly a saint."

Opie tugged at his beard and looked at her through hooded, questioning eyes. "I'm interested in your past."

Mae forced a smile. "It's messy but it's nothing you have to worry about." Reaching up she tapped his cut. "Kip trusted me, I've known about you guys for a while, I'm not going to say anything."

"You know a lot about me but I don't know much about you."

"You show me yours?" She wriggled her eyebrows to make light of the situation.

"You first."

Mae nodded and, still holding his hand, back up to lean on the fridge behind them. "I was involved with some assholes." She looked down at her torn stockings. "Criminals, but not like you guys, I mean the really bad kind. These guys would risk innocent lives and shit, I know you don't do that."

"That'll give you experience." He placed his cigarettes on the counter and, clearing his throat, pointed to the box. "Anybody I know?"

"No." She pulled two cigarettes out and lit them on the stove. Handing him one she grabbed a picture off her fridge. "It wasn't in California and they weren't like MC guys. Just your usual piece of shit. This was my best friend, one of them sold her some dirty heroin and she OD'ed."

Opie looked at picture and could tell instantly Mae was a drug user in the past. Her pupils were dilated and she looked shinny and sickly pale. The woman in the picture was not the one pouring him OJ and making his heart quicken.

"I'm sorry. Why'd they do it?"

She shrugged and placed a saucer between them for their ashes. "They claimed they didn't know but you know...Rumors. She was sleeping with one of them and someone heard something about her and this other guy. It was...insane. They were like the serpent in the Garden of Eden." Mae laughed at herself and shook her head. "Religious reference, sorry. They were slick and manipulative and I was young and stupid. I'm not anymore though."

She was stronger that she looked and he could hear it in her voice. "Drug use doesn't make you a sinner. One of my buddies would probably put you to shame. You still use?"

"Not at all." She smiled. "I was lucky. Heroin is one of those drugs that can grab you by the balls the first time. It didn't with me, I got sick and I knew it would only get worse. I hated it so I stuck to weed and ecstasy." She covered face to try to keep from crying. "I'm so lucky, Opie. I could have been some addict or OD'ed. I thank God everyday that I didn't go down that path."

Opie smiled, her positive outlook and reflection was refreshing and sweet, he could feel an understanding between them. He pulled her close again and traced her jaw with his thumb as he gathered the courage to kiss her.

Mae backed up and shook her head "I'm going to get changed." She looked down at her dress and decided that was the was best way to give herself some space. The connection and the way things just tumbled from her lips while around Opie felt dangerous.

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Well, looks like I'm cutting this again! Part three is coming! Sorry guys! Xoxo