as the world falls down

chapter 18

Y/n sat in an old church hall, scanning the room, admiring the photos painted on the walls. The plastic seat she was sitting on was rather unsteady, it kind of felt like she was sitting on a rock but she tried to ignore the feeling, there were more important things to be focusing on. She looked up, staring at her girlfriend who was standing up next to her, all of the eyes in the room were on her. Y/n grabbed her hand and squeezed it for moral support, she looked as nervous as ever. Even though the gathering were small and Mina knew every single person in this room it didn’t make public speaking any easier.

‘Hi, I’m Mina and I’m an addict’ Y/n could hear the uneasiness in her voice, she never liked these meetings and to actually have to talk probably was making her ill. ‘And today I am officially one year clean.’

The room erupted into loud cheers and claps as everyone celebrated her announcement.

‘I wish I could come up here and tell you all a funny story about how I lost my dignity to drugs like you all do when you hit a milestone. I’m not saying I don’t have stories like that but I don’t think I’m at the point where I can joke yet. I still have a hard time admitting that drugs ruined my life, I know deep down it’s probably true but I still can’t say it out loud.’ Mina spoke, her tone still laced with nerves. She didn’t want to come to her support meeting today but Y/n made her, it was too important to miss. She wanted her to celebrate this milestone with the people who had supported both of them through her journey. ‘I want to thank my girlfriend who has been there for me every step of the way. She met me when I was in a bad place and she dragged me out of it, without her I wouldn’t even be sober. I guess I can also thank this support group for helping me. Most of your advice is crap but I appreciate the free donuts at the end of each meeting.’

Mina sat down, Y/n quickly grabbed her hand and smiled wide at her. That smile was returned with a sour look of spite, she could tell Mina hated her for making her do this.

‘Congratulations Mina.’ The leader of the addiction group nodded standing up ‘You’re certainly one of our quietest members but we are proud of you nonetheless. And don’t worry if you still feel you’re not ready to share things yet, everyone recovers at their own pace. Even people who are decades sober still struggle with the things you are struggling with.’

The meeting continued and more people spoke about their troubles and achievements. Y/n could feel Mina lean over to her, she had already noticed that Mina had been uncomfortably shifting in her seat for a few minutes.

‘Can we leave now?’ Mina whispered ‘I’m bored.’

‘Sure.’ Y/n nodded, grabbing her bag. ‘Let’s leave.’

They both slipped out quietly, trying not to distract the meeting. They held hands as they walked through the streets, Mina was not too sure where Y/n was taking her but was interested nonetheless.

‘This I don’t think this is the way to the trailer park.’ Mina commented, as Y/n dragged her along.

‘It’s not, you didn’t think that I hadn’t planned anything for today, did you?’ Y/n glowed ’It’s a year Mina, that’s huge.’

‘I know, I kind of hoped that we’d be inside all day using the new toy you got.’

‘That’s tonights plans.’ Y/n winked, internally laughing at Mina’s antisocial mood. ‘But I have other plans for the day, I’ve been planning this moment for months.’

‘What if I relapsed in those months and ruined everything?’

‘We’d just have to push back the plans then.’

’So what are we doing today?’

‘It’s a surprise but right now we’re going to my work. I convinced my boss to let me borrow the pizza delivery car so I could take you places.’