MONEY TREES, gossip girl [DISCONTINUED]

16

tw! brief mentions of drugs,
depression, mania, and sex

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CHAPTER SIXTEEN
SUICIDE TUESDAY
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WHEN Cristian wakes up the next morning, the sunlight peaking through the window and burning his eyes, he feels a sense of déjà vu. He's been through this before.

He doesn't have the energy to move, a sinking feeling weighing him down. This sinking isn't a a warm, drug-fueled comfort, it's a dark and cold state of mind, a loss of emotion. The sudden and overbearing high of MDMA strips a person of all feeling once it starts to leave their system.

Some people call the comedown "Suicide Tuesday," a pretty good descriptor to CJ. It sums up everything, he's feeling, or rather not feeling. It's as if his brain can no longer figure out how to create dopamine without the boost of drugs. Scarily enough, CJ doesn't regret using last night, he only regrets not having more.

He mustered up enough energy to turn his head, only to find the bed empty. Cristian doesn't recall much, but he does remember Obie being there, helping him. He remembers some of the party, he vaguely remembers a girl, and then he remembers Obie laying beside him in the bed. He tries to get more, gain back some specifics, but he comes up blank. All he's got is broken fragments.

He looks at the alarm clock reading 6:22 a.m. in that red, blocky font. With a groan, Cristian drags himself out of the warmth of Obie's bed, his muscles aching and his stomach lurching. He hardly makes it into the bathroom in time before he's coughing up whatever poison he ingested last night. He feels better once it's all out.

He rummages around Obie's bathroom in search of a spare toothbrush, and he finds it, but not before stumbling across things he shouldn't have. Obie probably didn't want CJ to know what size condoms he uses, and CJ certainly didn't want to know what condoms Obie used with Julien, or god forbid Zoya. He almost throws up again from the mere thought of the latter.

Cristian brushes his teeth and tries to make himself look alive, even through he feels like a walking and breathing corpse. Once he's cleaned up as best he can, CJ sets out in search of Obie. His shoulder hits the doorframe on his way out of the bathroom, which only dampers his already foul mood. He wanders down the stairs, and just as he makes it to the first floor of the penthouse, the elevator door opens.

Obie is there, already dressed and ready to take in the day, and carrying takeout from a restaurant. Guilt starts to gnaw away at CJ.

"Hey," CJ greets warily, unsure of what to do or how to react.

"Hey," Obie replies, equally cautious. He holds up the bag, "I brought breakfast."