Tripping: The Wasted Series, Book 1

30. Lanie

Today Poe is moving into the halfway house and she asked me to pick up her clothes from Tripp's. I am so glad Poe is getting better. It was so hard for me to see her in the state she was in. I hardly recognized her. For a while there when she and I would meet up so I could give her money, I thought she had an eating disorder. She was so skinny and her skin was so pale and flaky. She looked absolutely horrid. As time went on I was getting really sick of her and HIM. Their neediness was grating on my nerves. I almost stopped giving her the money because, honestly if she was not eating what could they be using all that money on? I guess I never really came across anyone close to me with a drug problem. Hopefully I never see it again. Truly a horrific sight.

Okay, here I go to the house. Honestly, I really hope he is not home because the guy scares me to death. I get up to the door and knock for a minute. I don't see or hear anyone. I ring the bell. No one comes to the door. Okay, he is not here, yippie! I shout to myself. Thankfully Poe gave me her key to the place and I won't have to find a way to break in.

I stick the key into the shaky door handle and twist and the door opens with a creaky sound. Before I stepped in, I looked into the house and my jaw almost smacked the floor. The living room was a complete and utter disaster area. Cushions were turned upside down. Some were even cut up into tiny bits. The rug looked pulled up in places and absolutely everything was smashed. Doors were open and some were hanging on their hinges. Did she really live like this? How the heck will I find anything of hers? Hopefully the bedroom won't be that bad.

I gingerly walk through the living room praying I don't fall, who knows, I may land on a needle or something and get some sort of disease! I get to a door that looks like it could be a bedroom and I walk in. I am right. Though it was a tad hard to tell because of the disturbed condition of the room. Clothes are strewn all over the floor. The mattress has been thrown into a position it should not be in. Nothing was where it is suppose to be. What the heck? Maybe someone robbed the place? I don't know but I need to hurry up. I am getting an uneasy feeling crawling down my spine. I hurriedly gather as much 'girl' looking clothes as I could carry in my backpack, shoving them into it frantically. She also asked me to get her toiletries so I trekked through the house to locate the bathroom.

The door was open when I walk in the sink and toilet are on my right and I assume a tub or bath was on the left. I couldn't see as the door was blocking it. I walk in looking on the sink, nothing there. Naturally. I turn towards the tub/ shower and I begin to scream.

I can't move. I feel paralyzed. My mind stopped working as I look into the tub and see a naked boy with his head bobbing in and out of the water. A few minutes or hours passed. I really don't know how long I stood there staring at the body. Somewhere in the distance I hear police sirens and it snaps me out of my trance. I grab my phone from my purse and dial 911.

I tell the lady on the other end what I see. She asks me if he is breathing. And I told her I have no idea. She wants me to see if he has a pulse. Argh! Just send an ambulance for crying out loud! I walk towards his head and bend down to touch his pulse on his neck. Eww. He felt slimy. I couldn't tell. The body was just moving so much from bouncing in the water. She said to wait here and the ambulance will be here in a few.

I pushed the end button and slowly put my phone back in my purse. I wonder if I really have to stay here. If the ambulance comes and I am not here, who cares, right? They will still take him to the hospital. Right? I answer my own question with a resounding yes! At that moment I decided to bolt out of the house and buy some new clothes and toiletries for Poe. She doesn't need any of this stuff in here. Besides they look like they haven't been washed for weeks. Gross.

I honestly hope that jerk is dead. I growl under my breath.

I hop into my car and start singing 'Off to the mall I go go go! I go go go! Off to the mall I go go go!' I know I am lame. I just love to shop.